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Born in 1969, in an era of rebellion and romance, the Cartier LOVE bracelet was a symbol of devotion unlike any other. Designed by Aldo Cipullo for Cartier New York, it fused clean lines with industrial chic, sealed shut using a tiny screwdriver. With its oval silhouette and screws, it challenged the norms of traditional jewellery design and defined a generation’s idea of modern love. Fast-forward to today, and Cartier writes a new chapter in the LOVE collection’s story – one that centres not on romantic attachment, but on the beauty of self-connection. This new era is bolder, more inclusive, and deeply personal.
The Cartier LOVE bracelet needs no introduction. A lasting icon of the jewellery world, it has formed a key part of the zeitgeist for designer and sentimental jewellery from its conception in 1969 right up until the present day. With an ever-modern aesthetic, the bracelet racks up an estimated 350,000 online searches per month (it was 2016’s most Googled piece of jewellery).
Jewellery is inherently sentimental – think engagement rings, wedding bands, birthstones, the marketing is endless – yet Cartier is the only house to name an entire collection ‘LOVE’, making it uniquely iconic in an industry fuelled by gestures of love.
The history of the love collection
The Cartier LOVE bracelet was imagined by the Italian designer Aldo Cipullo in 1969. The son of a Neapolitan jeweller, Cipullo made a name for himself in the Big Apple in the early 1960s before joining Cartier New York in 1969.
Significantly, Cipullo was Cartier’s first designer to be singled out, breaking its strict policy of designer anonymity. Lending a bold and industrially inspired approach to jewellery, Cipullo embraced the spirit of 1970s rebellion and romance. Designed to be worn for extended periods of time by both men and women in romantic liaisons, the LOVE bracelet was formed from two solid gold semi-circles, decorated with screw heads and intended to be secured with a tiny screwdriver by a lover. Inspired by mechanics and tooling in his own workshop, as well as previous Cartier designs and archives, Cipullo would design the equally industrial Juste Un Clou collection just two years later.
In the 1970s, when New York was at the height of the ‘free love’ era that rejected traditional monogamy and liberation, the LOVE bracelet was presented as a rebellious symbol of commitment and intimacy. The notion of attachment and locking a solid gold bracelet to a romantic partner became a bold statement in the era of experimentation. These pieces were typically designed in bold proportions, set in textured gold and adorned with unpolished crystals, large precious gemstones and hardstones. Against this backdrop, the Cartier LOVE bracelet was a sleek, modern and clean outlier whose permanent and lasting appeal challenged the norms of changing one’s jewels for each outfit.
Similarly set apart from Cartier’s own back catalogue of bespoke orders for tiaras and suites for high-society clientele, the LOVE bracelet was intended as a universal and modern symbol of devotion unlike any other.
And everlasting they have become, possessing a part of the cultural imagination ever since their inception. Defining a generation’s idea of modern love, these notoriously difficult to put on – and remove – bracelets have developed a lore of their own.
A canonical yet timeless jewellery design, the Cartier LOVE bracelet has of course evolved over its 56 years, and the Maison has felt a duty to maintain a careful balance between “nodding to the heritage but also looking to the future”, as explained by Arnaud Carrez, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Cartier. With a design so iconic, it is “more complicated, more challenging to enrich an existing collection than to design the new ones.” Previous versions of the collection include the setting of diamonds in place of the screws in the 1970s, white and rose gold versions in the following decade, and a new screw clasp system in 2011, allowing the screws to remain attached to the bracelet, and preventing the risk of loss during use.
Unveiled this September, however, is the boldest iteration of the LOVE collection to date, fittingly named ‘LOVE Unlimited’
A new era in the Cartier love story
Carrez explained to GRAZIA that “the philosophy at Cartier is to constantly transform, nurture our iconic collections”, with the notoriety of the LOVE collection perhaps presenting the highest stakes of all. The LOVE Unlimited collection is a true feat of innovation, the result of over 100 trials and prototypes for Cartier during development. Presenting a new “love story without limits”, this collection embodies an ergonomic, second-skin version of the original bracelet.
Reimagining the rigid oval shape of Cipullo’s bracelet, the LOVE Unlimited collection embraces a fluid and flexible design. No longer centred on romantic attachment but on the beauty of self- connection, the new LOVE Unlimited collection features a flexible bracelet made of 200 specially miniaturised components and is fastened by an invisible clasp. Elegantly reinterpreting the original spirit of the LOVE bracelet, with resplendent links and refined updates, this contemporary jewel is designed to retain the deeply personalmsymbolism of the first design, enriched with contemporary considerations.
Easy to put on and take off by oneself, Carrez describes this innovation as truly “unlimited”, a user-friendly and inclusive design that can cater to all love – whether self-love, romantic love, platonic love, or simply a love of jewellery – “Love is one of the founding pillars of the Maison.”
The screw motif of the 1969 LOVE bracelet now adopts an iconic and decorative function, as well as a practical function, in the LOVE Unlimited collection, providing a striking yet recognisable detail, and adding a fresh perspective on the classic design with an updated clasp. Available in yellow-, rose- and white gold, with bracelets and rings, the new LOVE Unlimited collection writes a new chapter in Cartier’s story, while crucially remaining “very true to the historic LOVE”.
This is expressed beautifully in the modern-day interpretation, featuring two hands clasped, each wearing a LOVE bracelet. The LOVE Unlimited imagery features an identical pose, and incorporates both the historic design and the flexible, fluid links of the LOVE Unlimited bracelet, designed to be stacked together seamlessly to interpret and enrich each wearer’s unique love story and express their individuality.
The notion for this collection was clear in our conversation with Carrez – the interpretation of the LOVE Unlimited bracelet and the sentiment behind it is entirely down to the wearer, and how they want to wear the piece to express themselves. The days of a prescriptive screwdriver-wielding partner have been eschewed in favour of “expressing one’s love or expressing… your singularity, your personality”. This is entirely appropriate for the incredibly diverse consumers of the LOVE collection, as Carrez points out. “The penetration of the interest of LOVE is across the board, across regions and across age brackets.” The LOVE Unlimited collection is not a one-size-fits-all approach, but a modern, fluid and ergonomic homage to a jewel that has a rich, significant and storied heritage.
After all, as Carrez highlights, the significance of LOVE Unlimited brings the notion of love as a pillar of the Maison. Cartier was propelled through the love of three brothers in the early 20th century, and love, of course, features prominently in its collections, but is a very real part of the Maison’s purpose. “The attention to service and to treatment can be in events, can be in our boutiques, the sense of welcoming, also through our philanthropic actions, initiatives [such as] the Cartier Women’s Initiative [and the] the Cartier Philanthropy Foundation.” The Cartier Women’s Initiative is empowering entrepreneurs to drive positive social and environmental change. Likewise, Cartier’s Philanthropy Foundation’s mission is to improve the lives of the most vulnerable communities in the world. “So, love has a true meaning within Cartier. It’s not just a claim, because love is, of course, part of jewellery, but it has a lot of meaning, it has a lot of purpose at Cartier.” As far as we’re concerned, LOVE Unlimited represents the perfect juncture between this internationally renowned Maison’s heritage and its future.
