METAL: platinum (950) (French assay marks)
ROCK CRYSTAL: polished and engraved rectangular step-cut rock crystal, representing a stork and a wolf in front of a sunset
DIAMONDS: rose-cut diamonds
SAPPHIRES: square-cut sapphires
DATE: circa 1910
MARKS: signed L.Cartier, R.Lalique, numbered

SIZE/DIMENSIONS: 3.1 x 2.5 x 0.6 cm
GROSS WEIGHT: 7.2 grams

"Compère le Renard se mit un jour en frais, et retint à dîner commère la Cigogne [...]", Fable by Jean de La Fontaine, Le Renard et la Cigogne , Livre I, 18.

This precious brooch is the result of the exceptional collaboration of René Lalique, the undisputed master of Art Nouveau jewellery, and Louis Cartier. The latter took his first steps as a designer in 1894, under the tutelage of his uncle, the founder François-Louis Cartier, and imposed the brand throughout the world.

Initially apprenticed to craftsman and jeweller Louis Aucoc - a leading name in Art Nouveau - Lalique perfected his design skills and developed his naturalistic approach to art during his years of study at Sydenham College of Art in London and the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. After graduating from university in 1882, he worked as a freelance artist for the leading jewellery houses in Paris, including Cartier and Boucheron. In 1885, he took over the workshop of another Parisian jeweller, Jules Destape, before setting up his own workshop two years later and creating the incredible jewellery for which he is now famous.

Instigator of a new jewellery era, Lalique's creations are those of an innovator inspired by his time and perpetuating the past know-how of a conservative profession. Until then only used by medal engravers, Lalique used the reduction lathe process to create his precious jewels with an architectural dimension. He could thus make his model in wax or plaster of a large size, conveniently establishing the details, which, when reduced, became extremely delicate, like this brooch.

Mounted on platinum - Louis Cartier being the first to impose this metal in the fashion world - and entirely made of rock crystal, this exceptional piece is barely enhanced by small pink diamonds and calibrated sapphires. With its refined aesthetic, this jewel is a true testimony to the great decorative simplicity deviating from the Japanese style that characterised the Art Nouveau period.

Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.