Cartier Bombé Ruby and Diamond Ring, Paris, circa 1970

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Cartier Bombé Ruby and Diamond Ring, Paris, circa 1970

About the Item

Bombé Ruby and Diamond Ring by Cartier, Paris, circa 1970 A ring of bombé form composed of pavé-set diamonds and rubies; mounted in platinum and yellow gold, with French assay marks • Diamonds, total weighing approximately 4.5 carats • Rubies, total weighing approximately 6 carats • Marks: Cartier Paris and numbered • Measurements: 1 inch x 1 1/8 x 7/16 inches • Ring size: 6 3/4 Significance In 1933 Jeanne Toussaint, a visionary with superb taste, took over as director of the luxury jewelry department at Cartier. She moved the company away from the structured jewels of the Art Deco and created colorful, oversized pieces that brought playfulness to the dark times of World War II. Toussaint remained deeply connected to the design roots of the company—after all she was the inspiration for the panthère—and looked back at previous forms, reviving Chimeras and panthers with modern materials and design. She enjoyed oversized cocktail rings, and an early version of a half-and-half ring in diamonds and rubies appeared in Vogue in 1937 and in Femina in 1947. It was again featured on the cover of Vogue in 1956 along with a set of Cartier jewelry. Toussaint’s exploration of unusual rings was iconic and four of her oversized ring designs were the central feature of a Harper’s Bazaar cover in 1947. The description read “First view of fine rings from Paris . . . New altitudinous dimension for a ring and the hand that wears it.” By the 1950s, cocktail rings had become bold, colorful, and oversized—they were meant to draw attention to the hand as it rested on the stem of a fluted glass or held a beaded purse against a biased cut silk dress. The idea of a bold statement ring had become popular in the 1920s, when women seized social freedoms and began to work outside the home, take up sports, and socialize at nightclubs. Toussaint expanded on the idea of the cocktail ring, creating half-and-half gem-set pieces first in diamond and ruby, then in diamond and yellow-diamond combination. In later decades, similar rings were made with diamonds and carved coral or lapis lazuli. This style of ring became an iconic Cartier design for decades. In a subtle and wonderful design move, the coolness of the colorless diamonds is heightened by white gold, while the warmth of the rubies is accented by yellow gold. This iconic ring, celebrated by top fashion magazines would be a wearable and coveted addition to any collection. Literature cf. Coleno, Nadine. Amazing Cartier: Jewelry Design since 1937. Paris: Flammarion, 2009, p. 114. Biography Cartier was founded in Paris in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier. His three grandsons, Louis, Pierre, and Jacques, built the house into a famous international jewelry empire serving royalty, Hollywood stars, and socialites. Cartier has created some of the most important jewelry and objects of art of the twentieth century with many iconic designs such as mystery clocks, Tutti Frutti jewelry and the Panthère line. In 1983, The Cartier Collection was established with the objective of acquiring important pieces that trace the firm's artistic evolution. Today, Cartier has 200 stores in 125 countries.

Creator:
Cartier
Ring Size:
6.75 US, Not Resizable
Metal:
18k Gold,Platinum
Stone:
Diamond,Ruby
Stone Cut:
Round Cut
Weight:
6 ct
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
1970-1979
Date of Manufacture:
c.1970
Condition:
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
Seller: F600101stDibs: LU2075214123502

Shop All Cartier

Cartier

For its extraordinary range of bracelets, watches, rings and other adornments, French luxury house Cartier is undeniably one of the most well known and internationally revered jewelers in the world among clients both existing and aspirational.

Perhaps 1847 was not the ideal time to open a new watchmaking and jewelry business, as the French Revolution was not kind to the aristocracy who could afford such luxuries. Nevertheless, it was the year Louis-François Cartier (1819–1904) — who was born into poverty — founded his eponymous empire, assuming control of the workshop of watchmaker Adolphe Picard, under whom he had previously been employed as an assistant. Of course, in the beginning, it was a relatively modest affair, but by the late 1850s, Cartier had its first royal client, Princess Mathilde Bonaparte, niece of Napoleon Bonaparte, who commissioned the jeweler to design brooches, earrings and other accessories.

Under the leadership of Louis-François’s son, Alfred, who took over in 1874, business boomed. Royalty around the world wore Cartier pieces, including Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the Maharaja of Patiala and King Edward VII, who had 27 tiaras made by the jewelry house for his coronation in 1902 and issued Cartier a royal warrant in 1904. (Today, the British royal family still dons Cartier pieces; Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, regularly sports a Ballon Bleu de Cartier watch.)

Cartier’s golden years, however, began when Alfred introduced his three sons, Louis, Pierre and Jacques, to the business. The brothers expanded Cartier globally: Louis reigned in Paris, Pierre in New York and Jacques in London, ensuring their brand’s consistency at their branches across the world. The trio also brought in such talents as Charles Jacqueau and Jeanne Toussaint.

One of Cartier’s earliest major successes was the Santos de Cartier watch — one of the world's first modern wristwatches for men. (Previously, a large number of people were using only pocket watches.) Louis designed the timepiece in 1904 for his friend, popular Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, who wanted to be able to check the time more easily while flying.

Cartier’s other famous timepieces include the Tank watch, which was inspired by the linear form of military tanks during World War I, and the so-called mystery clocks. Invented by watchmaker and magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin and later crafted exclusively for Cartier in the house’s workshop by watchmaker Maurice Couët, the mystery clocks were so named because the integration of glass dials on which the clocks’ hands would seemingly float as well as structures that are hidden away within the base give the illusion that they operate without machinery.

On the jewelry side of the business, Cartier’s internationally renowned offerings include the Tutti Frutti collection, which featured colorful carved gemstones inspired by Jacques’s trip to India and grew in popularity during the Art Deco years; the panthère motif, which has been incorporated into everything from brooches to rings; and the Love bracelet, a minimal, modernist locking bangle inspired by medieval chastity belts that transformed fine jewelry.

While the Cartier family sold the business following the death of Pierre in 1964, the brand continues to innovate today, renewing old hits and creating new masterpieces.

On 1stDibs, find a growing collection of contemporary and vintage Cartier watches, engagement rings, necklaces and other accessories.