LUCCA, Italy — Entering the Villa Reale di Marlia here, one could easily have believed you had just stepped foot into the world of “Bridgerton.” The 17^th century estate, complete with a lush park punctuated by sculptures, lemon gardens, a small lake and the sound of a quartet of violins filling the air, is a lesser-known Italian beauty that has eluded the eye of even many locals.

The image-perfect spot and idyllic mood got here second only to Cartier’s recent high jewelry collection that was revealed within the villa’s frescoed halls on Wednesday.

After taking press and top clients to Lake Como two years ago, the corporate returned to Italy, choosing the Tuscan town of Lucca, a 90-minute drive from Florence, to showcase greater than 80 never-before-seen pieces.

Talking with WWD, Arnaud Carrez, senior vice chairman and chief marketing officer of Cartier International, offered several reasons that prompted the choice. He pointed to the long-lasting relationship Cartier has with the country and the pivotal role of the Italian market, each by way of business and image constructing. As reported, the corporate’s ties here have been recently strengthened with a recent plant in Turin, which added to frequent product launches in addition to to Cartier’s involvement within the artistic and cultural tissue of the country via the sponsorship of the Venice Film Festival and the partnership between Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain and Triennale Milano.

More specifically, the history of Villa Reale di Marlia itself intertwines with the brand’s. After being purchased by Napoleon’s sister Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi in 1806 and being greatly renovated, the property passed to the Pecci-Blunt family in 1923. Through her social events, countess Mimì Pecci-Blunt began attracting artists, aristocracy and jet-set personalities to the placement, starting from Salvador Dalì and Jean Cocteau to Jacqueline Kennedy, to call just a few.

“A lot of our clients have spent a whole lot of time on this villa, especially within the ‘50s and ‘60s. The Pecci-Blunts was between Paris and Villa Reale and so they hosted many parties with lots of our clients attending it, in order that’s a pleasant story for us,” said Carrez, crediting as further evidence a recently purchased book belonging to the family with pictures of such gatherings.

Dubbed “Le Voyage Recommencé,” Cartier’s high jewelry collection was meant to evoke this continuity as well, reinterpreting the brand’s own history through a recent filter for today’s customers.

Reasonably than selecting an overarching specific inspiration, Cartier’s director of high jewelry creation Jacqueline Karachi and the corporate’s craftsmen delved into the heritage and reinvented the core aesthetic codes of the home through unique pieces that hinged on interplays of geometries, volumes and recent chromatic juxtapositions.

“It’s very consistent by way of philosophy with what we’ve done in these a long time in high jewelry and at the identical time it has a recent approach on the important thing themes,” said Carrez, mentioning architecture, nature and dialogue between different cultures as recurring references. “I believe this collection pays tribute to this everlasting quest for beauty and is again a real testimony of our ability to reinvent ourselves and being very true to our founding identity at the identical time.”

Emblematic pieces in the gathering were the Claustra platinum necklace covered in diamonds, including a remarkable 4.02-carat specimen standing at the middle of its geometric and pointy structure. Onyx alternated diamonds and openwork further enhanced the sport of perspective and volumes and nodded to Cartier’s signature black-and-white combos that were first introduced at the start of the twentieth century. Adding to the technical challenge, the piece was also transformable because the necklace may very well be split into two separate ones.

An analogous transformable feat also defined the Girih necklace, whose central pendant showcasing an oval-shaped emerald may very well be detached and worn as a brooch. Nodding to Arab mosaics and palette through its geometries and charming color mixture of green and turquoise, the piece was intended to have a good time one among the pillars of Cartier’s style — the Islamic art and architecture that Louis Cartier first discovered in 1903 through an exhibition on the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. 

Ditto for the Panjara necklace in diamonds — including a rare brown type as centerpiece — and onyx, which was inspired by the sunshine filtering through mashrabiya, a conventional Arab architectural element. Other Middle Eastern nods defined the Sama creation, evoking the dresses of whirling dervishes with its swirling structure in white gold and diamonds that converge around a 19.27-carat Ceylon sapphire.

