Cartier’s Grain de Café collection, with its famous coffee bean motif, has long been connected to icons such as Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly. The brand is back with its newest styles, enhancing the glamor in the beans’ history with new craftsmanship that dances off the skin and shines in the sun.
The new collection is based around two of Cartier’s core elements: flora crafted in yellow gold and the ordinary made precious. The former is enhanced by sunlight, as the coffee beans stir and shimmer with any movement. Diamonds studded on top add that extra bit of delicacy to the pieces.
The beans and hollow grains were assembled to combine mobility and sensuality, constructed by 30 craftsmen in a way to avoid any impact. Cartier included new interpretations of the coffee beans, now adding in rubellite beads as scattered berries for a necklace, ring, and bracelet—with a necklace dating back to 1955 being reissued to honor the collection’s long history.
“Grain de Café creates a new preciousness by playing with light, finishes and volumes,” shares Creative Director of Jewelry and Watchmaking Marie-Laure Cérède. “The result is a versatile collection with added spirit. A symbol of the creative freedom of the Maison, Grain de Café transcends a literal translation of nature and results in a multisensory design.”
A major aspect to the new collection is its focus on the women who made Grain de Café what it is today. Cartier’s coffee bean motif was launched in 1938 by then-creative director Jeanne Toussaint, who studded the beans with diamonds or colored stones. But the collection didn’t become famous worldwide until the 1950s and 60s, during which actress and Princess Grace Kelly wore the now-classic set to her wedding with Prince Rainier III of Monaco, as well as many other important events—including a meeting at the White House with then-U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
Actor Elle Fanning is the new face of the collection, first seen donning the 1955 Grain de Café necklace and bracelet on the steps of the Met Gala earlier this month. To promote the new styles, filmmaker Alex Prager directed a 45-second trailer depicting Fanning as a glamorous yet mysterious figure wearing the Grain de Café necklace, bracelet, and ring. The trailer pays homage to 1950s elegance, film, and the women who pioneered the collection’s fame.