Ernest Hemingway compared the influence and effects of Paris to a moveable feast. Well, how about a moveable, transformable feast for the eyes? That may just be the thought behind Polymorph, the latest edition of the Libre collection by Parisian jeweller Cartier.
Cartier Libre can be thought of as a creative laboratory, where the brand makes its most inventive leaps of imagination and savoir-faire. Past collections and creations include the Tressage edition, which explored the art of braiding and weaving gold. Zoe Saldana made one of her most memorable red carpet appearances in a Tressage design: a gold chainmail body jewellery cape, with actual zippers and zip pendants decorated with diamonds and onyx.
This year, the jewellery maison’s Libre line is titled Polymorph, with a focus on watch and jewellery designs that transform. The ever-shifting movements of nature is the inspiration. But, as Cartier is wont to do, the house has given it a twist by abstracting concepts like the trajectory of the sun, the stages of an eclipse, and the way flowers bloom and open up.
One of the more exciting themes of the Polymorph collection is a free-spirited approach to how these pieces can be worn on the body.
The design that’s garnered the most attention is surely the carabiner watch. Fashioned in the shape of a triangle, and snow-set with diamonds, the design features a rotating component with the watch dial. It’s bordered by emeralds and sapphires, and flanked by a circle of onyx, lapis lazuli, black spinel, turquoise and chrysoprase beads. On another side of the triangle, a clasp with a blue sapphire cabochon—like the crown on a Tank—that can be pressed to open the carabiner. An object of utility imbued with ingenious design, transformed into utter luxury, to be worn on a belt loop.
Other creations with this approach include a panther claw brooch designed to be clipped onto the inside edge of a jacket’s lapel, the edge of a pocket, or even the hem of a sleeve. There are four claws, tipped with four large moonstones, snow-set diamonds and lines of custom-cut onyxes for contrast. A press of a button reveals a hidden miniature watch dial on one of the claws.
There are also a number of creations inspired by natural movements. A diamond and onyx ring, made up of four rotating discs, that mirrors the phases of a solar eclipse; and a more classically solar bracelet and ring that evoke the myriad colours of a sunrise.
A bevy of coloured gemstones is used for the effect in the latter: pink chalcedony, orange moonstone, palmeira citrine, Madeira orange citrine, intense fire opal, spessartite garnet, pink sapphire, yellow sapphire and orange rutilated quartz.
This unusually varied selection of gemstones was chosen for their chromatic quality. And the crescent discs they’re set into are not arranged in the typical manner, flat and facing the top to show off the bounty of stones. Instead, they’re raised at an angle to suggest a continuous, flowing change.
Lastly, a bracelet and ring pair that seems to conjure the vivacious transformation of flowers when they blossom. They’re crafted in gold with an entirely open-worked design, with diamonds decoratively set at alternating intervals.
These creations feature a modular construction, with articulated structures that allow it to open up from a smooth, tube-like form into a bursting, liberated shape with a reveal of diamonds. Cartier describes it as a daytime ribbon polymorphing into a radiant shower of diamonds. Clearly a design that does double duties of subtlety and glamour. To wit: it’s already been worn by Charlize Theron at this year’s Vanity Fair Oscar Party.
