Cartier celebrates the 100 glorious years of Trinity with modern interpretations

Crafted in 1924, Cartier’s Trinity ring was born out of Louis Cartier’s imagination, and went on to become the Maison’s most iconic design. The first ring was created with three intertwined bands in platinum, rose gold, and yellow gold. From the beginning, it resonated with Cartier’s cherished values of diversity and history, that of the three brothers—Louise, Pierre and Jacques—and the three historic boutiques in Paris, London and New York. It went on to captivate prominent figures of the yesteryear like the French poet Jean Cocteau, American actors Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, to pop culture icon Kylie Jenner in the present times. Today, the collection is emblematic of timehonoured craftsmanship and limitless creativity—resonating with Cartier’s philosophy.

 

Through the years, the Trinity has been committed to reinvention with Cartier envisioning refined twists and new interpretations. The novel piece broke the traditions of craft and dared to look beyond the inherent focus on precious stones. Now, the Maison takes it notches above to mark the collection’s centennial year—the new Trinity, reimagined in a cushionshaped masterpiece, takes multiple iterations. It experiments the scopes of geometry while retaining the original mechanics and naturalness. Elaborating on the unique ‘square’ shape, director of watchmaking and jewellery design, MarieLaure Cérède shares, “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 millimeter at a time. It was a work of utmost precision.” The cushion-shaped version comes in classic and large model rings, all in gold or paved with diamonds, a bracelet and a pendant.

 

Cartier pushes the boundaries further with a counterintuitive design approach to come up with a modular version of the Trinity ring. All the three intertwining bands can be turned into a single, wide band, revealing the interior diamonds, as they move. “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,” Marie-Laure explains.

 

Additionally, in the true spirit of homage to the Maison’s exemplary past, Cartier is also reissuing the Trinity bracelet in an XL version. The three bands, crafted in expanded volume, replicate the fluidity of the ring but are made to gracefully encircle the wrist. Further, the bracelet comes with XL version of the iconic ring to tie the collection together.

As the symbol of unity and diversity, Cartier’s Trinity is a symphony of creative expressions that celebrate the bonds of love in all its shapes and forms.

Feature Image: The Cartier Trinity campaign featuring Paul Mescal, Jackson Wang, Yara Shahidi, Labrith, and Jisoo. Photo credit: The Bardos

All product images: Courtesy the brand 

This article originally appeared in Harper's Bazaar India, April-May 2024 print issue

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