Ringing in the New Year

By Xiao Changyan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-01-03 16:53

In celebration of the New Year and Valentine's Day, luxury jeweler Cartier has launched a new line for those hoping to add a little sparkle to their holidays.

The brand's latest India collection is inspired by exotic subject matter, such as paisley, the cloud spirit Apsara and solar deity Surya, and cobras and tigers.

From Cartier's classic LOVE collection - one of its most iconic and popular series - comes a limited edition Baby LOVE necklace, featuring two interlocking rings, one of which is black ceramic, while the other is platinum.

Cartier's LOVE collection was developed in 1970 and features clasps that are attached in the store with a jewelry screwdriver.

Famous couples, such as Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, Ali MacGraw and Steve McQueen, and Sophia Loren and Carlo Ponti had their enduring LOVE enshrined in yellow gold.

The Ballon Bleu de Cartier Flying Tourbillon is Cartier's first timepiece to bear the Geneva Seal hallmark, awarded to a select few among watchmakers as a guarantee of premium quality.

The Flying Tourbillon combines the watchmaking traditions of Geneva with the modernity of masculine, elegant and graphical design.

With a slate gray guilloche dial highlighted by an open-worked grid displaying the minutes, the Flying Tourbillon has a circular-grained crown in 18-carat rose gold, set with a sapphire cabochon. It contains 19 jewels and more than 140 parts.

Cartier's latest watch collection also includes a new limited-edition Roadster watch, featuring rich walnut wood and luminescent white gold.

For women, the le Cirque Animalier de Cartier collection features an elephant, panda, and tiger motif, and explores Cartier's history in Asia.

The economy might be uncertain, but nobody seems to have told Cartier yet.

The luxury jeweler has opened three new boutiques in the capital - in the Olympic Commercial Zone, Wangfujing's Lotte Yintai Department Store and Yintai Center's Park Life in CBD. They join the three existing Cartier stores in Beijing to capitalize on the burgeoning Chinese demand for luxury goods.