Harper's Bazaar Arabia

September 2014|Harper’s BAZAAR| 223

WORDS: NATASHA SILVA-JELLY. DON PENNY/STUDIO D

JEWELS

The

ON PLANET

FASHION,

a century is

something of an

eternity. But then in

the world of fi ne

jewellery, as in the jungle,

the panther is a symbol of

power, elegance, and, above all,

endurance. And now, in honour of the

line’s 100th anniversary, the new Panthère de

Cartier collection features more than 50 pieces,

the biggest in the house’s history. Like its devotees, it’s the

embodiment of modern elegance (with a touch of ferociousness thrown

in): a geometric-cut solid-gold ring in the shape of the iconic cat’s gaping

jaw; the 3-D panther atop a mesmerising citrine for a pendant; onyx-

and-diamond bracelets of felines with piercing emerald eyes. Introduced

in 1914 as the black-and-white onyx-and-diamond-pavé motif on

a watch, the panther went on to adorn the hands, wrists, décolletages

and waistlines of the world’s most fashionable women. Indeed, the fi rst

Cartier cat in three-dimensional form came to life as a gold brooch

commissioned by the Duke of Windsor for his wife in 1948. (The

duchess swiftly added the famous star sapphire panther brooch and

a full-fl edged Panthère bracelet to her collection.) Today the wildly

exotic and mystical panther can be found in the jewellery wardrobes of

Bolder and more bedazzling

than ever, La Panthère

celebrates 100 years

strong women

such as Bazaar’s

September cover

star Lady Gaga,

Gwyneth Paltrow, and

Stella McCartney – and

by strong we mean powerful,

because it’s not just every

woman who can pull off a big cat.

Of course, we would not have the legacy

of the panther without the woman who was

its inspiration. Jeanne Toussaint, Cartier’s longtime

artistic director and a friend and muse of Louis Cartier, was

aptly nicknamed La Panthère. Joining the maison around 1918 (there is

no offi cial date in the archives), Jeanne is credited with launching the

reign of the panther: the full cat fi rst appeared in 1917, in onyx on top

of a vanity case Louis designed for her. Through her vision Jeanne helped

reinvent jewellery for the 20th century. “Louis Cartier knew she had an

eye and an understanding of the new elegance for women that was

emerging,” Pierre Rainero, Cartier’s international director of image,

style, and heritage, says of Jeanne, who was renowned for her irreverence

with fashion – her penchant for wearing a turban, a leopard-skin coat,

and silk pajamas at dinner parties. Not surprisingly, her Paris apartment

was fi lled with sleek panther skins. But then a Panthère woman is

nothing if not fearless.

RETURN

PANTHER

OF THE

➤

White gold ring with onyx,

diamonds and emeralds, Cartier