Cartier is no stranger to big-budget productions, and it's clear which markets the French jewellery house is courting with its latest short film, L'Odyssee de Cartier.
The film, which premiered at private screenings around the world this month, follows a panther who breaks out from his gem-encrusted form inside a Paris museum to undertake a fantastical journey.
He encounters a golden dragon whose back transforms into the Great Wall. Later, he passes through St. Petersburg, leaps onto a giant elephant with a maharaja's palace on its back, before bounding aboard a replica of the biplane built by famed Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont, a loyal client of Cartier's in the early 20th century.
During this whimsical tour of the BRIC nations, Cartier's talisman prowls through a room studded with some of the gemstone creatures made famous by the jeweller over the years, including butterflies, snakes and glistening crocodiles. The big cat takes the scenic route back to Paris to rendezvous with model Shalom Harlow. In yet another nod to the Sino-French connection, Harlow wears a gorgeous gown by Beijing-born couturier Yiqing Yin.
The original score, composed by Pierre Adenot, was recorded at London's storied Abbey Road Studios and serves as a moving foil for the visuals. The film's references to the developing nations that provide a growing number of Cartier's clients are less than subtle but are executed with the slickness of a major film studio.
It's a graceful combination of cinematic style, digital prowess and unabashed commercial flogging of the 165-year-old brand. It certainly goes above and beyond your average advertising campaign. And why not? As the film suggests, we won't be running out of seriously stunning rocks to hanker after at Cartier any time soon.