Avatar and MCU actress Zoe Saldaña stole the show at the launch of Cartier’s Le Chœur des Pierres high jewellery collection in Saint-Tropez this week. She accessorised her lace Saint Laurent look with Haryma, one of the most striking pieces from the range. Made of yellow gold and embellished with topazes, garnets, emeralds, onyx and diamonds, the necklace evokes a tiger’s stripes, with the animal itself at its centre – as though ready to pounce – stalking down a “staircase” of five topazes.

It’s not the first time Saldaña has wowed in Cartier. At the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in 2023, she wore a one-of-a-kind capelet made from 67,000 chain-mail gold links, 150 diamonds and several faceted onyx tassels.

We caught up with the Lioness star to talk about her trip to Saint-Tropez and her relationship with the Parisian jewellery maison.

How does it feel to be here with Cartier?

It’s my first time in Saint-Tropez. It’s a very special occasion. I love that my first time here is with Cartier. I’ve been collaborating with them for a little over a year, and I keep having wonderful experiences with them. Their approach to high jewellery … is just stunning. There’s so much craftsmanship and beauty and timelessness and art and care, and I have a lot of respect for that.

Tell me about the necklace you’re wearing

I went to the ateliers in Paris to see them putting the final touches to the piece, and I was able to put a lot of questions to the designers and artisans. That’s a process I enjoy a lot: it’s such a beautiful story of this very sensual stone. I like that this piece, even though it makes a statement, is not heavy or intense but really delicate. It still has a strong presence.

What about the very special Cartier cape you wore a few years ago?

When it was presented to me in theory, I thought, “I can’t do this.” But then, when you see the piece in person and talk to the team behind it, all of a sudden, you go from that extreme to: “I have to wear it.” … You’d think it would feel uncomfortable, but it wasn’t heavy. [It was] like a mesh that was seamlessly placed on my body. … It was wonderful to wear and wonderful to look at, so it was a great experience.