Prestige Singapore – July 2019

THE LOOK

114 PRESTIGE J U LY 2019

She cites the rutilated quartz used in the Aphélie

necklace – a 68.85ct cabochon whose shape mimics the

elliptical orbit of a planet around the sun (the name

references aphelion, the point in a planet’s orbit when it is

farthest from the sun). Transparent, but taking a

chocolatey or silky gold hue due to dense clusters of rutile

(titanium dioxide) inclusions shooting through it, this

gemstone is described by Karachi-Langane as having

captured the sun’s rays.

This whopper is set into a necklace with fancy coloured

diamonds, and a dancing fringe of diamonds and mottled

morganite beads tipped with red coral and onyx in an Art

Deco style. She calls this a solar design that “makes us

travel to the sun”.

The Équinoxe necklace, on the other hand, is a

“precious nebula” of blue lapis lazuli planets and moons,

and a constellation of yellow, orange and white diamond

stars. An unheated 15.48ct yellow Ceylon sapphire, its

natural intensity flashing with hints of orange, is the sun

around which these celestial bodies gravitate. (Yellow

sapphires, incidentally, are believed in astrology to be from

Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, with

79 known moons of its own.)

“The lapis lazuli beads are especially exquisite,”

Karachi-Langane says. “When we discovered them for the

first time, we were impressed by their blue colour, pure and

intense, with very fine golden pyrite inclusions, evocating

the cosmos.”

COLOURFUL HISTORY

This is not the first time that a jeweller has done the high-

low combination. Semiprecious stones have gone through

the crests and troughs of popularity cycles through the

ages. Cartier itself has a long heritage of using hard and

ornamental stones for their colours, energy and symbolism.

Agate, rose quartz, moonstone and aventurine were used in

objets d’art since the early 20th century. Clear rock crystal

“The Théia necklace comprises an

exceptional set of seven round emeralds

from Colombia, incorporated at the heart

of rock crystal motifs, layered in a

stepped architecture”

— Karachi-Langane

Théia necklace (opposite page) in

platinum with seven round Colombian

emeralds totalling 46.09cts, carved

rock crystals, onyx, black lacquer and

brilliant‑cut diamonds. The detachable

motif on the clasp can be worn as a

pendant (above), and the set includes

a matching ring and earrings