No jewellery maison has transformed creatures from the animal kingdom into glittering, shining wearable masterpieces quite like Cartier. Fur, feathers, scales, and wings have appeared across rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, watches, brooches as well as cufflinks, belt buckles, and handbags worn by generations of fearless men and women. Cartier may have created a plethora of fauna throughout its history, but its form is never predictable or conventional: depicted in naturalistic and abstract style, they are at times fully revealed and, at others, partially concealed.
The Eternal Muse
Amongst its spectacular creations, there is no denying that the panther reigns supreme. The fabulous creature is closely tied to the Maison’s identity and has become synonymous with Cartier, reflecting its daring spirit and savoir-faire. The big cat first slinked into the jewellery house in 1914, depicted through a George Barbier illustration for an invitation to an exhibition at their Paris boutique. In the same year, a wristwatch featured a panther-pelt pattern on a round case crafted from diamond and onyx, which presaged both the house’s fascination with the big cats and the Art Deco style.
The panther appeared in its full form three years later, on a cigarette case specially made by Louis Cartier for Jeanne Toussaint long before she was appointed as Cartier’s director of fine jewellery. Toussaint, who was known for ushering in a new era of sculptural and three-dimensional jewellery in the 1940s, eventually transformed the panther into Cartier’s enduring symbol. In 1948, she crafted the first fully realised Panthère jewel for Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, using a 116.74-carat emerald from the Duke of Windsor’s own collection. One year later, another brooch was created, this time on a sapphire cabochon that would become one of Cartier’s most emblematic jewellery pieces that appeared in worldwide exhibitions of the Cartier Collection.
Together with designer Pierre Lemarchand, Toussaint produced era-defining designs through a sumptuous array of bold, panther-themed treasures. In contemporary times, the panther remains an inexhaustible source of inspiration for designers and its magnetism reflects on those who wear it. The spirit of the feline continues to live on through pieces such as the 2017 Panthère Flâneuse Necklace, comprised of mesmerising emerald and rubellite spheres, as well as the 2020 Panthère Tropicale Bracelet-Watch, where gold, coral, tourmalines, and aquamarines create a masterful fusion of contrasts.
The Jewellery Jungle
Besides the panther, Cartier allows its discerning clientele to encounter various other species of fauna not in the wild, but through multicoloured jewels and precious metals. In 1940, a flamingo’s plumage, set with calibré-cut emeralds, rubies, and sapphires, glittered from the coat of the Duchess of Windsor.
Then, in 1975, legendary Mexican actress MarÃa Félix custom-ordered a necklace consisting of two crocodiles that hugged the neck and could be removed and worn separately as brooches, which Cartier’s incredible artisans masterfully executed. More recently, actress Zoe Saldaña wore an ensemble of glittering tigers at the 2025 César awards in Paris.
In some cases, different creatures—such as a giraffe and tiger—even come face to face, such as through the Indomptables de Cartier torque necklace, paved, a whimsical design set with emerald, onyx, and 2,077 brilliant-cut diamonds totalling 33.57 carats.
Purveyors of Artistry
Transforming precious gems into fantastical creatures demands both imagination and Cartier’s savoir-faire, which connects boundless creativity with expertise. It is proudly one of the only maisons in the world to bring every profession together under one roof within its high jewellery workshops, including stone experts, designers from its Creation Studio, sculptors, jewellers, 3D designers, polishers, gem-setters, lapidaries, glypticians, casters, stringers, lacquerers, watchmakers, and ring makers. Additionally, with the Maison des Métiers d’Art in the heart of Switzerland, Cartier is dedicated to preserving rare, ancestral arts of savoir-faire through the creation of exceptional and unique works of creativity.
This is exhibited through the Ronde Louis Cartier Panthère Métiers d’Art watch, which required more than three years of research and technical study to develop the canopy of leaves in gold leaf alone.
It is also the only major jeweller to have an in-house glyptics workshop, which preserves the ancient art of carving precious materials used to bring creations like the Panthère Aegis Ring to life by combining two petrified woods in warm, contrasting shades to symbolise the duality and union embodied by the two panthers.
For the Faune et Flore de Cartier necklace, the spirit and formidable form of a crocodile is first created meticulously in plasticine and then wax, before the lost-wax casting technique creates precious metal versions section by section. This ensures a movement that is fluid and lifelike, mimicking a crocodile that drags itself up to the bank in a slow, sinuous motion.
One of Cartier’s signatures is the fur setting, typically using onyx or sapphire to depict the panther’s spots or the tiger’s stripes. Each of these markings is cut by hand to produce a unique shape, mimicking nature, where no two tigers have the same exact stripe pattern.
Cartier’s inimitable ability to transform creatures into visual feasts that double as statements of power and independence proves why it continues to count numerous royal and aristocratic figures amongst its clientele. It is also for this very reason that the Maison stands as one of the most revered names in high jewellery, celebrated for its excellence, creativity, and enduring prestige.
