Cartier’s Grain de Café is a reinvented collection based on the Maison’s historical pieces. First introduced in 1938 by Jeanne Toussaint, who was the Creative Director of Cartier at the time, the collection draws inspiration from the humble coffee bean. Toussaint, a visionary, had a talent for turning the ordinary into something precious.
The Grain de Café collection includes rings, pendants, earrings and brooches crafted in yellow gold that caress the skin like summer heat. Although the collection prominently features the coffee bean motif, the beauty of Cartier lies in its versatile interpretation. These beans can also be perceived as delicate leaves, studded with princess- and brilliant-cut diamonds that sparkle like dewdrops. Coloured stones are incorporated into some of its pieces as well, featuring rubellite beads that decorate the pieces like scattered berries.
The coffee beans, when arranged in clusters, resemble floral bouquets, paying homage to the Maison’s foundational themes of flora and fauna. Designed in clusters this way, their gentle mobility produces a soft rustle reminiscent of the sound of coffee beans being shaken.
It’s also worth noting that the collection was influenced by not just Jeanne Toussaint but also the actress turned princess Grace Kelly. The Grain de Café pieces were often seen on Kelly, who later received a set for her wedding to Prince Rainier III of Monaco. She was even spotted wearing the necklace in a vintage Monaco stamp circa 1957, serving as an icon to this collection.
Cartier honours the Hollywood actress through a 45-second trailer led by American director, Alex Prager, featuring American actress Elle Fanning as Grace Kelly. Fanning, acclaimed for her role in Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere and a recipient of Critics’ Choice nominations, joins the Maison as its global ambassador and as the face of the Grain de Café jewellery collection.
