CARTIER'S CUTE, CHARMING, CREATIVE CREATURES!

CARTIER'S CUTE, CREATIVELY CHARMING CREATURES!

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Cartier’s Ark: a Dazzling Menagerie A zoological garden in its own right, Cartier’s history is inhabited by both domestic and wild animals. A colourful menagerie in which owls and eagles, penguins and pigs, giraffes and herons live side by side. They lend their forms – usually regal, sometimes comic, often wild and occasionally tamed, to the expert hands of Cartier who interprets them with striking realism. As time goes by, expression remains but styles change. The snake’s scales, panther’s spots, parrot’s plumage, turtle’s shell or dolphin’s nose enchant a new generation of buyers. An animal opus that draws inspiration from the untamed beauty of Africa, sacred mysteries of Egypt or Asian dragons and chimeras. The animals, from realism to surrealism, enter the universe of Cartier in the form of small hard-stone sculptures, watches, clocks and jewels. Decorative objects created by Louis Cartier as an alternative to the precious miniature world created by Fabergé in the early 20th century. The beauty of birds inspires him as he admires a winged procession of ibises, owls, storks or lovebirds that at times he abandons for less gracious animals like pig or mouse. Never mind their prosaic nature; Cartier fashions them in pink quartz or white agate and captures the poetry of paying homage to nature, closely reflecting the truth, warts and all. The same holds true for bulldogs with their flattened muzzles, staring wide-eyed, ears pricked up, so bemusing it is difficult to decide whether they are beautiful or ugly. The Duke of Windsor was so fond of these beguiling yet irresistible creatures he commissioned a gold and enamel pin in their honour. For him, Cartier made a striking reconstruction of a bulldog’s head outlined by black enamel collar with tiny red, blue, green and white enamel hearts. Animals have their own language, and Cartier is an unrivalled translator when it comes to using animal metaphors to speak of love, war or peace. Perched side by side, the diamond and platinum budgerigars form a pair espoused for eternity, while in 1945, a bird positioned behind or in front of the bars of a cage, evokes the idea of France that was occupied, then liberated. Animals and reptiles have always been present in the jeweller’s work which Cartier explores with humour in 1920s. A cigarette case, designed with rigorous minimalism in onyx and brushed gold, portrays an alligator poised on a rock, ready to swallow a black moon, a motif inspired by Japanese netsuke. An owl’s head is transformed into a handbag clasp, while a delightful ladybird sits daintily on a cigarette lighter. The panther, symbol of triumphant femininity, has been Cartier's signature since 1914. The striking contrast between black and white markings is evoked thanks to the juxtaposition of onyx and diamonds. Only an intimate few knew it was Louis Cartier’s brilliant colleague, Jeanne Toussaint, nicknamed “the panther”, inspired his design. This woman of exquisite taste and inimitable flair is the creative force behind the jeweller, with her rows of dangling pearl necklaces and cigarette holder held high and who moved with such feline grace. The Duchess of Windsor and Barbara Hutton loved panthers and tigers too. The Duchess commissioned a lorgnette held by a tiger while Hutton ordered a tiger brooch and pair of drop earrings in yellow gold and onyx with emerald eyes. Fully articulated, these cats can move their heads, bodies and legs.Vincennes zoo, on the outskirts of Paris, was where Jeanne Toussaint and artist Peter Lemarchand went to observe the panther and its movements so they could faithfully emulate them into high jewellery. The panther could be found in all its poses: crouching, standing, lying down or leaping. Another urban legend is the two crocodile necklace created for Mexican film star María Félix who brought her pet crocodile into the Cartier workshop in Paris so the jeweller could copy it identically. True, the reptile was only a baby, but trust Maria Felix to squeal to the jeweller drawing the reptile, "Oh, please hurry, it is growing as I speak!" As for French actress Jacqueline Delubac, she made a magnificent appearance at the Proust Ball held by the Rothschilds, in 1972, as the living incarnation of a Magritte painting. On her face, a painted apple and dazzling on her shoulder, a sparkling, surreal, diamond lizard, made by Cartier. Not all women share this consuming passion for predators. Some delicate customers, like French actress Josette Day, the radiant heroine of Jean Cocteau’s film Beauty and the Beast, preferred the graceful lizard or harmless butterfly, fashioned from coral, black enamel and emerald cabochons, flying to land in the form of a winged brooch, on her jacket lapel. There were to be other creatures, such as a dragonfly, whose articulated wings quiver and whose body is laden with cabochon rubies. Such flights of fancy are normal for Cartier, who finds new ways of creating creatures from mineral and stones. Just look at Cartier’s owl with its citrine body or the grey platinum rhinoceros, carved gold eagle or platinum giraffe, paved with diamonds and onyx. Cartier the legend is a living reality today!

1. Parrot clip-brooch Parrot clip-brooch Cartier Paris, 1969 Gold, platinum, brilliant-cut fancy intense yellow diamonds, brilliant- and baguette-cut diamonds, one oval faceted emerald, carved coral. 2. Dolphin bangle Dolphin bangle Cartier Paris, special order, 1969. Engraved gold, 1,028 brilliant-cut diamonds, weighing 33.73 carats in total, two pear-shaped emeralds (eyes). A swivel system on each side allows the bracelet to open. 3.Tiger parure Tiger parure, Cartier Paris, 1986 Necklace and brooch Gold, brilliant-cut fancy intense yellow diamonds, brilliant-cut diamonds, two pear-shaped emeralds (eyes), fancy-shaped onyxes (stripes and nose). The tiger’s legs and tail are articulated, the head swivels. Necklace and brooch can be worn separately. Pair of Creole earclips Cartier Paris, 1987. Gold, brilliant-cut fancy intense yellow diamonds, fancy-cut onyxes (stripes). 4. Panther clip-brooch Panther clip-brooch Cartier Paris, 1949 Platinum, white gold, single-cut diamonds, two pear-shaped yellow diamonds (eyes), one 152.35-carat Kashmir sapphire cabochon, sapphire cabochons (spots). This panther is the second three-dimensional example that Cartier made for the Duchess of Windsor (the first one in gold and black enamel surmounted an emerald cabochon). Sold to The Duchess of Windsor. 5. Lizard bangle Lizard bangle Cartier Paris, 1972 Gold, brilliant-cut fancy intense yellow diamonds, brilliant-cut and pear-shaped diamonds, round faceted emeralds, round faceted sapphires, two ruby cabochons (eyes). Sold to Josette Day. The French actress Josette Day (1914-78) started acting in the movies at the age of five. Her first major roles date from the latter half of the 1930s. She worked with directors such as Abel Gance (Lucretia Borgia, 1935), Julien Duvivier (L’Homme du Jour, 1936) and Marcel Pagnol (her partner during the war, who wrote the screenplay of La Fille du Puisatier for her in 1940). In 1946, Jean Cocteau asked her to play Beauty alongside Jean Marais in La Belle et la Bête, and then cast her in Les Parents Terribles in 1948. In 1950 she married Belgian businessman Maurice Solvay and retired from the movie industry. 6. Dragonfly clip-brooch Dragonfly clip-brooch Cartier Paris, 1953 Platinum, gold, fancy-, emerald-, brilliant, single-, baguette- and rose-cut diamonds, one emerald cabochon, two round faceted rubies and ten calibré-cut rubies. The “tremored” (en tremblant) openwork setting of the wings, each attached to the body by a spring, allows them to flutter at the tiniest movement.