ΤHΕ PERFECT STACK

Marie-Laure Cérède, Cartier's creative director of Jewellery and Watches, on the new Baignoire and the art of perfection.

- Zhuan Lee

Marie-Laure Cérède meets me dressed in a graffiti-emblazoned tee over skinny jeans; her wrist wrapped in bracelets; hair slightly tousled. Unlike many brand corporates, she has that je ne sais quoi-that makes her truly stand out.

Cérède had previously worked at Cartier 21 years ago, before leaving to become artistic director at jeweller Harry Winston. Returning to Cartier in 2016 as deputy creative director of Watchmaking, she has since scaled the ladder to become the creative director of Jewellery and Watches at the storied house.

To Cérède, creating jewellery is complementary to watchmaking, especially for Cartier, where its approach is not just the singular focus of watchmaking, but as a jeweller that creates timepieces.

TECH CONSTRAINTS AND BLANK PAGES

In watchmaking, you have to create under the technical constraints such as the movement, and work around it. Whereas in jewellery, you start with a blank page. These two are very different exercises in terms of creation, and it is very interesting for me to be able to play with both of them, says Cérède.

Having such constraints forces one to be even more creative, and dig deep into the meaning behind the product that is being created. Case in point-the Baignoire de Cartier, one of the highlights of this year's novelties at Watches and Wonders Geneva. The constraint in designing the Baignoire did not come from a technical aspect-it was about thinking what else she could add to a design that was already 'perfect', and at the same time stay true to the rich heritage of Cartier. This required the team to exercise even more creativity compared to crafting from a blank canvas.