Mention the word “Cartier” and thoughts of 18-carat white gold watches, art deco vanity cases or some of the world’s finest shopping boutiques spring to mind.
What isn’t so obvious, though, is Saint Louis University’s connection to the 154-year-old jewelry manufacturer, or-more accurately-the Cartier family and its detailed history. Since the late 1980s, the University has maintained and preserved a collection paintings, manuscripts, photos and other items owned by the Cartier family.
That collection, given by an anonymous donor, also included 50 pieces of Cartier jewelry and gemstones.
According to Michael Lucido, assistant to the president, 40 or 41 of those pieces were returned to the daughters of Marion Rumsey-Cartier, the daughter of Pierre Cartier. The remaining nine jewels will be auctioned in Gotham, N.Y., on Wednesday, April 11 as a part of Christie’s Magnificent Jewel Sale. They include:
a double-strand natural pearl necklace, estimated value $200,00-250,000;
an oval-cut ruby and diamond ring, estimated value $30,000-40,000;
a cushion-cut, 5.5-carat ruby and diamond ring, estimated value $60,000-80,000;
a marquise-cut, 9.85-carat diamond, estimated value $200,000-250,000;
a single-stone, 6.31-carat diamond ring, estimated value $180,000-220,000;
an unmounted circular-cut, 8.21-carat diamond, estimated value $150,000-200,000;
an unmounted, circular-cut, 4-carat diamond, estimated value $100,000-120,000;
a rectangular-cut, 10.87-carat diamond, estimated value $280,000-320,000;
a cushion-cut, 19-carat diamond ring, estimated value $500,000-600,000;
Currently, part of SLU’s Cartier collection is stored in the Saint Louis Room of the Pius XII Memorial Library. The other part of the collection-normally displayed in Marion Rumsey-Cartier Hall, at 3838 West Pine Mall-is temporarily on display in the Pierre Marquette Room in DuBourg Hall.
A “well-to-do” family
The story of how the Cartier’s pieces fell into SLU’s lap originates in Paris, as the three Cartier brothers-Louis, Pierre and Jacques-brought the family’s jewelry business to its peak in the 1920s and 1930s. Already established as one of the major jewelers in France, its reputation grew worldwide during the first half of the 20th century.
The business eventually branched out to the United States, as Pierre Cartier maintained a Cartier store in New York after 1914. In 1909, Cartier married Elma Rumsey, the daughter of a wealthy industrialist from St. Louis, and on April 14, 1911, the couple gave birth to their daughter and only child, Marion Rumsey Cartier. In April 1933, Marion furthered the family’s already well-known name when she married Pierre Claudel, son of Paul Claudel, then the French ambassador to the United States and friend of Pierre Cartier.
“Both families were well-to-do,” said SLU librarian and archivist John Waide. For example, Waide noted, the Cartier family hosted formal dinner parties for which the food served would be recorded in menu books, along with a listing of dinner guests. The lifestyle of the Cartiers included fine country houses, trips on trans-Atlantic luxury liners, socializing with high American and European society, and purchasing fine jewels.
The reputation and prestige of the Cartiers was furthered by Pierre Cartier’s outstanding public efforts. In 1939, he created the “House of Jewels” exhibit, displaying $5 million worth of jewels from various firms, for the New York World’s Fair. Cartier was also recognized for his efforts to improve friendship ties between France and the United States during the first half of the 20th century.
The SLU connection
Though she and her family settled in Paris in 1949, Marion Rumsey Cartier did maintain a keen interest in her mother’s family history in St. Louis. Wanting to preserve manuscripts and artifacts of the Rumsey and Cartier families, Marion decided to keep these in Elma Rumsey’s city, St. Louis.
In 1983, Marion was introduced to J. Barry McGannon, S.J., the late chancellor of SLU and then-vice president of Development.
“Fr. McGannon kept communication open and got the ball rolling,” Waide said. “He was very involved in the negotiations for the jewels and documents . If he hadn’t been here, we probably wouldn’t have had any form of collection whatsoever.”
The University received 14 large crates filled with valuable oil paintings, papers and other memorabilia. The collection’s manuscripts contain family papers that explain how the Cartier fortune shifted from plumbing to jewelry, as well as how the renowned firm made jewelry for kings and queens.
“The collection gives a look at the social and cultural lives of the upper-class of French society during the 1920s through 1940s-what people did, how they lived, what was important to them,” Waide said.
The manuscripts also include family telegrams, articles, personal letters, love letters and business correspondence, the majority of which are in written in French. Other items in the collection include: Family photographs, jewelry cases, change purses, a walking stick, several umbrellas, photo albums, travel souvenirs, rare books and even signed marital blessings from Pope Pius XI and Pope Pius XII.
Waide estimated that the collection consists of more than 3,500 letters and documents. Seven hundred and ten paintings-many of which were painted by Marion herself-were donated and are displayed in the Marion Rumsey-Cartier Hall.
SLU’s Cartier collection went went on public display from June 4-18, 1995, in the area now known as the MacLennan Gallery of Asian Art. “The Legacy of Elma Rumsey Cartier” premiered paintings, letters, books, photographs and other memorabilia-as well as the 50 pieces of family jewelry.
The exhibit attracted more than 6,000 visitors from around the country.
