Feline Mystique: Cartier’s Legendary Panther Obsession Takes a Dramatic Modern Twist

Since 1914, the panther has been linked with Cartier. The first panther design was an opulent wristwatch, spotted with onyx and diamonds. Over the next 100-plus years, the panther became a symbol of femininity, strength, mystery, and beauty.

Jeanne Toussaint, Louis Cartier’s collaborator and muse, was the first to embody the panther spirit. In 1948, a 116.74-carat emerald cabochon brooch with an onyx-spotted panther was designed for the Duchess of Windsor.

Retail heiress Barbara Hutton, fashion editor and social swan Daisy Fellowes, and Mexican actress and singer María de los Ángeles Félix (nicknamed the Mexican Panther) would later become rare-air panther muses.

Today, the Panthère de Cartier collection takes a modern spin with a new set of rings and bracelets, with playful tassels and that majestic cat — still displaying her onyx spots and sly emerald eyes.

Rings from $13,700, bracelets from $23,000, at the Cartier boutique.