Cartier, the renowned Parisian maison, is continuing its celebration of nature and imagination with the unveiling of the second chapter of its Nature Sauvage high jewellery collection. Following its successful debut in Vienna, the new collection was showcased in Shanghai last year, revealing 36 stunning jewels and two high jewellery objets d’art.
This chapter deepens the maison’s commitment to blending nature’s untamed beauty with exceptional craftsmanship, pushing the boundaries of artistry and pushing the concept of a jewelled bestiary.
Cartier style—an elusive fusion of modernity and tradition, creativity and heritage—finds its perfect expression in the Nature Sauvage collection. The pieces go beyond mere depictions of animals, offering living, breathing interpretations of the animal kingdom. The most iconic of these is the panther, which has been an emblem of Cartier since its first appearance in 1914.
For over a century, this graceful feline has taken on countless forms, its beauty and power captured in meticulously crafted jewellery. Cartier designers often study the movements and musculature of big cats to create pieces that showcase their dynamism, from poised, curved forms to abstract, faceted designs.
In this new chapter, Cartier expands its universe with an impressive array of creatures, highlighting the extraordinary variety and vitality of the animal world. For this latest reveal, the Shanghai exhibition was set against a breathtaking backdrop in the refurbished Bund City Hall Plaza.
Inspired by the untamed wilds, the collection takes guests through the natural wonders of the world, beginning with the bamboo forest of Yibin, Sichuan—home to the largest bamboo forest on Earth. Cartier’s interpretation of this delicate environment features jewellery that embodies the lightness and motion of nature, with wings fluttering, leaves rustling, and creatures taking flight.
One of the standout pieces from the collection is the Chryseis necklace, which draws inspiration from the Bombyx Chryseis family of leopard moths. Crafted from platinum, the necklace is adorned with large chalcedony beads, diamonds, and onyx.
Its wings, cleverly designed with curved triangles, seem to flutter as if caught in mid-flight. The centrepiece is a breathtaking 63.76-carat rubellite drop pendant, making the piece both an ode to the beauty of the moth and an exquisite display of Cartier’s expertise in high jewellery.
The Paradisier demi-parure, consisting of a rubellite cocktail ring and matching earrings, captures the elegance of the bird of paradise in mid-flight. The diamonds set in white gold emulate the bird’s graceful movement, while the 23.69-carat rubellite, with its captivating deep reddish-purple hue, adds a striking touch to the ring.
The land-inspired jewels in the collection draw from the vivid beauty of the Rainbow Mountains in China’s Zhangye National Park, a UNESCO Global Geopark known for its colorful rock formations. Cartier’s interpretation of this majestic site is seen in the Vamana necklace, named after one of the mythical world-carrying elephants in Hindu cosmology.
This stunning piece merges geometry and abstraction, composed of diamonds and white gold. The necklace features a dazzling array of diamonds, subtly evoking the form of the elephant, a masterful blend of figurative design with modern geometry that echoes Cartier’s iconic art deco influences.
The Nature Sauvage collection’s second chapter is not just a tribute to the animal kingdom; it is a stunning testament to Cartier’s unparalleled ability to bring the world’s natural beauty into the realm of high jewellery. With each piece, Cartier invites its admirers into a world where the boundaries between nature, art, and craftsmanship are forever blurred.
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