Cartier

Emerald, onyx and diamond brooch, 'Panthère, circa 1988

VAT applies to hammer price and buyer's premium

Auction Closed

May 14, 05:29 PM GMT

Estimate

150,000 - 200,000 CHF

Lot Details

Description

Designed as a panther with a swivel-set head, pavé-set throughout with brilliant-cut diamonds and polished onyx, to pear-shaped emerald eyes and a polished onyx nose, signed Cartier, numbered, French maker's and assay marks for gold, case stamped Cartier.

Accompanied by the original Cartier design drawing, together with a copy of a Cartier insurance valuation, dated 6 July 1988.

The Diamond Menagerie

During its long history, Cartier has offered the world an entire menagerie of highly refined, gem-set animals, from snakes to crocodiles, parrots and flamingoes to ladybugs. No creature, however, is more inextricably linked to the legendary French Maison - and indeed to twentieth century jewellery design - than the panther and its majestic feline cousin the tiger.

Lead-designer Jeanne Toussaint famously developed the first fully three-dimensional panther in 1946 for the Duchess of Windsor. This panther rested defiantly on top of a round cabochon sapphire globe and was decorated with buff-top sapphire spots. Earlier in its history, the panther had already crept into Cartier’s lexicon in the form of a lady’s wristwatch with discreet polished onyx spots and as a two-dimensional feline featured on a cigarette case.

Following her first sapphire and diamond panther brooch, the Duchess of Windsor commissioned several declinations of the panther as well as the tiger, featuring polished onyx stripes and diamonds of yellow tint, set in yellow gold. In 1956, she acquired a tiger bracelet and requested a matching clip in 1959. Other major jewellery collectors followed suit, and the panther and tiger have not left Cartier’s active repertoire ever since. In recent years, Cartier has created a plethora of variations on this theme, incorporating a range of new, innovative shapes and colours.