In 1948, Cartier created the first three-dimensional panther brooch for Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor. The piece marked a departure from the flat, stylised panther motifs that the house had used on vanity cases, bracelets, and other objects since the 1910s. Where earlier panthers had been graphic, rendered in onyx and diamond against a flat surface, this brooch was fully sculptural: a crouching panther in the round.
Design and Construction
The brooch was made under the creative direction of Jeanne Toussaint, who oversaw Cartier's high jewellery output from the 1930s onwards. Pierre Lemarchand was responsible for the sculptural form taken by the animal jewels of the 1940s and 1950s, translating Toussaint's vision into three-dimensional reality. The panther's body was built in sections, each independently hinged so that the animal could flex and move when worn. Diamonds were pave-set across the surface, with black onyx patches creating the spots. The eyes were set in coloured stones and the whiskers rendered in fine platinum wire.
Later Panther Pieces
An articulated panther bracelet in diamonds and onyx followed in 1952, also for the Duchess. That bracelet sold at Sotheby's London in 2010 for GBP 4.5 million, a result that reflected both the Duchess's association with the piece and the broader appetite for Cartier's animal jewels at auction.
The panther motif was not reserved for the Duchess alone. Princess Margaret also received a panther brooch from Jean-Jacques Cartier, and the three-dimensional panther went on to become one of the house's most recognisable forms, discussed further at Cartier Panther.
Sources
- Francesca Cartier Brickell, The Cartiers (Ballantine Books, 2019), ch. 10 ("Cousins in Austerity, 1945-1956")
- Sotheby's, Exceptional Jewels and Precious Objects Formerly in the Collection of The Duchess of Windsor (London, November 2010)
