‘The Great Gatsby’ Movie That Marked the Beginning of Modern Jewelry History
Mia Farrow and Lois Chiles flaunted authentic Cartier vintage in the period piece
The Great Gatsby was published 100 years ago. To pay homage to this great American novel, I decided to shed light on a lesser-known aspect of the 1974 film adaptation. The use of authentic Cartier jewelry in the production marked the beginning of modern jewelry history. Let me explain.
In the early 1970s, when news leaked Paramount Pictures was going to remake The Great Gatsby it caused a frenzy. Every A-list actor in Hollywood wanted the leading roles of Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan. At the time F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterwork was part of the craze for the Jazz Age.
The cultural revival, which started heating up in 1968 when historian Bevis Hillier published the first major modern work about Art Deco, extended to Cartier. In New York, the firm had begun acquiring its pieces from the period and securing the location of collectors who owned them.
The jewels assembled became known as the Cartier Collection in 1983. These treasures, and many more, would go on to be the subject of over 35 exhibitions about Cartier, and counting, at major museums around the world. Currently, the Cartier Collection forms the foundation of the exhibition ‘Cartier’ at the Victoria & Albert museum in London.
But back to 1974, the interest in Cartier Art Deco jewelry at the New York branch of the firm made it the perfect jeweler to provide authentic accessories for the production which ultimately cast Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby and Mia Farrow as Daisy Buchanan.
From the very first scene, the privileged life of Daisy Buchanan, the object of Jay Gatsby’s affection, and her friend Jordan Baker played by Lois Chiles, is clear. On a hot late summer afternoon, they lounge around the Long Island mansion wearing extraordinary Cartier jewels.
Jordan has on an impressive Cartier sautoir of pearls and emerald beads, as well as a large, carved emerald and diamond brooch.
Daisy’s jewels include a slender diamond choker, substantial diamond pendant earrings, a delicate diamond wreath circle brooch, a strand of pearls and a massive marquise shape diamond engagement ring.
This first look was immortalized in popular culture; Mia Farrow wore it on the cover of the inaugural issue of People, published on March 4, 1974. This cover underscores the enthusiasm for the film and the Art Deco movement. No surprise: the production's costume designer, Theoni V. Aldredge, went on to win an Oscar for her work.
In an early scene when Jay Gatsby meets Daisy on the lawn, where she is drinking champagne and wearing a beige chiffon ensemble, she is bejeweled in a pearl strand interspersed with small black onyx and coral discs that echo the gems in the parrots brooch on her shoulder which are acting like lovebirds. Clearly, it’s a metaphor for the couple’s romance.
The jewel, made by Cartier in New York in 1928, is composed of rubies, onyx, diamonds and platinum.
Daisy also has a small Cartier Art Deco gold and gem-set vanity case in the scene. Both pieces are featured in the first Cartier monograph written by Hans Nadelhoffer in 1987.
The book is dedicated to Ralph Esmerian who owned a lot of the jewelry in the publication as well as the pieces featured in the movie.
One of the most impressive Art Deco designs in the movie is worn by Jordan when everyone heads to New York City for an evening on the town.
It is a pearl tassel necklace with carved emerald accents and an 86.71-carat carved emerald at the center made by Cartier in New York around 1925.
Two years after the film's release the first Cartier Art Deco exhibition was staged at the Fifth Avenue Mansion in New York. Several of the pieces from the film appeared in the critically acclaimed presentation that included 150 jewels, clocks and objects.
A portion of the proceeds from the publication for the show benefited the American Cancer Society. Princess Grace, in her capacity as the Honorary Chairman of the International Committee, wrote in her introduction for the catalogue: “I am sure this exhibition will prove to be a great success in bringing enjoyment to those who love great design and who appreciate great genius both of which Louis Cartier epitomized through his long and prolific career.”
A photo of Princess Yasmin Aly Kahn, Rita Hayworth’s daughter, looking at objects in the exhibit was published in The New York Times. Other notables who attended the opening included Nan Kempner, Lyn Revson, Pat Buckley, Amanda Burden, Mary Lou Whitney, Doris Duke, Mica Ertegan and Helene Rochas.
The popularity of the presentation and the numerous others that have followed over the years have long since secured Cartier’s position as the preeminent jeweler of the Art Deco era. Yet no exhibition has ever quite captured how the jewelry was worn during the roaring twenties like the 1974 production of The Great Gatsby.
This is fascinating! Thank you.