How Cartier pays homage to nature in its jewellery pieces

As nature continues to be a source of inspiration in the jewellery world, Cartier's unique flora and fauna pieces are more than mere adornments, Allyson Klass discovers Jacqueline Karachi-Langane, Cartier's High Jewellery Creation Studio Creative Director, explains the three ways in which the maison presents nature: "Naturalism reproduces nature as objectively as possible Stylisation describes an act of simplification that only retains the essential element of the design.

Abstraction, on the other hand, further intensifies the gaze: the original image disappears and only the spirit, the very essence of the piece, remains." The slithering reptile has permeated Cartier's contemporary collections with pieces that embody its strength and seduction In 1975, Félix commissioned Cartier again to create a bespoke crocodile necklace whose design was to be based on a live hatchling she'd personally brought in a bowl to the jeweller The semi-aquatic predator has since joined Cartier's wild menagerie, its latest depiction being that of the Gharial necklace from the [Sur]Naturel high jewellery collection that deftly incorporates different depths and volumes to recreate the animal's distinctively textured skin.

Rather than classic floral species, Cartier adds a twist to traditional sources of inspiration by including unconventional and non-standard plants such as cacti, orchids and even bay leaves in its repertoire Deserving a special mention is the surprising depiction of cacti in the Cactus de Cartier collection. . Source