Fabulous Filigree Felines Illustrate Cartier’s Commitment to Métiers d’Art — Business d’Or

 

Cartier has invested heavily in its watchmaking division to bring it on a par with the outstanding design and creativity of its high jewellery pieces.

With a giant manufacturing set-up in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the maison equips its Cartier watches with precision Swiss movements.

And just up from this state-of-the-art facility, Cartier has acquired a rustic farmhouse — entirely remodelled — for its Métiers d’Art headquarters. Set in an idyllic location, rare artistic crafts used in watchmaking are practised, perpetuated and rescued from extinction.

One such craft is the art of filigree — an ancient technique of goldsmithing thought to have originated in Sumeria in 3000 B.C.

Fine thread-like wires of gold or silver are hammered, twisted and flattened into motifs, which are then soldered to create light, playful patterns, sometimes resembling lace.

The 42mm yellow gold Ronde Louis Cartier XL watch was chosen to showcase two handcrafted pandas set against a starry deep blue sky. Cartier artisans hammered gold and platinum microwires to create the lace bodies of majestic leopards that miss each other with emerald eyes.

The stain is reproduced with black lacquer and the fur is highlighted with diamonds. A nice touch is the way the smaller panther’s lacy coat extends out from the watch dial to invade a portion of the diamond-set bezel.

A solitary and very intense panther gazes out from the dial of the 42mm rose gold Rotonde de Cartier watch. This impressive work of damascening — the art of inlaying or encrusting precious metals onto a metal surface — is responsible for the almost life-like volumes of the panther.

Three different colours of gold wire — rose, yellow and white — were hammered into the spaces cut into the gold dial to create the feline’s supple coat, while the spots have been artistically applied in black lacquer.

Both Cartier watches are fitted with in-house manual-winding movements, with the filigree panther limited to 20 pieces, the damascened panther to 50.

Originally published at https://businessdor.com on February 16, 2023.