Savoir-faire

EXPERTISE

Cartier's savoir-faire is a dialogue between creativity and technique, a permanent to-and-fro between designers, watchmakers, jewellers, gem-setters, polishers and gem-cutters. For Cartier, the important part of savoir-faire is the hyphen.

Gemstones and Their Designs

Transcribing the delicacy of an insect and the transparency of its wings in the form of a diamond, rock crystal, ruby and onyx necklace: this is the challenge presented by the Cymbale necklace from the Beautés du Monde collection. 

Savoir-Faire Conversations

Discover everything you ever wanted to know about High Jewelry at Cartier, as actress Golshifteh Farahani discusses the collection with Pierre Rainero, Director of Image, Style and Heritage at Cartier.

Volume and Flexibility

Giving a complex creation an incredibly fluid nature on the skin, that is the challenge of the Synesthésie necklace, whose linked work to the back has been treated as entirely articulated lace.

Reproducing the spirit of the animal

In the Indomptables de Cartier Collection, everything contributes to the realism of the animal. Onyx – for markings and stripes – in a work of great precision down to the smallest detail, to create the illusion of a silky coat in Cartier’s “fur” setting, a savoir-faire signature of the Maison that sees each onyx stone encircled with minuscule, elongated and curved metal grains, transforming them into fur threads that evoke the animal’s coat.

THE ART OF THREADING

The challenge of this necklace from the Sixième sens par Cartier collection involves respecting the finesse of the design, while ensuring the necklace falls naturally. It’s also about creating a perfect balance between the different emeralds: selecting, classifying and arranging them in harmony according to precise criteria of colour, diameter and thickness. The art of threading is a delicate skill, which requires doing, undoing and redoing. Tying the threads several times and meticulously threading small stones.

TUTTI FRUTTI STYLE

The composition of this necklace lies in the harmony of its colours. The workshops aim to restore the naturalness of the branches and buds through an explosion of flower, fruit or palmette motifs, as well as smooth and fluted beads, rubies, sapphires and emeralds. The challenge is to combine different engraved stones with floral engravings, using a technique developed by the Mughals in the 17th century. This piece is part of the great tradition of transformable jewellery which can be adapted at will into pendants, brooches or necklaces without leaving anything visible.

CUTTING THE CORAL

Cutting the coral, a highly delicate material, is a feat in itself. The material could break at any time. The challenge of the Panthère Tropicale bracelet is further compounded by the choice of a radiating groove motif, made on tiny plaques of coral.

THE ART OF TRANSPARENCY

In the Tillandsia necklace, transparency becomes art: two exceptional beryls appear to float on a diamond lattice. The designer and jeweler join forces to create effects of depth, which continue into the crystal of the rutilated quartz.

HARMONIZING VOLUME

Harmonizing volume, shape and material: that’s the challenge of the Hemis necklace, which dedicates the art of the gem-cutter to baroque-shaped opals and a large kunzite.

PAIRING EXCEPTIONAL DIAMONDS

2 diamonds totalling more than 26 carats are circled by 107 diamonds which shine with the same intensity and sparkle. A feat achieved by stone cutters, jewellers and gemstone experts, who are instrumental in the creation of dazzling pieces, true jewellery perfection.

COLOURFUL PRECIOUS STONES

Cartier’s experts have tried to identify the most beautiful gemstones from the Earth’s core which will make up the subtle harmonies of a living necklace, changing reflections from the depths of magma.

BRINGING OUT THE LIGHT

At Cartier the stone guides creation, and even more so when it comes to diamond-set rings. The stone determines the choice of setting - and not the other way around. The metal, designed to disappear, allows the radiance of the stones to shine through. Absolute perfection, Cartier’s signature.

DESIGN IN MOTION

Achieving the balance between volume and lightness, suppleness and style. Guided by the gemstones, jewellers, gem-setters and stone cutters have created a fluid and living material on the skin, a breathtakingly complex design in motion.

THE PANTHER IN MOTION

Since 1914 with the panther’s first appearance, the Maison’s artisan jewellers have explored the art of bringing the panther to life. Muscles, heads and paws: the detail unfolds through the sculpture, as its power is liberated. They witness the living movement and together translate it into three dimensions.

FUR SETTING

For the panther, Cartier’s artisans use the technique of “fur” setting, a unique Cartier savoir-faire. One by one, the animal spots, in sapphire or onyx, are uniquely hand-carved. The jeweller surrounds them with grains of metal which he folds into tiny threads on the stone. The fur is amazingly lifelike, the material awakens and provokes emotion. 

THE RÉVÉLATION WATCH

Five years of constant exchanges in the workshops and two patent applications have presided over the birth of the Révélation watch. According to a technique inspired by the hourglass, the dial of the Révélation watch showcases a fleeting spectacle: depending on the movements of the wrist, 650 diamonds appear and reveal the jaw of a panther. Before disappearing again. A picture brought to life which combines advanced technology with traditional crafts.

SELECTING THE DIAMONDS

A Cartier diamond meets the most demanding selection criteria and is examined by Cartier’s expert “eye”. Unique talent and expertise that help identify that little something extra from the most exceptional of gemstones. The Cartier difference.

DESIGN IN MOTION

Achieving the balance between volume and lightness, suppleness and style. Guided by the gemstones, jewelers, gem-setters and stone cutters have created a fluid and living material on the skin, a breathtakingly complex design in motion.