TORTUE WATCH, LARGE MODEL
Manual, white gold, diamonds, leather
Cartier continues the art of hand engraving mother-of-pearl. The engraving process is delicate. Mother-of-pearl of appropriate translucence and tone is selected and cut into slivers. A high-precision burin is used to engrave these slivers of mother-of-pearl with a feather motif. The craftsman can thus produce subtle shading, fading from pastel pink to white, and achieve an illusion of depth. Cartier contrasts this palette with bold colours: yellow for the comb and black for the eye and beak, all of which are fashioned in champlevé enamel. The realistic yet fantastical cockatoo seems to rise out of the frame, illuminated by the two rows of brilliant-cut diamonds that surround the dial.
