The passage discusses Cartier's Panthère de Cartier jewelry collection which celebrates its 100th anniversary. It traces the origins of the panther motif back to 1918 when Jeanne Toussaint, Cartier's artistic director, was nicknamed "La Panthère" and first featured the panther on a vanity case. The panther became one of Cartier's most popular motifs, adorning the jewelry of famous clients. The new anniversary collection features over 50 pieces combining traditional gemstone settings with geometric panther shapes in bold designs that can take over a year to create.

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ON PLANET
FASHION, a
century is something
of an eternity. But
then in the world of
fine jewelry, as in the
jungle,the panther is a sym-
bol of power, elegance, and,
above all, endurance.And now,
in honor of the line’s 100th anniver-
sary,the new Panthère de Cartier collec-
tion features more than 50 pieces,the biggest
in the house’s history.Like its devotees,it’s the embodi-
ment 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 mesmerizing 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 first 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-fledged Panthère bracelet to her collection.)Today
the wildly exotic and mystical panther can be found in the jewelry
wardrobes of strong
women like Gwyn-
eth Paltrow, Lady
Gaga, and Stella
McCartney—and by
strong we mean powerful,
because it’s not 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 official date in the archives),Toussaint is credited with launching
the reign of the panther: The full cat first appeared in 1917, in onyx
on top of a vanity case Louis designed for her.Through her vision
Toussaint helped reinvent jewelry 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 Toussaint,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 filled with sleek panther skins. But then a
Panthère woman is nothing if not fearless.Natasha Silva-Jelly ®
Bolder and more bedazzling
than ever, La Panthère
celebrates 100 years
RETURN
OF THE
PANTHER
Cartier ring. 800-CARTIER.
DONPENNY/STUDIOD.SEEWHERETOBUYFORSHOPPINGDETAILS

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THE BEGINNING
Parisian style doyenne Jeanne Toussaint,
a.k.a. La Panthère, “can be said to have
revolutionized jewelry, and to have invented
and kept alive the Cartier style,” wrote
photographer Cecil Beaton. Although the
spotted motif, which was characteristic
of the Art Deco designs of the 1920s,
had appeared on an onyx-and-diamond
watch (left) before Toussaint joined
Maison Cartier, the panther—a daring choice
to represent a woman—proved to be one
of her most enduring inspirations.
PANTHER WOMEN
The panther went three-dimensional
in 1948, with an order for a brooch
for the Duchess of Windsor that
featured an onyx-spotted gold cat
crouching on an emerald cabochon
(above). María Félix, Daisy
Fellowes, and Barbara Hutton
were among the Panthère’s elite
clientele. Hutton, one of
the world’s richest heiresses, also
had a glittering gold
tiger brooch,
bracelet, and
earrings. I
Jeanne
Toussaint,
circa 1920
THE NEW
COLLECTION
The 2014 anniversary collection
fuses past and present, with bold
rings, bracelets, and necklaces in
traditional gemstone settings
juxtaposed with geometric panther
shapes. Employing meticulous
sculpting, casting,
stone-setting, and mounting
techniques, the house’s
craftspeople create
one-of-a-kind designs, with
some pieces taking more
than a year to finish.
Lady
Gaga
Miranda
Kerr
Cara
Delevingne
The Duke and
Duchess of
Windsor,
1949
Barbara
Hutton with
a tiger
brooch, 1960
Above: A 1914
illustration by
George Barbier
for Cartier
Hutton’s
1957 tiger
brooch
Cartier bracelet.
800-CARTIER.
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