CARTIER PANTHÈRE
Texts by Bérénice Geoffroy-Schneiter, Vivienne Becker,
Joanna Hardy, and André Leon Talley
“A truly wild animal, the Panther is more than a mere symbol for Cartier. It is a timeless icon that is both predatory and elegant, restrained yet always ready to pounce.”
Silently stalking its way through Cartier iconography for a century, the panther is the proud leader of the
pack of precious animals that make up the famous Cartier menagerie. No other creature or jewel is quite
so indissolubly and emotively connected to outstanding 20th-century women of style, to ideals of modern
femininity, and has become Cartier’s most iconic motif for a century. A symbol of power, seduction, and
triumph since ancient times, the image of the panther never fails to arouse fantasies and dreams.
Featuring texts by art historian Bérénice Geoffroy-Schneiter, jewelry historian Vivienne Becker, jewelry
expert Joanna Hardy, and fashion editor André Leon Talley, Cartier Panthère chronicles the panther in art
history, the evolution of Cartier panther jewels, the techniques involved in creating a Cartier panther jewel,
the influence of the panther in fashion, design, and popular culture, and includes a chronology of 100
years of Cartier panther jewels.
THE PANTHER IN ART. Bérénice Geoffroy-Schneiter, regularly contributes to art magazines including
Beaux-Arts, L’OEil, Revista Eles&Elas L’Objet d’art, Le Journal des Arts. She has published numerous books and she curated
the exhibition Voyage dans ma tête, la collection de coiffes ethniques d’Antoine de Galbert, at the Maison
Rouge in Paris in 2010. With Assouline she has published many books, including Ethnic Style (2001), the
two-volume Primal Arts (2005–06), and most recently Van Cleef & Arpels (2014).
EVOLUTION OF THE CARTIER PANTHER. Vivienne Becker is a contributing editor to Financial Times’s
How to Spend It magazine, writes for newspapers and magazines around the world, and lectures and
broadcasts on her subject. She organized and wrote the catalog for the first major exhibition of the jewelry
of René Lalique, and curated Jewels of Fantasy, a traveling exhibition of 20th century costume jewelry.
Becker’s previous books for Assouline include The Impossible Collection of Jewelry (2012), and Sevan
Biçakçi (2014).
CREATION OF A CARTIER PANTHER. Joanna Hardy began her career as a goldsmith before working at
De Beers as a rough diamond appraiser, and at Sotheby’s in Bond Street as senior jewelry specialist and
auctioneer. Hardy established the Jewellery School of Excellence program, lecturing and conducting master
classes worldwide, she has published Collect Contemporary: Jewelry and Emerald: Twenty-One Centuries
of Jewelled Opulence and Power with Thames and Hudson, and is a regular contributor to The Telegraph’s
Luxury magazine and The Wall Street Journal.
THE PANTHER AS CULTURAL ICON. André Leon Talley is a Vogue contributing editor and the magazine’s
former American editor at large. In 2014 he was named artistic director of Zappos Couture, and he has been
on the board of trustees of Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia, since 2000. Talley has written
several books, including Valentino (1982); A.L.T.: André Leon Talley (2003); Little Black Dress (2013); and
Valentino: At the Emperor’s Table (Assouline, 2014).
Special Thanks: Rebecca Bassard
