A coloured diamond and diamond "Tiger" brooch, by Cartier, circa 1990. Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 (€54,000 - 82,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Designed as a tiger on the prowl, with pear-shaped emerald eyes, its coat rendered in shaped onyx stripes and brilliant-cut orange, yellow and near-colourless diamond shading, diamonds approximately 2.90 carats total, coloured diamonds untested for natural colour, signed Cartier, numbered 634354, maker's mark and French assay marks, Cartier case, onyx nose and two tail stripes deficient, length 7.0cm

Notes: Cartier's famed 'great cat' designs can be traced back to 1914, when the firm debuted a watch with the spotted motif of a panther. However, this brooch is an example of the rarer Tiger jewels, introduced by Cartier's creative director Jeanne Toussaint in the 1950s. No doubt inspired by Toussaint's own tiger-fur coat, these designs attracted some of the Maison's most illustrious clients. The Woolworth's heiress and great jewellery collector Barbara Hutton notably preferred these jewels to the panthers, commissioning a Tiger brooch from Cartier in 1957, and the Duchess of Windsor acquired a number of Tiger jewels to complement her collection of Panther designs.

The roaming gait of this Tiger brooch is suggestive of the lifelike articulation frequently used by Cartier in their cat designs. 

For examples of Cartier's Tiger jewels, see 'The Art of Cartier', Rainero, P., Guillermo, S. and Varela, J., Fundación Colección Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, 2013 

Bonham's. FINE JEWELLERY, 24 Sep 2015 12:00 BST - LONDON, NEW BOND STREET