Page 27 - OCt-JOA-2020

Left: Emerald, ruby, mother-of-pearl, and diamond brooch, “New Khandy:” Designed as a parrot
on a branch set with brilliant-cut diamonds, polished mother-of-pearl, and calibré-, circular-cut,
and carved emeralds and rubies suspended a drop-shaped emerald weighing 11.55 carats,
signed Cartier, numbered

Below: Two crocodile brooches 1975. Gold, 1023 brilliant-cut fancy
intense yellow diamonds, two navette-shaped emerald
cabochons, 1060 emeralds, two ruby cabochons

Cartier’s flamingo brooch, made in May
1940 for Wallis Simpson, Duchess of
Windsor

At right: A 12.90 carats Ceylon sapphire, diamond, emerald,
and onyx Panther ring, by Cartier: A pavé-set diamond panther
with emerald eyes, onyx nose, and articulated paws, the opposing
terminal set with a cushion-shaped sapphire, weighing
approximately 12.90 carats, ring size 7½, with French
assay mark for gold
sold for a record-breaking $7 million,
and a ruby, sapphire, emerald, citrine,
By the time she retired from Cartier in 1970, and diamond Cartier flamingo clip,
Toussaint had established her legacy as an artistic visionary which sold for $2.679,712 million.
– always experimenting, exploring, and creating jewels for Two bejeweled tigers, a brooch and
those with a worldly outlook and an eye on the future. Her a bracelet, made by Cartier for Wallis
professional fixation with exotic big cats, especially the panther, Simpson in the late 1950s and
resulted in the animal becoming a recognizable symbol of Cartier, purchased in 1987 in the legendary sale
both then and now. of her collection by Andrew Lloyd
Webber, sold for $1.9 million at auction in
2014. Weber purchased the panthers as a gift
La Panthére Jewels at Auction for his then-wife, opera star Sarah Brightman, to
Jeanne was and will always be Cartier’s most iconic celebrate the couple’s success in the hit musical
designer and the mother of its iconic animal signature Phantom of the Opera, which Lloyd Webber
that makes Cartier one of the most respected and wrote and Brightman starred in.
well-known high jewelry brands in the world today. Although these special pieces,
Although she retired from Cartier in 1970 and especially with their Wallace Simpson
died in 1978, her work continues to have a provenance, are at the high end,
life of its own at auction, especially those pieces of Cartier Panthére jewelry
pieces designed for and owned by the from the Toussaint era come up
Duchess of Windsor. for sale at high-end jewelry
In 1987 in the year following auctions fairly regularly, valued
Wallace Simpson’s death, Sotheby’s for their design, maker, and
in Geneva auctioned off a royal materials, starting them in the
assemblage of her famous jewels, thousands at the opening bid.
including many of the pieces made for These are only collectibles for
her by Cartier. The Wallis Simpson A diamond and onyx ‘Double those with deep pockets;
Jewelry Collection consisted of 214 Panthére’ bangle, by Cartier. Photo however, for those that love the
pieces and set the highest world record Christie's Image Ltd aesthetic of the panther, it is an
for a single-owner jewelry sale ever iconic subject and inspiration
conducted, $53.5 million. for jewelry designers in many
In 2010, Sotheby’s auctioned off 20 different forms and more afford-
pieces of Wallace Simpson’s Cartier able price points so anyone can hunt
jewelry collection, bringing in a total of down and collect jewelry embodying
$12,417,369 million, at least three times this famed Cartier symbol.
more than was expected. The two top-selling
items were a diamond panther bracelet which

SOURCES:
- http://www.victorianajewelry.com/blog/2017/10/5/la-panther-the-story-of-jeanne-toussaint-and-how-she-went-from-nothing-to-everything
- https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/how-cartiers-jeanne-toussaint-inspired-and-popularised-its-iconic-panthere
October 2020 25