Today marks the Anniversary of the Birth of Edwina, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, who was born on this day in 1901! The vivacious Heiress who married Prince Philip’s ambitious uncle and lived an uninhibited life before serving with distinction in the Second World War and becoming the last Vicereine of India, Lady Mountbatten had a fascinating life and quite a lovely jewellery collection, which included this Cartier Tutti Frutti Bandeau!
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The striking Art Deco Cartier Bandeau in the Tutti Frutti style set with carved emeralds, rubies, sapphires, in diamonds and platinum, made by English Art Works for Cartier London in October 1928 was acquired by Lady Louis Mountbatten the following month.
The Mountbatten Cartier Tutti Frutti Bandeau is widely considered to be one of the most important examples of the style on public display today. The bandeau, designed by Cartier, can also be worn as two bracelets. It was made in October 1928 and purchased by Lady Mountbatten the following month to celebrate the birth of her second daughter.
A unique London-made sapphire, emerald and ruby bandeau, or headband, was made in October 1928 and bought a month later from the great jewellery house of Cartier by Edwina, Lady Mountbatten for £900.
The multi-gem bandeau in the tutti frutti style is in the form of a sinuous creeper, the stem set with diamonds, and the leaves and fruit formed of carved Indian rubies, sapphires and emeralds. The bandeau is a triumph of Art Deco jewellery manufacture in the capital. One of the finest surviving London-made multi-gem jewels, it is an object of pre-eminent importance to the history of jewellery in England between the two World Wars.
Besides belonging to one ofEngland’s most prominent families, the bandeau was constructed by English Art Works in London, a workshop set up by Cartier to create jobs in the jewelry industry when the economy was struggling. Lady Mountbatten was a famous socialite and also one of the wealthiest women in the country.
The following year, Lady Louis Mountbatten was notably photographed wearing the Cartier Tutti Frutti Bandeau as a pair of bracelets for a portrait with her newborn second daughter, Pamela.
After Countess Mountbatten’s death in 1960, the Cartier Tutti Frutti Bandeau was inherited by one of her two daughters and sold off by them at some point, disappearing from the public radar until 2004, when it was placed under a temporary order banning its export, two years after the sale of the iconic Mountbatten Tiara.
In October 2004, the British government placed a temporary order banning its export and said the art deco piece, valued at $550,000, had recently changed hands and the new owner had applied for an export license. It declined to identify the present and previous owners.
Four years later, the Cartier Tutti Frutti Bandeau was put on permanent display in the Jewellery Gallery at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, where it has likely returned after being displayed in the landmark Cartier Exhibit this year.
In May 2008, it was announced that the tutti frutti bandeau and bracelet would be displayed in the newly redesigned and reopened William and Judith Bollinger Jewellery of the V&A Museum.
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