AS ALWAYS

Cartier's "Image, Style and Heritage" Director, Pierre Rainero tells L'OFFICIEL SINGAPORE how the Maison's Le Voyage Recommencé High Jewellery collection celebrates all the shimmering facets of Cartier's history while also opening "doors to the future"

- IAN LEE

What defines a Cartier High Jewellery collection, and how is Le Voyage Recommencé special?

Every collection and this one in particular, because of its inspiration, theme and title is an opportunity to show the latest researches of Cartier and our "thoughts on beauty". For us, there is constant research and constant motivation, and every presentation is an opportunity to share with our clients and the public what we are doing.

Le Voyage Recommencé, which means "the journey renewed", shows our creative process and how we are constantly exploring the structuring principles we have, both in terms of jewellery aesthetics and the way we are inspired by different aspects of the world it can be nature, flora and fauna, it can be cultured in a very broad sense and geographical areas of the world. And with no limit in time contemporary or civilisations of the past.

It can be shapes and artefacts of day-to-day life. There's no limit in our scope in terms of inspiration. This collection, in particular, outlines that process - how it can lead to different creations. Perhaps what should be more explicit in the title is "the journey always renewed". The "always" describes the entire Cartier process.

Far-flung inspirations are one of the building blocks of Le Voyage Recommencé. As we are in Beijing, is there one piece that you think best represents this part of the world?

There's an obvious one the dragon (Bailong High Jewellery brooch). But I think the link with other cultures is not only through pieces that state their inspiration. The dragon, of course, states its inspiration. When you are interested in cultures, designers may go to the essence of certain shapes you may recognise the inspiration, but you've actually gotten rid of all the things that are not useful in recognising [the inspiration].