Spot Of Mystique

Cartier's Nature Sauvage high jewellery collection tells entrancing tales of a mysterious menagerie.

- JENNIFER CHEN

If only Jacqueline Karachi had motion detector sensors attached to her body as she's explaining the design process of Nature Sauvage, Cartier's latest high jewellery collection starring animals in natural and abstract environments. What creature would emerge from her gesticulatory enactments then?

When told that she is a dramatic storyteller, Karachi explains that the design team would stage the animals in unexpected and modern environments. "With this collection, we tried to propose a fresh look for Cartier Bestiaire. We imagine the animals in unexpected locations, in different, surprising encounters. We showcase the spirit, character, vitality- the soul of the animals. It's a very playful collection. In this way, we bring modernity to Cartier Bestiaire."

Karachi, Cartier's director of high jewellery creation, and I are speaking in a make-shift salon at the Kursalon, a 19thcentury pavilion in Vienna where Nature Sauvage is being exhibited. It's an interesting location, given that this jewel of an Austrian city is associated more with culture, art and history than nature at play. That is, until you dive into what it represents.

From the 13th century to the end of World War I, Vienna was the centre of power as the home of the Habsburg Empire. And where power resides, art and culture follow - artists and artisans have to follow the money after all. So, it's no surprise that some of the world's most celebrated composers - Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert made Vienna their home. The waltz was born here, and spread globally as a dance, thanks to the music of Strauss and his sons.