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High Jewelry by Cartier: Contemporary Creations

A sumptuous tribute to Cartier’s creations with spectacular new photographs of unique pieces, many of which have never been published before. Cartier has defined daring elegance in jewelry design for over a century and a half. Featuring over 300 color images, many of them full-page, this lavish, satin-bound volume presents Cartier’s most recent collections: modern pieces of high jewelry conceived in the spirit of Cartier’s traditional values of creativity, authenticity, and originality. Eight chapters trace the artistic threads and historic sources that have shaped the firm’s distinctive style, such as famous gemstones, the importance of pure, clean lines and balanced colors, and the exotic flora and distinctive feline shapes that characterize Cartier’s more exuberant pieces. Design sketches and period photographs complement larger-than-life images, telling the stories of past creations and explaining the evolution of contemporary designs. This collection is a celebration of the inimitable Cartier style, with marvelous pieces that embody and celebrate the personal experience of selecting and wearing fine jewelry.

Rapidly fading old tintype; her "necklace" and "ring" have actually been scratched into the image. From the reverse: "Amanda Cartier, age 7"

A showcase of the most spectacular examples of animal motifs in jewelry by master jewelers from America and Europe.
The depiction of animals in art goes back to prehistoric cave paintings; and the early history of jewelry, from ancient Egyptian scarabs to Renaissance pendants, shows abundant examples of animal imagery.

In the nineteenth century a new group of designers, seeking to satisfy the growing middle class's appetite for jewels, revived the Egyptian and Etruscan styles. Animals of all sorts were incorporated: birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, and fish. Prominent houses such as Fouquet, Fontenay, Falize, Faberge, and Tiffany all produced a spectacular array of animal jewels that are much prized today. Design developments throughout the twentieth century—Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and those that followed—contributed impressive animal jewelry, from Lalique's intricate insects to Cartier's panthers, from Boucheron and Van Cleef & Arpels to the sophisticated imagery of Verdura.

This book examines in detail the denizens of this jeweled menagerie. Great imagination and technical skill have gone into the fashioning of these precious objects, which exhibit not only meticulous craftsmanship but also grace, humor, and refinement. Over 300 photographs in full color