In 1969, while the world watched the Apollo 11 mission lead to humanity’s first step on the moon, a very different kind of moonshot was taking shape in Paris.
By the time Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins landed for the French stop of their 38-day “Giantstep” goodwill tour, three miniature Lunar Excursion Modules were taking off from Cartier’s jewelry benches.
Presented to each crew member at the Hôtel de Crillon, the pieces had been commissioned by French newspaper Le Figaro and financed by a public subscription launched in the days following their safe return to Earth.
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Standing some 15 centimeters tall, their bodies were made of yellow gold “by artisans specialized in the making of what we call boxes, [such as] nécessaires for makeup and cigarette cases,” said Cartier’s director of image, style and heritage Pierre Rainero.
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Meanwhile, the landing gear was made by the jewelry atelier in white gold, considered more sturdy, he added. A microfilm placed inside the structure listed the subscriptors, while a small plaque on the outside was inscribed with the dedication “from the readers of Le Figaro” to each astronaut.
Acquired by Cartier in 2003 at auction, the one presented to Collins has crossed the Atlantic Ocean once more for the Comité Colbert’s exhibition at The Shed in New York City from Tuesday to May 31.
For Cyrille Vigneron, chairman for Cartier Culture and Philanthropy, the project was “one of the most unexpected special orders” that marked an important American prowess celebrated by the entire world — including in France, which has a long-standing relationship of mutual admiration and continuous exchanges with the U.S.
But packed in this sculpture-sized object is a powerful symbolic charge.
Gold’s cosmic origin — it is formed during large-scale events such as neutron star collisions and supernovas before landing on Earth during its formation — and its properties also made a fleeting moment of human technological achievement more permanent.
“Creating [the LEM models] in gold also makes this moment, as Neil Armstrong said ‘a small step’ for him and a giant one for humanity, into a moment of eternity,” said Vigneron. “We will never forget it.”