A hundred pieces from a private collection are up for auction, including those from Cartier’s Panthère line.
The Cartier Panthère collection is a legend among jewelry enthusiasts. On October 22, 2026, Dorotheum is auctioning “Hundred Highlights from an Important German Collection,” which comprises over one hundred luxury objects, including iconic Cartier jewelry, as well as Bulgari pieces and Hermès handbags. Starting prices range from €100 to €100,000. Dorotheum expects the one hundred selected objects to generate a total of between €1 and €2 million.
Cartier’s Panthère collection was born in 1914, with the contribution of Jeanne Toussaint, who joined Cartier in 1918 and became creative director of the jewelry department in the 1930s. She was nicknamed La Panthère for her penchant for leopard prints. The graphic motif later extended to feline-inspired jewelry. The first fully three-dimensional panther brooch was created in 1948 for the Duchess of Windsor (Wallis Simpson), marking the definitive affirmation of this legendary creation.
The auction features 18 Panthère creations: watches, earrings, rings, bracelets, and necklaces that embody one of the most recognizable icons of Haute Joaillerie and indomitable femininity. Such as a rare wristwatch with brilliant-cut diamonds and black jade (estimate €20,000–€40,000), a bracelet with diamonds and numerous sapphires (€40,000–€80,000), a bracelet with brilliant-cut diamonds, emerald eyes, and black lacquer (€20,000–€40,000), and a pair of three-dimensional earrings with brilliant-cut diamonds (€3,000–€6,000).
Alongside Cartier creations, the auction collection features a selection of rare, untreated colored gemstones from Zambia, Madagascar, and Vietnam. A diamond necklace with a 4.97-carat emerald from Zambia is estimated at €40,000–€80,000, a diamond ring with a 5.77-carat untreated sapphire from Madagascar is valued at €15,000–€30,000, while a diamond ring with a 5.50-carat ruby from Vietnam is estimated at €60,000–€120,000. On display from October 1, 2026, at Palais Dorotheum, Dorotheergasse 17, 1010 Vienna.
