Fashion

On the Istanbul island of Büyükada the glittering setting sun that sparked on the Bosporus recently faces some shimmering competition in the form of Cartier’s grand reveal of its latest high jewellery collection, Into The Wild. A who’s who guest list, from actresses Tuba Büyüküstün, Tara Emad, Razane Jammal, Yousra and Nadine Labaki to Bollywood stars Ishaan Khatter and Suhana Khan as well as TV presenter Raya Abirached and entrepreneur Anas Bukhash (just to name a few) turned up to take in the outdoor tableau vivant the iconic French luxury house had created to display its newest creations.

One of the most notable reveals in this new collection are the more unexpected creatures that now take pride of place within the brand’s menagerie. Besides Cartier’s beloved panthere and its legendary crocodile motif jewellery designs, the addition of five Faune & Flore de Cartier rings stand out. Direct descendants of the Panther head ring the House created in the 2000s, the new tiger, parrot, carp, crocodile, and rhinoceros rings have the same visual spirit as they create striking sculptural volume on the hand, an animal caught at the moment of expression rather than at rest.

Two of these creatures also inspire other striking designs in the collection. The crocodile and the tiger are also reimagined as a bracelet, necklace as well as a pair of charming pins. On the crocodile, the head is a clasp, fully integrated into the mouth of the animal, which bites down to complete the circle. Its scales are built from diamonds whose geometry is highlighted in the onyx spikes forming the crest. The bracelet is a wave of diamonds in inverted setting, punctuated with onyx, finished along the cuff’s borders with chrysoprase and rubellites. All of it designed to make the pieces look alive on the skin.

The tiger motif leads into hues of blue. Dumortierite quartz for the stripes, sapphire paving across head and body, aquamarine for the eyes, and that galuchat-effect diamond setting again on the life-like head. Its opening and closing mechanism is concealed inside the animal’s mouth, while the body is a run of dumortierite quartzes and sapphires on articulated gold moveable links, and it finishes off in style with chalcedony beads each studded with an inverted sapphire.

But fans of the Cartier Panthere designs were not forgotten. In this collection she shows up as a tête-à-tête bracelet in pristine white — her coat created entirely in paved diamonds and spotted with geometric diamonds, alternating galuchat-effect paving in varied diamond sizes with caviar paving that keeps the light moving between the paved zones and the bare white gold. There is also a snow panther with emerald eyes ringed by a fur setting, and a medallion-shaped Panthère jewellery watch from Cartier’s Maison des Métiers d’Art in La Chaux-de-Fonds, built on the traditional principle of the cameo and requiring three artisans to work in concert: the designer, the gem-setter removing metal in favour of stone, and the lacquerer, whose spots are drawn from the House’s vintage archive.

Over the course of the star-studded evening in Türkiye, guests marveled at the clever and varied jewellery presentations Cartier brought to life. From one crocodile parure being worn by a beauty standing tall on a boat, that when lined up with the horizon, looked as if it was floating on the wide open strait to another that saw an artist hard at work painting a living bejewelled model into her clear glass canvas, or one that wore an animal printed gown that extended so far beyond her, and the dramatic panthere jewellery she wore, that it framed her whole surroundings. Then there were the handsome couples seen playing backgammon as the sun set, and another who majestically enjoyed the expansive views from a swing.

Later guests were treated to a line up of Cartier bellboys dancing in synchronization, and a gasp-inducing performance that saw a group of acrobats climbing up steps, only to fall to the side, and almost by magic reappear thanks to hidden trampolines. And after a night filled with live music that made it impossible to sit still, Yousra closed out the evening in style as she took to the mic to sing to guests in a joyful final flourish to an event that surpassed all expectations.

Take a look at the celebrities who attended the event

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Images: Supplied