Editor’s Note
While many luxury brands follow predictable routes, Cartier charts its own course. This week, we look at its new high jewellery collection, unveiled in Stockholm and inspired by the delicate concept of balance.
While many luxury houses on Place Vendôme headed south for their latest launches, Cartier took a different path. The French jeweller chose Stockholm to reveal En Équilibre, a 115-piece High Jewellery collection inspired by the concept of balance.
As Cartier’s chief marketing officer Arnaud Carrez explained, the city’s blend of urban life and nature perfectly reflects the collection’s ethos of harmony and precision.
Before the showcase, Cartier revealed Gemma Chan as a new brand ambassador. The actor, known for Crazy Rich Asians and Captain Marvel, has long had ties to the house and most recently wore Cartier jewels at the Grand Dîner du Louvre.
A standout piece in the collection is the Pavocelle necklace, inspired by an exceptional 58.08-carat sapphire cabochon. Its design echoes the majestic tail of a peacock through a series of openwork motifs, combining intricate craftsmanship with natural inspiration.
Precision extends beyond design to the selection and setting of stones. The Skudo and Azulejo rings exemplify this focus, featuring shield diamonds and a striking 13.35-carat Ceylon sapphire, respectively. These pieces demonstrate Cartier’s commitment to harmony in every detail, from gemstone choice to structural balance.
Another standout is the Shito necklace, where twin lines of diamonds and emeralds cross in front and back, drawing the eye to two exceptional Zambian emerald drops weighing nearly 50 carats. The collection’s “nothing in excess” approach enhances its visual impact, letting the natural beauty of the gemstones shine without distraction.
Cartier’s ability to create drama with minimalism is further seen in the Hyala necklace, where coloured diamonds and sapphires seem to float against the skin. A nearly invisible pink gold setting holds the gemstones in place, creating an illusion of weightlessness and fluid movement.
The Panthère Dentelle, meanwhile, reimagines Cartier’s iconic panther in lace-like openwork. This complex design features over 274 carats of Colombian emerald beads cascading towards a stylised feline holding a 4-carat kite-cut diamond. The design required 5,700 hours, with 4,100 hours devoted solely to jewellery craftsmanship.
Other pieces, such as Tsagaan, showcase Cartier’s use of negative space and sculptural form inspired by the elusive snow leopard.
In this necklace, the animal’s features only emerge at certain angles, thanks to an arrangement of kite-, lozenge- and triangle-cut stones. The Traforato necklace, on the other hand, uses emerald and onyx to build a sense of volume around three prominent octagonal gems.
Creative director Jacqueline Karachi emphasised that balance is essential at every stage of creation, from sourcing stones to the final manufacturing.
This includes invisible details, such as polishing edges hidden from view, which only a skilled jeweller would notice during servicing.
Cartier’s artisans spent nearly 100,000 hours crafting this collection, blending traditional handcraftsmanship with cutting-edge technology. The workshops in Paris bring together stone experts, designers, sculptors, and more under one roof, ensuring each piece is a perfect balance of creativity, technical mastery, and comfort.