Cartier coral and onyx stack rings. A pair of yellow gold bands, each set to the shoulders with a total of twelve round old cut diamonds in open back grain settings with a combined approximate weight of 0.40 carats, one set to centre with a smoothly rounded band of coral, and the other set with a similarly shaped band of onyx, to an outwardly curving band with finely pierced circular backholing, the diamond set shoulders tapering to a solid D-shape shank. Marked 18 carat yellow gold, signed 'Cartier' and each numbered respectively '41874' and 41843', French, circa 1970s.

Cartier has an extensive history of using coral, dating as far back as the 1920's when the ever-innovative Louis Cartier (1875-1942) embraced coral elements, which were championed in Cartier jewels for the following sixty years.

As per Francesca Cartier Brickell, great-granddaughter of Jacques Théodule Cartier (1884-1941) and author of ‘The Cartiers’, "Louis had very strong ideas about which colours to put together for maximum effect and the combinations he chose became known as 'classic Cartier'. There was the Eastern-inspired blue and green of course, but there was also the very striking coral and black. White and black (diamonds and onyx) were hard to beat for elegant evening jewels but combined with coral worked in the day too, as did coral and emeralds, and coral and pearls."

Cartier excelled in fine coral jewels throughout the 1960s and 1970s, as they went on to design pieces to be worn in a more casual manner to reflect the lifestyles of the era.

These rings are in excellent condition.