Cartier’s Jewelry-Making Roots Take Center Stage at Watches and Wonders with the Panthère Collection

At the beginning of the 20th century, the world of luxury – from fashion to jewelry and watches – was quite a small circle. Figures like Coco Chanel were rubbing shoulders with others like Louis Cartier, and friendships and collaboration were part of the game.

This meeting of the minds between some of the most influential figures in the luxury sphere at the time gave rise to one of Cartier’s most emblematic motifs: the panther.

In the early 1900s, the brand’s future Director of Fine Jewelry, Jeanne Toussaint, was already close friends with Louis Cartier. She was known for wearing audacious panther fur coats and garnered the nickname “Petite Panthère” within their circle.

In 1914, Mr. Cartier commissioned the prominent French illustrator George Barbier to create an advertisement for the Maison depicting the Cartier woman – bold, modern, independent. Barbier ultimately produced the first official representation of the panther within the brand’s ecosystem with his “Lady with a Panther” watercolor painting (perhaps loosely inspired by the “Petite Panthère” herself).

Later that year, the first panther motif appeared in one of the brand’s timepieces thanks to an interplay of onyx and diamonds, recreating the animal’s signature pattern around the bezel.
 

Fast forward to 1958, and as a result of Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan commissioning the first double panther-head hinged bangle, we begin to see the more modern, signature panther designs we associate with the Maison taking shape that year.

While the panther remained a consistent centerpiece of Cartier’s jewelry for many decades, it wouldn’t be until 1983 that the brand would launch its Panthère de Cartier line of watches. However, even that was relatively short-lived, as the iconic collection was discontinued in 2004.

It would be 13 long years before the collection returned in 2017. Since then, the line has taken on many forms, from an integrated bracelet version to a bold oversized iteration dubbed LM (or “large model”).

For the editions that debuted last week at Watches and Wonders, we get five new takes on the quintessential panther, including four classic versions and one statement piece, with each model putting Cartier’s expertise in both jewelry and watchmaking on full display.
 

All four of the classic variations reprise the trademark design language of the Panthère de Cartier family with a square case, screw-down bezel, and linked brick-lay bracelet with a concealed folding clasp. However, these models firmly lean into the Maison’s jewelry roots with diamond accents across the bezels and bracelets.
 

For this quartet, you have the choice of two metals – either yellow or rose gold – and a variety of modest sizes. In yellow gold, your size options are 36.5mm x 26.7mm or petite 30.3mm x 22.0mm. Alternatively, the rose gold iterations are even more diminutive, offered in either 30.3mm x 22.0mm or a tres petite 25.0mm x 20.0mm.

Despite any size differences between the yellow and rose gold models, each variation showcases the same diamond arrangement with a semi-paved bezel and a bracelet with diamonds meticulously arranged in a gradient across the links.
 

The showstopper among the new line of Panthère de Cartier watches is the fifth new model with its particularly special take on the beloved design. Cartier gets ultra-playful with animal motifs for this piece by imagining an abstract coat that’s neither entirely tiger nor zebra but a being all its own.
 

To achieve this truly one-of-a-kind look, the Maison combines a variety of colors and contrasting materials. Together, black and golden-brown lacquer, pave diamonds, and orange and yellow spessartites perform a dance across the dial, bezel, case, and bracelet, creating a beautiful texture, depth, movement, and sparkle from every angle.
 

Here, the expertise of the master craftsmen within the Maison des Métiers d'Art was put to the test from the application of the hand-applied lacquer to the snow setting of 145 brilliant cut diamonds across the dial. This work extends to the bracelet, paved with 314 brilliant cut diamonds and 86 spessartites. Altogether, each example of this stunning rose gold watch takes more than 110 hours to complete.