Rock Crystal, Mother-of-Pearl and Enamel "Chinoiserie" Desk Clock, Cartier, circa 1925

The arched rock crystal case inset with a circular dial of lacquered mother-of-pearl featuring a Chinese couple in a landscape, the hands set with rose-cut diamonds, the chapter ring applied with translucent red enamel Roman numerals alternating with rose-cut diamonds within a royal blue enamel ground, the feet decorated with blue enamel and full rose-cut diamond flowerheads, case signed Cartier and European Watch & Clock Co., Inc., France, numbered 1550, movement by European Watch & Clock Co., height 3¼ inches.

By the mid 1920s, Cartier had begun to incorporate true Chinese mother-of-pearl lacquer, mostly taken from bowls, trays or tables, into their designs. Used most effectively on boxes and clocks, these panels satisfied the both the Art Deco taste for unusual color combinations and the strong feeling for things exotic. For other examples of clocks featuring lacquered mother-of-pearl, see Le Temps de Cartier, Jader Barracca, Giampiero Negretti and Franco Nencini, pp. 169, 172-173 and 176.