Cartier London Egyptian Revival Brooch

So enjoyed diving into the life of Jacques Theodule Cartier for an interview with Juncker Capucine’s “Property of a Lady”.

The youngest of the three brothers, Jacques was an artist at heart who ran the London branch through the 1920s. But his work took him further afield too. Traveling with his wife Nelly, he crossed the globe (without planes, this involved boats, cars, trains, even donkeys!). From New York to Paris and from Egypt to India (as in this photo), Jacques was on the lookout for precious gems, 'apprets' and new ideas: #NeverCopyOnlyCreate.

The result was unique jewels like this Egyptian Revival brooch where an ancient green-glazed faience bust of the goddess Sekhmet (dating from c. 700 BC!) is updated for the stylish 1920s woman (love the #lapislazuli sky twinkling with diamond stars). And 100 years later that magic mix of ancient, exotic and #artdeco that Jacques and his brothers brought to the fore is still in demand: when this #CartierLondon brooch came up for auction at Sotheby's in 2013, it smashed its $300-500k estimate, selling for over a million dollars.