The Cartier LOVE Bracelet

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Recently, someone came into our shop and wanted a gift for his wife. We walked around the shop looking through our cases, when he noticed a bracelet on my wrist. I was wearing one of my favorite items, my Cartier LOVE bracelet in rose gold. He loved the bracelet and wanted to know more about it. As I showed him how the bracelet was designed, including the special screwdriver that is used to open and close it, I could see his eye widen. He was hooked. Not only did he get his wife a stunning and timeless piece of jewelry, he also got a bracelet that spoke to his engineering mind. It got me thinking, where did this unique design come from? Interested, read on…

The Cartier LOVE was designed in 1969 by Aldo Cipullo. Cipullo was born in Rome, and had the lucky fortune of being born into an Italian family that owned a costume jewelry business. With a talent for design, Cipullo, studied design in Florence, Italy, before traveling to NYC to finish his education at the School of Visual Arts.

A talented jewelry designer, Cipullo’s resume showed that he designed for David Webb and Tiffany and Co. before signing on as the in-house designer at Cartier. It was during his first year at Cartier, that Cipullo designed the Cartier LOVE bracelet.

 

If you are the lucky owner of one of these bracelets, than you know that they only way to put it on or take it off is to unscrew it. There is no clasp. A “seemless shackle” as many have described it. Each bracelet comes with its own screwdriver for this purpose.

Cipullo, designed this bracelet to be worn by both partners (a modern day chastity belt) to show the world that owner was taken and “shackled” to someone else.

To say that this bracelet was hit would be a gross understatement. Seen on the Hollywood nobility in the 1970s, (Ali MacGraw, Elizabeth Taylor both wore one on the big screen) this bracelet has become one of the bestselling Cartier items ever! So popular, that they have updated the design to include diamonds and other precious metals.

At Jonathan’s, was have several of bracelets that we have purchased from our clients over the years. Schedule a time to visit the shop, and we would be happy to show you how the bracelet works.