The most beautiful Jewelry video ever made!

25 December 2016 | Esther Ligthart | Brands & Designers

The most beautiful jewelry video ever made? It’s a big title and I have seen some gorgeous ones, but this to me is the most beautiful one. The Cartier movie: L’Odyssée de Cartier. Watch the movie!

The Cartier Movie L’Odyssée de Cartier is an incredible prestigious and ambitious project. Bruno Aveillan, the director, had the immense task to make a sensual dream, covering the cultural references of Cartier’s rich history, using the iconic animal of the Maison: the Panther. Did you know that the Panther was created by Jeanne Toussaint? She was the artistic director of the Cartier brand in the 1930’s and her nickname? La Panthère! An assertive and independent woman who brought figurative jewelry to the Cartier collections. The first dates back to 1948 when the Duchess of Windsor commissioned a brooch with the panther.

Movie full of references to the rich history of Cartier

The movie is full of references to the history of Cartier. The sleigh with the running horses captivates the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna in St. Petersburg. The birth of the dragon symbolizes the meeting of two cultures or as Cartier likes to call it; the symbol of the Masion’s universalism.

What did you think about the elephant? I thought about Dalì! Surreal and the animal was out of proportion, like straight out of a Dalì painting. But it is the Mughal Palace in India on its back and it refers not just to the relationship with the Maharaja's but also to the Tutti Frutti style. The great thing about that style is that is was considered as poor taste, to combine green, blue and red together. Yet, that is exactly what the greater Gods amongst artists and designers to, push boundaries and open our minds.

The airplane has everything to do with aviator Alberto Santos Dumont, who ordered the first wristwatch at Cartier, I believe in 1904. To improve his flying skills and enhance the total experience. Funny detail: the first square tank watch, a revolutionary design, was ordered in 1917. Rudolph Valentino, actor and forever known as the romantic hero, wore the watch during the film The Son of the Sheik. Obviously, one of the first bloopers in film history!

The music of the film is composed especially for the movie and recorded in Abbey Road, like the whole film wasn’t iconic enough yet.

Iconic Jewelry

The Trinity Ring and the Love bracelet, two of the most iconic pieces, are featured in the beginning and I just LOVED the scene with the peacocks and crocodiles. The panther used for the movie is a trained one, but never walked or saw snow in its life. So that was a risk, fortunately however, it went very well. The tiger did run for real in the mountains in Italy and I haven’t been able to discover the cost of the movie, but I am sure it’s substantial.

As the director of the movie said; the only limit had to be the limit of our imagination!

Why I think this is the most beautiful jewelry movie ever made?

What I personally adore so much about this movie? Well, it moved me. And I see jewelry on my screen, all day, every single day. I am *used to it* also because of the many years within the industry. I am known for being passionate and for the ability to, inspite of the many years in the business, be still in awe of the creativity, imagination and skills of some of the finest artists around. They really touch me and I love that feeling of being emotionally overwhelmed even, when dealing with something extraordinary.

Here is the thing: Cartier and the people directing the movie, used a patchwork of different emotions to surprise us, enchants us. For those 3,5 minutes you are completely transported into a different world and you WANT to see how it ends. My own son watches is it often enough, as he loves dragons :-) But everyone I showed it to, was mesmerized. Show this and you kind of WANT to buy into the richness and history of the brand. It’s the ultimate storytelling and therefore; my absolute favorite jewelry movie ever.

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