Cartier gives us a visual feast on what 1,000 carats look like in their latest high jewellery collection, Sixième Sens Par Cartier
Cartier dangles the carats with a feline interpretation and organic textures such as shards of coloured light, shimmering gems in hues of ripe fruits. Using trompe-l’œil (an art technique that uses realistic imagery to create the illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions) and graphic patterns, these optical illusions play with what is real and what is not.
Your perceptions are challenged as you enter a realm of sensory stimulation, as each sense comes alive including the sixth sense that touches the heart.
We did the maths and everything you see here totals about 1,000 carats.
The Phaan ring
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One look and your eye is drawn to the 8.20 carat ruby that is surrounded by a tiered construction that allows a 4.01-carat rose-cut diamond that is inserted directly below. This design is deliberate because when light hits the diamond after first passing through the ruby, the colour intensified. Along with tiny ruby balls, diamonds surround the central stone, arranged with subtle openings to allow them to catch the light, illuminating the ruby.
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Meride necklace
In a clever design, the stones appear to multiply ad infinitum — an optical illusion that is made all the more striking by the relief of the piece as each element is mounted at different levels. Movement, rhythm, spatial and temporal references are lost in an intricate mosaic of gemstones. The blurring of perspective is complemented by a play of materials and light between mirror-polished metal and graphic black onyx.
Pixelage necklace
The panther is highlighted here through a stylised play on the feline’s coat that has been part of Cartier’s artistic bestiary since 1914. Faithful to the original stylisation, motifs make up the panther’s spots while polished onyxes evoke the marbling of the fur, while white, yellow and orange diamonds represent the thickness of the pelt, with its golden reflections highlighted by three captivating golden topazes for a total of 27.34 carats. Attention to the volume and articulation of the sides allows the construction to respect the vertical geometry of the collar, while preserving its flexibility.
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Parhelia ring
A 21.51-carat sapphire cabochon, with an intense blue, seems to glow from within. Around it, five parentheses of radiant diamonds and emeralds reflect light , fanning out like the surface of a lake. Casting a formidable shadow effect is the black lacquer that gives a sense of movement through a play with the original width of the ring, which spans three fingers, with slightly mobile tips. As an ultimate refinement, the motif can be detached and worn as a brooch. Created at the very beginning of the 20th century, this combination of sapphires and emeralds, named the “peacock motif” by Louis Cartier, is part of the Maison’s emblematic colour palette.
Sharkara necklace
Lines and curves are used to design this piece, highlighting its ample and generous volume. Considered as a whole, the necklace evokes an organic shape, ripe with berries. Elaborating a colour palette is gemmological mastery, while the discreet tourmaline settings and attention to detail, right down to the shape of the garnets cut to reflect the curves.
Alaoxa necklace
After selecting the emeralds according to their colour and diameter, jewellers carefully harmonise the look with symmetry and correct placement in the composition, before assembling using the threading technique. This truly reflects the Maison’s savoir-faire which consists of threading the stones on a wire to form strands and fringes. Finally, the strands are linked together by tiny metal bridges, maintaining a fan shape while allowing the fringes to remain mobile.
Coruscant necklace
Diamonds dominate this necklace with six different cuts — kite, octagonal, emerald, triangle, baguette and brilliant — certified D IF and E IF, each of which reflects light from a unique angle. With a clever use of geometry, the necklace is constructed entirely by an interplay of lines, with three stones — a kite of 3.0 carats, an octagon of 1.62 carats, and an emerald of 1.54 carats — emerging from brilliant interlacing to catch the eye. The chain resembles a tight braid of gemstones, creating a path of light leading to the trio of diamonds. On the outside, brilliant-cut diamonds appear to slip underneath the collection of baguette-cut diamonds.
