From the first panther to bare its teeth in 1914 to the magnificence of the Maison’s modern menagerie, Cartier’s fascination with animal magic goes back well over a century. From cute agate-carved chicks to golden, snarling crocodiles, a world of beasts and creatures has cast its spell over generations of fans of the brand, with illustrious names including the Duchess of Windsor Wallace Simpson and legendary Mexican actress Maria Félix commissioning and revelling in their daringly savage high jewellery collections. It’s this sense of ferocity that has inspired Cartier’s latest Nature Sauvage collection, bringing together icons of the Maison’s wildest creations — and this time their heritage is brought bang up to date.
“Nature Sauvage is a fresh look at the Cartier bestière,” says Jacqueline Karachi, Cartier’s creative director, of the high jewellery collection. “It’s meant to amaze, surprise and be full of unexpected encounters, bringing the animals into a dream-like location and environment and giving them a sense a modernity.” It’s a modern collection indeed, ranging from the most literal interpretations of these fabulous creatures to the very abstract, hidden and camouflaged. And it’s not just a purely ‘animal’ collection either — the famed Cartier geometry and architecture is present and correct, often borrowing from the very patterns of the animals themselves.
“With this expressive jewellery we wanted to showcase their character, vitality, personality and — most of all — soul,” says Jacqueline. “We wanted to talk about their anima, which in Latin means soul, so it’s a subtle way of speaking about something else, like a freeze-frame in the life of nature and this animal. Just an instant in their existence. For me, the most important aspect of this collection is its soul.”
With this wild high jewellery collection taking Cartier’s bestiary to new frontiers, who did Jacqueline and her team have in mind when visualising these fleets of animalistic fantasy? Like all good Cartier pieces, there’s a huge dash of personality involved when it comes to connecting and falling in love with these creations. “A client never chooses a piece by chance — the piece speaks to them,” smiles Jacqueline. “It’s a part of his or her own story. They blend their atmosphere with that of the jewel, and when we see them worn, it’s completely different for every wearer. The expression of the animal speaks to them. It may be a part of their character that they want to show.”
Luckily, MOJEH was able to get to know some of the collection’s untamed denizens better at a lavish Viennese launch. And, in an exclusive interview, here’s what Jacqueline had to say about them...
Mochelys
The Turtle
MOJEH: First the release of the new Tortue models at Watches and Wonders, and now this — it’s proving to be a big year for the turtle at Cartier! How did you decide on a vivid pink for this transformable necklace?
Jacqueline Karachi: “The shape and the volume of the stone inspired the designer to design the sea turtle because of the motif, the pattern, you see on its shell. It’s like a leaf, so you can imagine the continuity of the necklace like a floral piece, like camouflage. It’s completely abstract, but at the same time it moves like an animal.”
Alae
The Beetle
M: Alae is an energy-filled lesson in complexity — slowly transforming from a geometric, art deco icon into a more organic shape as the eye travels up the length of the necklace. What inspired this design? Architecture, nature or both?
JK: “This is what we call ‘hybridisation’ — a very static, art deco skyscraper, which reflects the Cartier style, but at the same time with a dynamism. So we imagined the metamorphosis of this skyscraper into the beating of a beetle’s wings. It goes from something that’s very architectural and static below to a very naturalistic beetle’s pattern above, and we give you the answer to this design enigma with the form of the beetle at the top, on the necklace’s sliding clasp.”
Celestun
The Flamingo
M: A piece with so many levels — animal, flora and the water below — how did you create the artistic perspective that allows us to see this piece like a painting, a little world of its own?
JK: “Generally, we very rarely use rough emeralds in high jewellery — normally we would cut them. But we added aquamarine which inspired a very aquatic environment for this piece, with the green of the reeds. And the crystallisation of the emerald alongside the aquamarine, as they come from the same family, is very vertical. At first look you don’t see the flamingo, but afterwards you discover it blended into the vegetation. So in this case, again, the stone was the initial inspiration — as with almost all the pieces in this collection.”
Koaga
The Zebra
M: How does the combination of stark onyx on diamond with openworking and a pop of deep pink rubellite breathe life into this animal’s signature stripes?
JK: “We wanted to design this zebra like calligraphy — just with lines. It’s very graphic, and just like in the wild each zebra’s coat is unique to the animal. The zebra symbolises courage, and the significance of the red in this piece is power. The interaction between the zebra, which is just lines, with the sensuality of the rubellite is very expressive.”
Amphista
The Snake
M: Two hyper-realistic snakes lie alongside a boldly geometric checkerboard design — drawn from the scales of the snakes themselves. This is classic Cartier genius, taking the perfection of nature and amplifying it. The stones are so impressive; did the design spring up around them, or did they have to be sourced to fit the piece?
JK: “Emerald-cut emeralds are generally used to design classical necklaces, for their evocation of architecture. In this necklace, we play with the verticality of the buildings to use it for the scales of the snake. You can see the line — the snakes are completely hidden in the buildings. They are twin snakes, a very unexpected encounter between the reptiles and the architecture. They are almost like chameleons, hidden in their environment.”
Panthère Jaillissante
The Panther
M: One of the collection’s most awe-inspiring pieces is the Panthère Jaillissante — it seems to flow over the hand. What gives the piece its suppleness?
JK: “We imagined an interaction between the hand and the animal, based on the movement of each. It needed to be completely articulated to fit every dimension of the hand and wrist — in the end, it’s very technical, but it’s a technicality you can’t see. This panther can fit every woman. It gives you power. The interaction between the wearer and the piece is fascinating, because they wear each other. It’s a very strong piece.” Discover the collection
