In 1994, a group of gemmologists discovered an outstanding rough emerald, weighing more than 2,500 carats, in the famed mines of Chivor, high in the Andes Mountains.
The stone’s quality was so valuable that lapidaries cut five emeralds from it: two pear-shaped gems with the spectacular weights of 205.11 and 206.23 carats, and three octagonal ones weighing respectively 53.84, 58.45 and 67.87 carats.
Cartier acquired them all. The eight-sided gems were recut by the Parisian jeweler into cushion shapes with rounded angles and placed on a cuff bracelet. The two larger emeralds were reserved for an unprecedented serpent necklace design to be presented in 1997, for the Maison’s 150th anniversary. A platinum reptile with diamond scales and a compelling presence wraps its sinuous length around the neck, clasping the first emerald between its head and body and the second, with its tail.
