Cartier at Tefaf in New York, exceptional pieces with an extraordinary story ♦ ︎
At the Tefaf Autumn Edition, in the second time in New York, the catalog has shown several pieces of Cartier that you can see with a special attention. It is, in fact, jewels (plus a box) that stand out for history and artistic quality. This is the case, for example, of a bracelet that is inspired by two carved, coral carved chimera with round and oval cabochon emeralds and square, round and circular diamonds, round yellow gold hinges. Each one opens in the opposite direction. The jewel remembers the shape of the ancient bracelets with animal heads found by archaeologists: they were used mainly by Middle Eastern and Mediterranean civilizations, from Assyria to Greece. The Cartier bracelet is mounted on platinum and yellow gold. It also has a story that is worth telling.
The Duchess of Windsor
In 1923, Louis Cartier created a clasp with a chimera head (head of a lion, body of a goat and dragon tail) carved in coral, diamonds and emeralds with gold and platinum. It was the first Art Deco chimera: it would become an iconic form of Cartier. The chimera is also a symbol of longevity and success. Cartier has created several chimera-shaped bracelets from 1927 to 1929. In 1933 Jeanne Toussaint assumed the post of director of the luxury jewelery department. At the end of the 1940s the figure of the chimera came back to the fore when the Duchess of Windsor bought a pink coral bracelet very similar to that exposed to Tefaf. Jeanne Toussaint then modernized the design with decorative motifs of Indian inspiration, and with diamonds and emeralds. Federico Graglia
The Renaissance of Alessandro Dari” (Modifica)”>
