Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu

An early 20th century French enamel and mother-of-pearl parasol handle, formed of tapered and polished mother-of-pearl, with pink guilloché enamel collar and handle, with white enamel borders and mother-of-pearl inset to the base within a surround of seed pearls and pink gemstones, mounted in silver, indistinct partial assay marks, numbered ‘0444’, in original tooled leather case by A. Risler & Garre, Paris, length 32cm. £800-£1,200

The use of translucent pink enamel over an engine-turned ground between borders of opaque white enamel is seen on many objets, clocks and jewels by Cartier during the Belle Epoque. Inspired by the enamels of Fabergé, these works were originally supplied to Cartier by workshops in St. Petersburg and Moscow, before Cartier Paris started producing their own Russian inspired pieces circa 1906.