Those who have been keeping their ear to the ground know that there’s never a quiet moment at Cartier’s gilded menagerie. The enigmatic panther—a permanent resident at the Parisian house since creative director Jeanne Toussaint breathed life into it circa 1940—continuously fills the air with its blissful purring. Its revving contentment is interrupted only by a faint cacophony of the crocodile’s bellowing, zebra’s braying, giraffe’s humming, and the like.
Cartier, despite its extensive catalogue of life, shows no sign of slowing down. It recently lassoes another group of festooned faunae for a high jewellery collection that pushes the boundaries beyond the design physicality. Nature Sauvage dissects the animals it is inspired by and extracts the very essence that makes them unique. A sense of mobility can be spotted in a number of styles, while others are imbued with the kind of adaptability that the prey relies on to ward off predators.
“A new perspective on the Cartier animals to surprise, amaze and bring modernity by way of unexpected encounters,” says director of high jewellery creation Jacqueline Karachi in a statement. “Expressive jewellery, which showcases the attitudes and personality of an animal, its vitality. Like an actor, it plays with graphics, volume, and optical illusions, blending into an imaginary landscape. This is the spirit of Nature Sauvage,” she adds.
Illustrating the vision to a stunning outcome is the Mochelys necklace. Crafted in sumptuous yellow gold, the piece conceals a turtle within its vine of rubellites and diamonds. A closer, concentrated look is needed to lure it out but the payoff is priceless once the silhouette of a turtle gnawing on a 71.90-carat rubellite comes into sight. Even more interesting is that the turtle is unbounded by its habitat—it may tiptoe away from the necklace and onto one’s lapel.
Equally inconspicuous, the Amphista necklace does a tremendous job of camouflaging its two serpents among a lavish garland of precious stones. Mirroring each other to play up the piece’s symmetrical proportion, the snakes sport kite diamond crowns that further elevate the necklace’s graphic geometry. Their diamond scales, ablaze under the sunlight, are dotted with emeralds including the nine octagons of Colombian origin totalling 14.72 carats.
Phantasm takes turn for the trippy with the Koaga rivière. With its luscious coat of alternating onyx and diamond stripes, exposing the skin of the wearer with its openwork design, Cartier’s zebra hides in plain sight. It sparks a psychedelic experience akin to staring at the black-and-white spiral in an attempt at covert hypnosis. The only contrasting motif here is the 6.25-carat pear-shaped rubellite hung like a bale of hay that the African equine tries to have come undone.
This game of hide-and-seek, albeit exciting and endlessly impressive, is not all that the collection has to offer. Nature Sauvage is no one-trick pony. Its three-dimensional Tatsu necklace, for instance, depicts the Chinese dragon in all of its glory. Paying homage to the Asian arts and the house’s signature colour palette with its red and black juxtaposition, the necklace has the mythical beast sinking its teeth into a pendant adorned with onyx and rubies from Mozambique.
It goes without saying that Nature Sauvage wouldn’t be whole without Cartier’s house cat. The Panthère Jaillissante ring-bracelet especially stands out for its suppleness—a testament to the brand’s craftsmanship. With its arm stretched out for the ring, like a kitten under a spell of a ball of yarn, the panther flaunts its sparkly skin of diamonds and sapphires. Its curious gaze, however, does not distract it from guarding the 8.63-carat Zambian emerald underneath.
Entering the bountiful nature reserve of Cartier, the animals roam freely and reveal themselves in ways that have never been seen before. A talented cast of artisans led by Karachi ponders on the scenery and begins putting pen to paper, expressing the contours as well as the character of each critter. The result is beyond one’s wildest imagination: masterpieces with generous volumes, precise designs, and spectacular savoir-faire present themselves at first light.