Paris, Circa 1950
Length 2.8cm / 1 1/8''
Weight: 20.5g
Openwork loop earrings of stylised floral design. Formed of five diamond line petal loops, set with round brilliant cut diamonds and each centred by an old cut pear shaped diamond on baguette stem. Mounted in platinum and white gold.
£79,000
Cartier is a French jewellery house founded in 1847 by Louis-Francois Cartier. The house's history started when Louis-Francois Cartier took over master-craftsman Adolphe Picard's atelier in Paris and began creating elegant jewellery recognisable for the use of platinum. The French aristocracy was soon enchanted by the fine jewellery, andvPrincess Mathilde, niece of Napoleon I, made her first purchase in 1856. Three years later, the Empress Eugenie joined the list of Cartier admirers, and in 1859, Cartier opened a boutique on the Boulevard des Italiens in Paris. In 1899, Alfred and his son Louis Cartier created the first fine wrist watch with diamonds. The piece was a great success, and that same year, 1899, a new Cartier boutique was inaugurated in Paris, at 13 Rue de la Paix, that would go on to become the hub of the house's expertise.
