A set of four sterling silver side dishes in the shape of four leaf clovers. This exceptionally rare and beautifully made set of dishes were made in the Cartier workshop in London, England. Not known for a large number of pieces to be produced, the London workshop was world renowned for making pieces of exceptional quality. Recently celebrating its one hundredth anniversary, the London workshop has moved back above the flagship London store at 175 New Bond Street, and is slowly working to produce items of exceptional quality and rarity.
The origins of Cartier being in London owes some debt of gratitude to King Edward VII. One of his first acts as King was to suggest that Cartier open a London branch. A very good reason for the being Cartier received orders for 27 tiaras for his Coronation! From that point on, Cartier was always a destination for the upper echelons of English society and a host ofRoyals to furnish either their homes, or themselves.
The supposed future King Edward VIII proposed marriage to Wallis Simpson with a Cartier ring featuring an emerald of more than nineteen carats. That same year the Duke of York (later George VI) presented his wife, later the Queen Mother, with the celebrated London-made “Halo” tiara which was used by the Duchess of Cambridge on her wedding day. It was not just limited to English royalty either; The Queen of Hyderabad, Maharaja of Nawanagar were amoung a host of others notable dignitaries that frequented Cartier's London workshop for magisterial jewellery. Not to mention being the home of some of Cartier’s great watches; The Pebble and of course the London ‘Crash’.
A story that is both fabulous, and a great advertisement to the quality of the workshop comes from an extract from an article written to recently celebrate the London workshop's one hundredth anniversary by Mr. N. Foulkes for the Financial Times;
"Peter Wilding was a historian, author, aesthete, collector and friend of Ian Fleming. One day he and the creator of 007 were strolling along Bond Street when they stopped to admire some Fabergé boxes. Fleming said to Wilding, “I bet you couldn’t get boxes made like that again.” Wilding took up the challenge and began what jewellery historian Judy Rudoe described as his extraordinary collaboration with Cartier: 17 gold, enamel and gem-set cigarette boxes of such beauty that they are now in the British Museum. Wilding felt the connection to Cartier London deeply, referring to it as “my little jewellery shop”. "
This lovely hand made set of four matching side dishes were also perhaps a custom piece, and perhaps share a wonderful history. The dishes sit on three ball feet, and have a small curled handle where the stem of the clover would be. Each of the four dishes has the unique stamped Cartier serial number for production, and the full English assay hallmarks for the London workshop, having been made in 1937, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War that would forever change the landscape of Europe. The set is in superb condition, with no issues. They are presented in their original, leather and gilt, hand-tooled Cartier box. The inside of which is no longer present, but the original box nonetheless. Rare in its own right. A spectacular piece of history, as well as being a beautiful set of matching dishes.
