From the moment cinema invented stars, jewellery – alongside long satin dresses and platinum blonde hair – has been an indispensable accessory for these new goddesses... How could it be any other way? If they didn't shine, how could they illuminate the night?

And just like that, these jewels have gone from being glamorous accessories to objects of desire, passion and fantasy, sometimes becoming a main character in the film, or even its subject – the very heart of the plot... Not all stars cry diamond tears as they do in the magical and moving film Beauty and the Beast. Jean Cocteau, the director, was disappointed by the lack of brilliance of the imitation diamonds and asked Cartier to lend him real ones - but all stars know to what they owe their lustre, their sparkle.

Are diamonds not a girl's best friend? So sang Marilyn Monroe... Ever since Rudolph Valentino wore his Tank watch in The Son of the Sheik in 1926, Cartier jewellery has been adorning the stars, both on screen - in more than five hundred films by the most prestigious directors - and in the city, enhancing their glamour and mystery. Here are just a few of the pieces worn by exceptional women, dazzling testimonies to the excellence of Cartier creations throughout the years. Like a magnificent launch pad for the imagination, an open door to the world of dreams...

curator-writter: Jean-Pierre Lavoignat, scenography and artistic direction: Atelier Sylvain Roca, graphism: Atelier Bastien Morin, lights: Aura, composer: Christian Holl, video creation: Iconem

Photographs and illustrations: 

Scenography: Think utopia, Sylvain Roca

Collection Cartier: Vincent Wulveryck, Nils Herrmann, Marian Gérard