Precious Gems and Minerals Collide with Creative Flair at Cartier

Quartz with pyrite inclusions, grey sapphire, rubellites, amazonites…the second part of Cartier’s Magnitude collection, which was partly previewed during Paris couture week and will be fully unveiled in New York this November, continues to give lesser-known gemstones a leading role with precious stones in support. The first 69 pieces of the 120-piece collection, was unveiled in London in June and many pieces immediately sold out.

One of the star pieces on show in Paris was undoubtedly the Airavata necklace which features a 125.51-carat, oval-shaped cabochon-cut star grey blue sapphire held within the trunk of a large elephant head that glitters with white diamonds, finely carved ivory jasper tusks and orange diamond eyes. Another standout piece was the Upsala necklace which features an 11.45-carat, cushion-shaped pastel yellow-green Burmese sapphire, along with a cushion-shaped pastel bluish-green sapphire (9.82 carat) and pastel violet sapphire (8.83 carats) artfully mixed with rutilated quartz and jade beads.

 Juxtaposing these gemstones is unusual for high jewellery, which tends to focus on precious stones — emeralds, sapphires, rubies and diamonds. Here, the French jeweller plays with opacity and transparency, pure colours and shimmering nuances to create one-of-a-kind statement pieces that still dazzle.

 Inspired by a sourcing trip with Cartier’s gemologists to Tucson’s annual Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase in the US, Cartier’s creative director, Jacqueline Karachi-Langane, says she wanted to create a collection featuring a dialogue between precious stones and ornamental gems, combining them “without any distinction about rarity and preciousness.”

 “In the end, preciousness is not only about value: it is about beauty,” she remarks.

 Cartier has a long history of using hard stones, such as agate, moonstones, rose quartz and rock crystal, though they were more commonly featured in its mystery clocks and decorative objects, such as cigarette and powder boxes in the 1910s and ‘20s. In the 1930s, encouraged by its early experiments with colour, Cartier included “semi-precious” stones, such as peridot, citrine and aquamarine, in jewellery even daring to incorporate these in ceremonial pieces such as two tiaras created for guests at King George VI’s coronation in 1937.

 “Cartier always played with contrasts, particularly colour contrasts in the time of Louis Cartier and Jeanne Toussaint. But, in recent years, there’s also been a play of contrasts between shadow and light, between brilliance and something more graphic, with onyx combinations to create effects of depth, kinetic effects, and to play on transparency or something more opaque… to create a surprise,” Karachi-Langane says.

 Amongst the new pieces unveiled, the Mauna set features unusual rectangular bicoloured imperial topazes along with baguette-cut coloured sapphires, rutilated quartz and brilliant-cut diamonds. The Alaya set brings together ruby beads and cabochon cut rubies with cabochon-cut tourmalines, cabochon-cut amazonites (replacing the usual turquoise in the colour combination), onyx, rose-cut diamonds, brilliant-cut diamonds, all in a geometric composition reminiscent of the 1930s’ Art Deco style that screams Cartier, while the Hyades mixes cabochon-cut rubellites set against slices of quartz with strong pyrite inclusion and diamonds – a red and black contrast often associated with Cartier. The Hyades necklace has a sliding system that allows it to be worn at different lengths.

 “Cartier’s vocation is to recognise the beauty of stones. All kinds of stones. We pay great regard to quality – purity, transparency, intense colours, etc. – but we are also looking for something more, something special,” Karachi-Langane muses.

 Pushing the boundaries of transformability, which is very much in demand amongst haute joaillerie clients who often want their pieces to be multi-functional, the Discures diamond necklace has two D IF type IIa pear-shaped centre diamonds, one of 26.37 carats and one 26.35 carats, that are detachable and can be worn as earrings.

This Story was first published in PRESTIGE SINGAPORE SEPTEMBER EDITION, 2019