Naomi Watts adds sparkle to jewels of the crown

The wattage of the jewels in ­Cartier: The Exhibition is certainly enough, but Naomi Watts brought extra star power to its launch.

Actress Naomi Watts speaks at the Cartier: The Exhibition Media Preview. Picture: Getty Images.

The wattage of the jewels in ­Cartier: The Exhibition is certainly enough, but Naomi Watts brought a little extra star power to its launch in Canberra yesterday.

The exhibition, at the National Gallery of Australia, includes more than 300 items, including several pieces loaned from private collections and not before seen in Australia.

The Queen and the Royal Collection have released five pieces, an unprecedented loan that has the NGA director Gerard Vaughan especially thrilled.

“The Queen has rarely lent more than one at a time, and to find that the list came back with a tick against just about every box was incredible,’’ Vaughan said.

These pieces include the dazzling diamond Halo tiara, given to the Queen on her 18th birthday from the Queen Mother’s collection, and which was worn by Kate Middleton for her wedding to Prince William.

Curator Margaret Young-Sanchez adds: “(The loan) includes both personal jewellery that the Queen owns and wears and then fabulous items that come from the Royal Collection.”

There is also a cabinet of items created for the Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson, whose ­extravagant taste called for a large flamingo brooch and another featuring the house’s signature panther, perched atop a 152-carat cabochon-cut sapphire.

The exhibition, which covers Cartier since its beginning in 1847, also looks to royalty of the Hollywood variety.

Some of its best-known clients included Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly and Mexican film star Maria Felix, whose pieces were particularly unusual.

Queen Elizabeth II's 'Halo' tiara.

“She was a great, great client of Cartier, and she commissioned from them some of the most innovative and slightly crazy pieces,” Vaughan said.

These include a necklace featuring two articulated gold crocodiles, joined at the tail, one encrusted in yellow diamonds, the other in emeralds, and a large flexible snake necklace covered in ­diamonds.

Young-Sanchez believes that it is the house’s innovation and identity that sets it apart from other jewellery houses.

“They have been at the forefront of design for decade after decade; they’ve pushed the trends and helped create the fashions, yet always kept their distinctive identity,’’ she said.

“You can see a Cartier piece and know it’s not one of the other houses. Even as it evolved it has maintained a very distinctive identity and cohesion.”

The tiara was worn by Kate Middleton on her wedding day. Picture: Getty Images.

Given the history with the brand of working with strong-willed women throughout its history, including Dame Nellie Melba, to whom a room is dedicated, Watts was delighted to help launch the exhibition. “Walking through the exhibition you see not only these fantastic pieces but the story behind who wore them and when and what was happening at that time, which really makes it so much more powerful,’’ Watts said.

Cartier: The Exhibition opens tomorrow and runs until July 22.

Glynis Traill-Nash travelled to Canberra as a guest of the NGA