Cartier’s Love bracelet has captivated couples for half a century and it’s easy to see why.
Cartier’s Love bracelet has captivated couples for half a century and it’s easy to see why, writes Melissa Twigg
The Cartier Love bracelet has been coveted by millions for nearly 50 years. This is because there is something of the fairy tale about it. It is fitted on the wrist by a jeweller and can only be removed with a screwdriver, which means it is as close to saying “I will love you forever” as a piece of jewellery can get.
The Love bracelet has been famous since the 1970s when iconic couples such as Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor wore the matching gold bands on their wrists as an illustration of their feelings for one another. Although in the case of Burton and Taylor, the bracelets were more enduring than their famously volatile relationship.
Designed as a unisex item, the Love bracelet was launched in 1969 after designer Aldo Cipullo hit on the idea of creating a piece of jewellery that wasn’t meant to work around a certain outfit or time of day, but one that would sit with the wearer week after week, becoming as much a part of them as their glossy haircut or signature scent.
And as a testament to endurance and passion, the Love bracelet soon became the bracelet of choice for lovers looking to declare their happiness to the world. Celebrities from Steve Mcqueen and Ali Macgraw to Sophia Loren and Carlo Ponti have bound themselves together with Love bracelets. Rather than a tattoo of their beloved’s name on their skin, modern celebrities are choosing to spell it out in solid gold, with Angelina Jolie, Pippa Middleton, Jennifer Aniston and Scarlett Johansson routinely spotted in bracelets with their signature diamond screws.
And while Kylie Jenner may famously have been unable to remove her Love bracelet for four years, we know that, unlike ending a relationship, it takes a moment to unlock the screws. Although with a bracelet this beautiful, we understand Kylie’s keenness to keep it on for nearly half a decade.