Elsewhere, the Vespro necklace further built on the sport of contrast between static structures and movement with its beaded suggestions, while the Panthère Givrée necklace celebrated the spirit animal of the jewellery house, introduced in 1914 by Louis Cartier. The realistic shape of the feline covered in diamonds with onyx spots and emerald eyes was flanked by a set of three aquamarines totaling 20.33 carats in addition to lapis lazuli for a touch of color.

As usual, the design of every bit was determined by the features of the important thing precious stones. For instance, a rare 0.92-carat gray-violet diamond stood out for sitting on the statement Ondule ring and inspired its daring appearance. Resembling the effect of throwing a stone within the water, concentric lines developed across the centerpiece, with the effect enhanced via diamonds cut in a half-moon shape.

With the appetite for top jewelry booming and Cartier’s commitment to improving ethical, environmental and social practices throughout the industry — as embodied by the partnership with Kering on the Watch & Jewelry Initiative 2030 — Carrez identified sourcing because the most important challenge for the sector. 

“It’s a continuing challenge because we’re obsessed about finding the nicest stones. We’ve some very strict guidelines criteria and we’re committed to finding probably the most beautiful natural stones and at the identical time to comply with principles not only by way of quality, but in addition by way of provenance,” said Carrez, mentioning decisions to not source from some countries, akin to Afghanistan within the case of lapis lazuli. “Plus, with the market being vibrant there may be a contest for sourcing precious stones, so the expertise of our buyers is so necessary… We’ve people from the stone purchasing department who’ve been with us for a long time, so that they have an intensive knowledge… and we’ve built some very strong and solid relationship with our partners. And the actual fact we’ve got also this unique image in high jewelry, it helps.”

Without disclosing figures, Carrez underscored the dynamism and vitality of the high jewelry category impacts each Cartier’s key current markets — akin to the U.S., China and Middle East — and recent ones, mainly in Southeast Asia.

“We see recent regions growing fast…A number of months ago we organized an event in Bangkok and had clients coming from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and likewise Australia,” said the manager. South Korea and Japan, where the corporate has been focusing with dedicated events for the past decade, are also becoming increasingly relevant for the brand’s high jewelry business.

Carrez also noted that especially in these countries the common age of consumers is lower in comparison with the established ones. Basically, he said that already half of the brand’s overall customers are Millennials and Gen Z-ers.

“The share is already high and it’s even higher in some regions. Especially in Asia, we’re already perceived as an aspirational brand… for watches, jewelry and sometimes for high-quality jewelry and accessories. After we have a look at Cartier’s iconic collections, they’re by essence transgenerational, so that they do cater to multiple generations. We aren’t obsessed about [young generations]. We cater to multiple clienteles, including young clienteles, but we don’t have specific collections for them and this will not be our intention,” said Carrez.

Cultural and social aspects are affecting the geographies of the brand’s high jewelry customers, as a substitute. The manager noted that these sorts of pieces are tougher to wear in Europe attributable to a reduced variety of special occasions in addition to the general social and economic context, “inducing a few of our clients to be cautious and have a more subdued approach,” he noted. Conversely, social events within the U.S., Asia and Middle East spark the demand for such creations. 

“That’s why events like this one [in Lucca] are very necessary for clients. It’s not just for industrial reasons but also they are a chance to wear their pieces, which could be very necessary for them,” noted Carrez. 

To further have a good time the high jewelry collection, the brand will host a special gala dinner on the Giardino Corsini location in Florence with a few of its international ambassadors in attendance. 

After hosting top clients in Lucca and Florence, the Italian experience of the brand will proceed in Milan with events dedicated to its VICs. Other activities within the country will see Cartier returning for the third yr as sponsor of the Venice Film Festival, running Aug. 30 to Sept. 9, and next yr collaborating within the Homo Faber cultural event celebrating craftsmanship.

Also next yr, a recent production site in Valenza can be ready. It is going to be just shy of 55,000 square feet, for as much as 180 employees, up from around 40 in the present one in Valenza.

The Compagnie Financière Richemont-controlled brand has been directly manufacturing in Italy since 2013, when it purchased one among its partners, which itself had absorbed Turin-based jewelry atelier Marchisio, open since 1860.

Cartier currently counts nine manufacturing sites, including Turin, Valenza, its Paris high jewelry ateliers, in addition to its Swiss watchmaking plants in La-Chaux-de-Fond and a historical 40-year-old facility in Fribourg.