Iconic Designs at Sotheby’s hammer
Sotheby’s announces Iconic Designs and Exceptional Gemstones sale at Geneva, on 11 & 13 November 2019 with the stunning Art Deco bracelet by Cartier leading the collection features a 47.07-carat Burmese sapphire of coveted Royal Blue colour.
Perhaps even more noteworthy is the stone’s extraordinary clarity: while gemstones of this quality would normally be faceted, this exceptional sapphire was cut into a cabochon shape. The fact that Cartier chose a cabochon cut is a clear design choice, and one which could be regarded as decadent, considering the scarcity of gemstones of this size and quality.
The bracelet was made in 1927, a time when Cartier’s exploration of Eastern motifs was in full flower. The cabochon sapphire, along with the pear-shaped diamonds cut in the Moghul style, are subtle expressions of Cartier’s embrace of the so-called exotic, while the step-cut diamond and sapphire links of the bracelet reflect the linearity that formed the bedrock of Art Deco design.
The collection is distinguished by another exquisite Art Deco piece by Cartier: a sapphire and diamond brooch from 1937. Epitomizing the bold visual language and finest quality craftsmanship for which the prestigious house is so well-known, the brooch is also a fascinating illustration of Cartier’s design evolution: as the house sought out cleaner lines and more architectural shapes suited to the machine age, figurative motifs such as the fan took on an increasingly abstract geometry (Estimate $150,000 – 250,000 / CHF 150,000 – 250,000).
