Cartier Celebrates Trinity

Luxferity, 09.02.2024

In 1924, the Trinity ring was born. 100 years later, Cartier is celebrating the anniversary of this iconic piece of jewellery, which symbolises the Maison’s most cherished values. Values like diversity are demonstrated through three rings in yellow gold, rose gold and white gold that come together, harmonious, to play as a trio. There is love, in all its forms: filial, familial, friendly, marital, infinite, indefinite... three rings full of meaning and sentiment.

Celebrating Trinity means celebrating Cartier. Firstly, because it is basically where everything started: a ring born from Louis Cartier’s imagination, far from the norm at that time; a ring that brought jewellery into modernity, eventually becoming the Maison’s first design icon. Secondly, because, from the start, it resonated with Cartier’s history, that of the three brothers, Louis, Pierre and Jacques, and that of the three historic Cartier boutiques, Paris, London and New York. Three: the perfect number, the magic number! And finally, because it is made for everyone – famous or not – with no age limit, without boundaries, with no need to conform, designed for everyone, with no taboos. It is a universal icon that weaves bonds of love into everyday life and whose codes have become Cartier’s signature: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TRINITY.

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New designs and XL versions: a contemporary icon

Trinity’s talent is knowing how to reinvent itself. This creative force is owed entirely to its design, which is constantly being given a new twist by Cartier. Starting with the volume; there’s so much to play with here: fine rings or wider bands. They have been multiplied, to as many as ten, and stylised to include fluted, faceted and gadrooned rings.

Over time, Trinity dared to use the most creative materials, both precious and unexpected... since 1924, Trinity has tried it all!

To celebrate 100 years of Trinity, Cartier has imagined simple and pure yet daring new designs, the XL bracelet from the 2000s – a cult creation – has been reissued, and an XL version of the iconic ring has been launched.

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THE NEW TRINITY DESIGNS

White gold, yellow gold, rose gold: the chromatic trilogy is ever-present, the mobility and clean lines, too. What has changed is the shape and the distortion of the bands. A creative and daring exercise in style, coupled with a geometric approach from the Maison’s creative studios has resulted in an original variation on the timeless Trinity.

A cushion-shaped version available as of January 2024, whose rings slide one above the other with the same naturalness as the round version. This new design is the subject of a collection made up of classic and large model rings all in gold, or paved with diamonds, a bracelet and a pendant.

Cartier goes a step further and makes a creative statement with a singularly multiple version. A modular version, available as of March 2024, that can be worn as one wide, large band, or as three, depending on the wishes of the wearer. Interlocking, the three bands unfold like a construction game, revealing their diamonds as they move.

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XL VERSIONS: A REISSUE OF THE BRACELET AND NEW RING SIZES

Cartier is reissuing the Trinity bracelet, a true cult creation in a maximalist version. The first Trinity bracelet dates back to 1924. It was purchased by the famous American decorator Elsie de Wolfe, and worn by actress Kendall Lee, who was photographed in 1925 for Vogue wearing Trinity bracelets stacked in pairs. Three spectacular bands replicate the mobility and fluidity of the ring – but are made to encircle the wrist. Cartier has increased the volume of the three bands in this XL version, available as of January 2024, and also introduces a large and powerful ring whose size underlines Trinity’s timeless modernity.

Interview with Marie-Laure Cérède, Director of Watchmaking and Jewellery design, about the new Trinity collection

With what kind of mindset do you approach an iconic Cartier design like Trinity? How much creative leeway do you have?

“The idea of redesigning Cartier Trinity, an icon ‘par excellence’ seemed almost laughable, an impossible feat. But the challenge intrigued us. We forged ahead but freed ourselves from the obligation to produce a result at all costs. If a new design sparked inspiration, we would fully embrace it. But if it didn’t resonate, we agreed we would not push it any further.

To redesign Trinity we started at the beginning: three golds, made into three independent bands yet joined inseparably: three from one, and one from three. Plus the emotion that emanates from their rolling dance… Anchored by its sacred values, we aimed to capture the absolute essence of the original, but with a unique and incremental creative recipe.”

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Why a squared shape?

“The new design called for a bespoke approach. Instead of starting from a hand-drawn sketch, we worked the volume by hand – kneading the material, rolling it, compressing it to isolate a creative direction. To our surprise, an unexpected new shape began to emerge: a cushion. After unlocking the shape, we had to pinpoint its ideal proportions. With the finesse of a stone sculptor, we stripped away layers, little by little, a tenth of a millimetre at a time. It was a work of utmost precision.”

What was your creative aim with the modular Trinity ring?

“The modular Trinity takes a counter-intuitive design approach: construction then deconstruction. Like a Kumiki puzzle, we envisioned the Trinity bands interlocked as one structure, and then designed in reverse to deconstruct them into three. This naturally creates multiple ways to wear the same ring, which makes this Trinity so contemporary and adds to its universality. Wear the ring fused together for a discreet day look, then unravel the bands to reveal the diamonds at night.”

Trinity turns 100: looking back on an icon’s flawless journey

It is 1924, and the Maison has just imagined a ring composed of three intertwined, mobile bands in platinum, yellow gold and rose gold. This novel piece broke with the traditions of the craft by looking far beyond jewellery’s inherent focus on precious stones.

Everything was daring: the chromatic combination, the fluidity of the rings, the simplicity of the design and its symbolic strength. Trinity was a predecessor of modernity. Trinity was ahead of its time.

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A FOUNDING ICON OF CARTIER DESIGN CULTURE

The Trinity ring – or how jewellers reveal the beauty of a shape with a simple ring.

Trinity is the perfect equation: clean lines, the right proportions, precise shapes. A creation that integrates the notion of comfort and that relies on ergonomics and an understanding of the piece’s function.

It’s all about the fluidity of the moving rings - round on the outside, smooth on the inside - which slide over each other, overlapping and merging.

Unfamiliar, it is a poetic and technical enigma. None of the three bands sits above the other two. Each one sits above another and below a third. It is impossible to say which one is at the top, or which one is at the bottom... Three objects and not one greater or lesser than the others.

TRINITY’S INFLUENCE

You don’t just decide to become an icon! You must also know how to insert yourself into everyday life in all its forms. This was the case for Trinity, which lent its recognisable codes to the Maison’s lifestyle collections.

Lighters, pens and decorative objects displayed their three-ring decorations, in particular during the 1970s and 1980s, and especially during the Must de Cartier years.

Trinity’s codes elegantly became a part of everyday life.

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Dedicated to diversity and creativity: Cartier celebrates Trinity

A symbol of unity and diversity, Trinity’s intertwining rings are a metaphor for the many things that connect us and it is this message of universality that Cartier intends to pass on throughout the year, through an international campaign and via three events in Paris, London and New York.

Linked to each other, each of these events relies on the input of creative personalities from around the world. Cartier has entrusted each of them with the mission of creating an original work that pays tribute to Trinity, to the bonds of love in all its forms, the number three, to the shape of a band, or even to the year 1924.

And you - what is your Trinity of love? Everyone answered this question in unison. A collective symphony of expressions that celebrates the power of creativity and diversity. Values echoing those of Trinity and Cartier.