Time for Class
Cartier stunned its audience in the early 1900s as the brand created history with the introduction of its precious bags. Today, Cartier Evening Bags are still regarded as an item of elegance and class
Ademonstration of exceptional craftsmanship has always been integral to the Cartier Evening Bags collection, although it has, over the years, evolved. As such, the collection pays tribute to the fashions and the mindsets continually revealed by the allure of the bag’s evolution.
When Cartier revealed its evening bags collection in the 1900s, the Maison created the first bag to be the clad in chainmail and beautifully coiffed with an owl’s head clasp. It flew off the shelves and was deemed to become a genuine form of creative expression. Following this success, Cartier once again stole the limelight with the launch of its bag embedding an Egyptian frieze with motifs of young girls on a papyrus backgrounds embroidered with tutti-frutti-style tassels and drops.
In the 1920s, when women were liberating themselves and daring to show off streamlined, slinky silhouettes and short masculine hairstyles in tune with their emancipation, Cartier anticipated a movement and an evolution in behaviour and appearances. For these women, Cartier invented the vanity case.
The vanity case—a case of sheer femininity—is a symbol of freedom revealing miraculous contents in compartments especially designed to hold a lipstick, a miniature comb and cigarettes, allowing the holders to take the bold step of making-up and smoking in public or quite simply of asserting themselves.
This creativity is perpetuated today by the design of one-ofa-kind pieces: entirely handmade atelier jewels that highlight and enhance the Maison’s great stylistic legends. From flora to fauna, Cartier gathers together and intermingles every type of exceptional savoir-faire, whether it’s the art of setting the embroidery crafts of the Maison Lesage, the feathermaking of the Maison Lemarié, or the satin pleating of the Masion Lognon.
The panther remains Cartier’s favourite animal. Totemic, wild and glamorous, it embodies a certain idea of subjugating and seductive femininity. Its presence alone is enough to leave an alluring mark on these precious bags. Behind the panther’s legend, there are not only generations of famously elegant women and clients but also the myth, the history and the supreme mastery of Cartier’s know-how in perpetual evolution.
Today, the panther is streamlined, graphic and crisscrossed with angles. And these precious bags proudly parade it right along the top, reaching a peak in the art of leather goods and jewellery making. n
The peony flower has been casting its velvet-smooth spells across legends and fairy tales since the dawn of time. And now, the peony is unfurling its silky petals and delicate scents onto a famous Chopard timepiece. It adorns the dial and the manufacture movement of the L.U.C XP 35 mm Esprit de Fleurier Peony, a prominent female model created by the principles of haute horlogerie. The fragile curves of the peony bloom on the Tahitian mother-of-pearl dial, where the flower sits in gold and is decked in diamonds finely set into the rose-gold dial base.
It was in 2014 that the first ultra-thin L.U.C watch was created in a 35mm diameter model to offer women a version of a watch that was previously intended for men. A high-precision movement produced by Chopard Manufacture powers the model, with its light, subtle and timeless lines.
Recently, the design codes of this watch took a new turn with the L.U.C XP 35 mm Esprit de Fleurier Peony and this new model is reborn in an eight-piece limited edition featuring a peony motif and fitted with a brushed pink canvas strap. It highlights an increasingly rare ancestral technique: Fleurisanne engraving.
Fleurier is a historical cradle of watchmaking that has given rise to a number of skills that are now becoming increasingly rare. Through the L.U.C XP 35 mm Esprit de Fleurier Peony, Chopard aims to bring out these traditions that represent a cultural and artistic heritage. Fleurisanne engraving is one of the artistic techniques that are an integral part of the horological heritage.
Chopard brings out the noble pedigree of the L.U.C XP 35 mm Esprit de Fleurier Peony watch through a process of fine engraving techniques that is a signature movement in this collection. Therefore, Chopard has ensured to train expert in-house hands to perpetuate this traditional skill. After engraving, the movement is rhodium-coated to achieve an unusual two-tone appearance, a specialty of the L.U.C XP 35 mm Esprit de Fleurier Peony. n