Cartier Drop Necklaces

French jeweler Louis-François Cartier (1819–1904) opened his namesake maison in 1847, and while the now-renowned luxury jewelry house would soon count Napoléon Bonaparte’s niece Princess Mathilde Bonaparte as a client, Cartier necklaces didn’t enjoy attention on the world stage until years later.

Louis-François’s son Alfred became a partner in the Cartier business in 1872 and took the reins officially in 1874. Later, he brought his sons Louis, Pierre and Jacques into the fold, and the brand became internationally known, with boutique branches opening in London, New York City and, in 1908, a Russian boutique in St. Petersburg. Soon, such famous international icons as Grace Kelly, Wallis Simpson and Marjorie Merriweather Post all donned Cartier jewels around their necks on a regular basis. The latter, an heiress to the Post cereal company, purchased what is referred to as the Art Deco style Post Emerald necklace, which features 24 baroque-cut drops of emerald sourced from Colombia, in the late 1920s.

Perhaps one of Cartier’s most recognizable designs is the Collier Hindou necklace, a sumptuous piece encrusted with emeralds, rubies, sapphires and diamonds commissioned by French-American socialite Daisy Fellowes in 1936. Fellowes’s piece was part of what would become the maison’s famous Tutti Frutti collection, whose origins began in 1901 when Pierre Cartier designed an Indian-inspired necklace for Queen Alexandra of Great Britain to be paired with Indian gowns that she received as gifts. Years later, Jacques Cartier started integrating stone-carving techniques from India’s jewelry-making traditions that he learned when he visited Delhi. The Cartier designs of the 1920s and ’30s that featured Indian-inspired carved gemstones in natural motifs such as fruits, flowers and berries would become part of the so-called Tutti Frutti collection, which officially earned its name in the 1970s.

Another well-known and cherished collection is the Amulette de Cartier, which the house launched in 2014. The padlock-shaped necklace symbolizes protecting one’s innermost wishes. The disk-shaped pendant, which opens and closes like a lock, initially featured a black-onyx or diamond centerpiece, and variations have the focal point surrounded by white mother-of-pearl, malachite and other materials. Models Karlie Kloss and Poppy Delevingne have been photographed in the Amulette de Cartier, and sales have soared since its debut.

On 1stDibs, find a variety of contemporary and vintage Cartier necklaces for sale, including pendant necklaces, chain necklaces and other accessories.