in Conversation

Cartier creative director MARIE-LAURE CÉRÈDE delves into the Maison’s haute joaillerie timepieces, while highlighting the importance of creativity and a happy team in her chat with CHARMAINE HO.

- CHARMAINE HO

Is it reptilian or mammalian? Well, if the question pertains to Cartier’s haute joaillerie timepieces for the year, then it’s most probably both. Throughout its 177-year history, the Maison has dreamt up a bestiary worthy of Noah’s Ark with delicately winged butterflies taking up as much space in the spotlight as fantastically maned lions. As much as it is beloved (and highly sought after), Cartier is not just about its lithe, majestic panther—though there is enough of that in this collection to keep fans happy. Instead, what we have are fantastical creations, some figurative and others abstract, that meld familiarity with surrealism.

The Animal Jewellery watch, for example, sees the strong tail of a crocodile given a fresh point of view with black lacquer stripes running along its length; and reverse-set gems reinforcing its textured surface. In the Tiger Jewellery bracelet watch, the feline grips the watch case with its powerful jaws, allowing Cartier to cleverly design its closure as a focal point of the design.

“It’s a bold step for us in terms of creativity,” says creative director MarieLaure Cérède. “We wanted to create a chimera; to reinvent and mix the animals up. At one point, I looked at [an animal design] and said ‘we’ve seen this like 1,000 times already’. So we tried to think about what could be new; to be free from the archives and to start from scratch.”