"As of 2025, the Panthère has been prowling around Cartier jewellery for a rather satisfying 111 years. Its distinct markings - generally executed in white diamonds and onyx, although sometimes in yellow gold too - were first recreated on a watch. The actual form of the big cat, meanwhile, debuted on a cigarette case made in 1917 and given by the family scion Louis Cartier to formidable jewellery designer Jeanne Toussaint, who was also his lover."
"Cartier (the man) called Toussaint " ma petite panthère ", and in turn she reshaped Cartier (the brand) in her feline image, making the big cat entirely synonymous with the house. Well, cat, Cartier. It does fit. The monochrome markings also chime neatly with Cartier's early championing of the graphic style of Art Deco, while the idea adds a distinct sense of fantasy to the forms,"
The panthère has prowled Cartier jewellery for 111 years, its markings usually executed in white diamonds and onyx, sometimes in yellow gold. The markings were first recreated on a watch, while the cat's full form debuted on a 1917 cigarette case given by Louis Cartier to jewellery designer Jeanne Toussaint, his lover. Cartier nicknamed Toussaint "ma petite panthère", and Toussaint reshaped the house in a feline image, making the panthère synonymous with Cartier. The monochrome markings align with Cartier's Art Deco graphics and drove technical and stylistic innovation that underpins the brand's identity. The panthère now appears on brooches, watches, rings and in pavé stud earrings with emerald eyes, onyx spots and 132 brilliant-cut diamonds.
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