CARTIER | ART DECO EMERALD AND DIAMOND BROOCH | 卡地亞 | Art Deco 11.13卡拉「哥倫比亞」無油祖母綠 配 鑽石 胸針

The Eye of Cartier

By the turn of the 20^th century, Cartier was a well-established jewellery house. Advances in technology permitted a revolutionary change of style. Platinum, the new metal, gave lightness and flexibility, providing a perfect medium for the favoured bows and wreaths, giving way to a new vernacular in jewellery. Jewels of the Art Deco era were characterised by bold geometric patterns, colour, texture and rich exoticism infused from Persian, Indian, Oriental, Russian and Egyptian influences.

Parisian designer Charles Jacqueau was one of the pivotal figures at Cartier, responsible for this dynamic change of jewelry design. Jacqueau worked for more than twenty years alongside Louis Cartier. Together they spurred each other’s creativity, exploring beyond the formal constraints of design to create a fantastic new paradigm, influenced by stimuli from exotic cultures. Indian and Persian miniatures inspired stylized plant patterns, as did the central medallion of Persian carpets. These forms would reappear abstracted and tempered by colour and texture, sometimes further embellished with ancient artifacts.

This diamond and emerald brooch is a rare and beautiful example of work by Cartier from this productive and creative period. The outline of the brooch is Persian inspired. Perhaps its origins can be traced from Louis Cartier’s personal Persian miniature collection, which was then transformed by Jacqueau into a jewel. Alternatively, the brooch may have derived from any number of exhibitions in Paris on Islamic art. A drawing in pen and ink by Jacqueau, circa 1912, shows similar ideas for brooches. Two later sketches by Jacqueau, for a headdress with tassel, depicts this reoccurring emerald and diamond motif. Undoubtedly, this was not only a popular theme but a favourite colour combination, which harkens to remodeling of Indian jewels that were dominated by important Colombian emeralds which had been collected in the 1700s.

Brooches of this size and design reflected the current fashion of the era. Worn against a diaphanous column-form dress, pinned at the neckline or near the dropped waist, or alternatively pinned stylishly on a hat. Few of these early American jewels produced by Cartier New York survive in its original form, which makes this a rare and beautiful example of the bygone era.

卡地亞靈魂之窗

二十世紀初，卡地亞已是一家頗具規模的珠寶商。 工藝的進步使珠寶風格產生了革命性的變化。 鉑金在當時是一種新式的金屬，輕巧而具有彈性，為打造當時流行的蝴蝶結和花環樣式，提供了絕佳的材質，逐漸在珠寶界佔有一席之地。 裝飾藝術時期的珠寶以大膽的幾何圖案、鮮明的色彩與結構性、以及濃厚的異國風情為特色，深受波斯、印度、東方、俄羅斯和埃及文化的影響。

巴黎的設計師查爾斯·雅克高（Charles Jacqueau）是卡地亞的靈魂人物之一，為珠寶設計注入了蓬勃的活力。 雅克高與路易·卡地亞（Louis Cartier）一起工作了二十多年。 他們同樣受到來自異國文化的影響，共同激發了彼此的創意，不斷在超越設計的形制之外探索，創造出令人驚嘆的新奇典範。例如從印度和波斯細密畫的靈感中發展出植物風格的圖騰，又從波斯地毯的中央紋飾得到啟發。 這些形象透過顏色和層次結構，有時甚至飾以古代文物，以抽象和融合的手法重現於珠寶。

這款祖母綠鑲鑽石的胸針，正是卡地亞在這個饒富創造力的年代，製做出的珍罕而美麗的作品。 胸針的輪廓受波斯藝術啟發；或許其設計起源可以追溯到路易斯·卡地亞的個人波斯細密畫收藏，然後由查爾斯·雅克高轉變為珠寶。 又或者，設計靈感可能來自巴黎許多有關伊斯蘭藝術的展覽。大約1912年，雅克高一幅鋼筆墨水畫的手稿，描繪了類似的胸針構想。 雅克高隨後的兩幅素描，飾有流蘇頭飾，亦描繪了這款重複出現的祖母綠鑲鑽石設計圖。 毫無疑問，這不僅是一個受歡迎的主題，而且是最喜歡的配色，並示意著從西元1700年以來，以重要的哥倫比亞祖母綠為主題的印度風珠寶的重現。

如此尺寸和設計的胸針，反映了當時的風尚。可以佩戴在輕薄的連身洋裝上、別在領口或束腰處，甚至時髦地別在帽子上。 紐約卡地亞生產的這些早期美國珠寶中，能以其原貌保存至今的絕無僅有，使得這件彰顯時代風華的珠寶典範更顯珍稀和難得。