[Sur]Naturel Cartier High Jewelry and Precious Objects

An exquisite volume documenting Cartier's most recent bespoke high jewelry collection, destined for eminent clients and collectors.

Devoted to the new High Jewelry and precious objects collection created by Cartier, this book celebrates nature's vitality, sensuality, and aesthetic force. Documents from the House's archives show that flora and fauna have been a major source of inspiration at Cartier since the very beginning.
The representations are numerous, and the interpretations complement each other: figurative, as realistic as possible; stylized, between an outline or suggestion; and all the way to abstraction, with the disconcerting visual play.
The jeweler's imagination and virtuosity transform precious materials and stones into splendid ensembles. For this groundbreaking new collection, the artists who create the designs go even farther than the known natural universe to visit unexplored territories: in addition to the Houses's emblematic species, such as panthers and crocodiles, we discover original creations, inspired, for example, by succulents and peacocks, or even imaginary creatures like reinvented chimeras.
In this richly illustrated volume, the new Cartier High Jewelry collection is accompanied by text that highlights the privileged relationship that exists between contemporary art and nature. Artists, fascinated by the power and the mystery of the environment that surrounds us, move beyond traditional art arenas to confront the immensity of landscapes or to work directly with materials from nature. The natural world is a marvel that never ceases to inspire and seduce.

François Chaille is a writer. Passionate about art history, fashion, jewelry and watchmaking, he has published fifteen works with Flammarion, including Magnitude, Coloratura,The Cartier Collection: Timepieces, Audemars Piguet: Master Watchmaker Since 1875, and Girard Perregaux.
Hélène Kelmachter is an art historian and exhibition curator. She worked with the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain for more than fifteen years. She was cultural attaché at the French Embassy in Tokyo (2007-2012) and in Buenos Aires (2014-2018). She has curated numerous exhibitions in France, Japan, China, and Argentina devoted to contemporary art and artisanal craft.