CARTIER'S UNTAMED LEGACY: FAUNE & FLORE DE CARTIER
words by DEBORAH DRENOFCI
Cartier's fauna motifs date back to the early 20th century, starting with birds and insects, then came the reptiles, felines, and chimeras, followed by the zebra and the elephant. At the throne stands the Panther — the muse of the Maison — who first appeared in three-dimensional sculptural form in 1948. Into this world now steps Cartier's new ambassador, Scottish actor Tilda Swinton, who brings her enigmatic presence to the Maison's continuous exploration of wildlife and jewellery. This new collection brings forward five captivating creatures which — as Pierre Rainero, Director of Image, Style and Heritage, states — carry their own symbolic force, a reflection of attitude, personality, and state of mind.
images courtesy of CARTIER
WHERE COLOUR MEETS CREATURE
The detailed work of designers, jewellers, lapidaries, and gem-setters has given life to rings with tiger, parrot, carp, crocodile, and rhinoceros heads. The beauty of these creations is found in the details. Remaining loyal to the Maison's historical traditions, each animal gets its own colour identity. Red and green appear in the parrot through coral and tsavorite garnets. For the rhinoceros, orange and opaline come through spessartite garnet and smoky quartz. White, black, and green embody the crocodile through diamonds, onyx spikes, and emeralds. At last, for the tiger and carp, shades of blue come through sapphire, aquamarine and dumortierite quartz.
THE CRAFTSMANSHIP BEHIND THE MAGIC
The jeweller carves each head, blends metals such as the platinum and yellow gold of the parrot, and switches between surfaces of white gold for the rhinoceros, in order to match its original colour. The paving techniques are the defining hallmarks of the Maison. Fur setting — a specific technique of angling stones at slightly different directions — is used to mimic the texture and light-catching quality of the tiger's fur, the scales of the crocodile, or the carp's lips. Such jewellery techniques evoke the sense of wild nature. The lapidary's hand shapes and polishes each gemstone. The rhinoceros's horns are softened in opalescent smoky quartz, traced with a line of black lacquer; the carp's gills are carved from dumortierite quartz; the parrot's feathers take form in coral and onyx; and the tiger's stripes emerge in dumortierite quartz.
THE TWO MARVELS OF THE ATELIER
The crocodile and the tiger sets, each consisting of a bracelet and necklace, move between realism and abstraction. One clear purpose ran through both: to give the animal its full presence.
The crocodile head draws on white, green, and black — a colour trio rooted in the Maison's own history. A combination of diamonds whose shape mirrors the onyx spikes, a design signature of the Maison, portrays the scales of the crocodile.
The tiger head turns instead to shades of blue — dumortierite quartz for its stripes, sapphire paving across the head and body, and aquamarine set into the eyes. Its opening mechanism is hidden inside the mouth, a detail that keeps the bracelet's line unbroken.
THE PANTHÈRE DE CARTIER SET
The Panther takes centre stage in an all-white tête-à-tête bracelet, its coat entirely paved and spotted with geometric diamonds. Varying diamond sizes alternate with caviar paving, extending the play of light across the white gold structure, while two emerald eyes, encircled by fur setting, complete her gaze.
Her presence extends into time itself. Crafted at Cartier's Métiers d'Art workshop, the Panthère jewellery watch takes the form of a medallion inspired by the ancestral art of the cameo, set with onyx for the nose and dial, tsavorite garnets for the eyes, diamonds along the case and bezel, and stylised spots finished in lacquer drawn from the Maison's vintage pieces.
From the parrot's feathers to the Panther's coat, each creature carries its own character, built on the same century-old savoir-faire that has defined Cartier's fauna. To wear one is to carry a piece of that wildness with you.
