Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu

A diamond and sapphire set owl brooch by Cartier, circa 1950, the owl perched on a branch, set with round-cut sapphire eyes, within borders of white brilliant-cut diamonds, the ears, body, wings and tail set throughout with vari-coloured diamonds of brown, green and yellow tints, signed ‘CARTIER NY’, length 48mm. £5,000-£7,000

Provenance: Sotheby’s, Lot 217, sale No. L07051, 13 June 2007, London.

Literature:

Suzanne Tennenbaum & Janet Zapata, The Jeweled Menagerie, The World of Animals in Gems, pub. Thames & Hudson, 2001, page 140 illustrates a similar owl brooch of 1954.