Hortensia or Le Petit Cactus
Chaumet · Mellerio
Hortensia
Hydrangea florets gathered into pompoms, garlands and posies, the flower repeated in gold petals, pink opal and pavé.
Le Petit Cactus
The flower of the vanilla cactus, which opens for one night a year, made as a small burst of rose gold stamens around a single stone.
Le Petit Cactus begins with a single night. The vanilla cactus opens once a year, and Redouté painted it for Marie-Antoinette, Mellerio's first royal client; in 2019 Laure-Isabelle Mellerio turned its pistil into a small burst of rose-gold stamens around one stone. Chaumet's Hortensia, from 2013, looks to a later consort's garden, Empress Joséphine's at Malmaison, and to a flower that grows in heavy clusters. A fleeting bloom set alone meets a crowded, lasting one.
| Fact | Hortensia | Le Petit Cactus |
|---|---|---|
| Introduced | 2013 | 2019 |
| Designer | Claire Dévé-Rakoff | Laure-Isabelle Mellerio |
| School | Place Vendôme | Place Vendôme |
| Materials | rose gold, white gold, yellow gold, diamond, opal, sapphire, ruby, coral, tourmaline, mother-of-pearl | rose gold, diamond, coloured diamond, sapphire, tsavorite, other |
| Moves | No | No |
| From | Not published | €440 |
| Top of line | — | €4,100 |
Prices in euros as published by each house, October 2026.
More with Hortensia
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- Hortensia or Grain de Café Cartier
- Hortensia or Sunflower Harry Winston
- Hortensia or Alhambra Van Cleef & Arpels
More with Le Petit Cactus
- Le Petit Cactus or Plume de Paon Boucheron
- Le Petit Cactus or Grain de Café Cartier
- Le Petit Cactus or Sunflower Harry Winston
- Le Petit Cactus or Alhambra Van Cleef & Arpels