User:Alex Shih/Jeanne Toussaint

Jeanne Toussaint (13 January 1887 – 7 May 1976) was a French socialite and jeweler. She was the head jewelry designer for Cartier in the 1930s, where she was known as the lover and the muse of Louis Cartier.

Early life
When she was 13, Toussaint fled her home and had an affair with a earl that lives in Brussels. He took her to Paris when she was 16 and offered her first Cartier jewelry. She met Louis Cartier right before the First World War begins, and Cartier hired her to be part of the creative commitee where he serves as the chairperson and heads the department for bags and accessories.

During this time, she was living with Baron Pierre Hély d'Oissel, where he was prevented to marry Touissant by his family. After her affair with the baron, Toussaint went on to have an affair with Louis Cartier, where Cartier's family also refused to acknowledge their union due to the reputation of Touissaint. During the German occupation of Paris in 1941, Toussaint was arrested by the Gestapo for questioning, and allegedly was only released after the intervention of Coco Chanel.

She designed a series of panther motif jewelries that became popular and were worn by Barbara Hutton, Maria Felix and Daisy Fellowes. The design later became the emblem for the house of Cartier, the maison in which she continued to work for until the 1970s.