Charms worn on a bracelet were still high in fashion at the beginning of the war, perhaps because their intricate and light-hearted design distracted people from the general atmosphere of anxiety and unease. In around 1935, a new kind of brooch emerged: Cartier's decorative, amusing pieces were modelled as ladybirds or, as here, as a head of a Sioux Indian or a Blackamoor. Both the Sioux and the Blackamoor are an exotic motif which, in the United States, doubled as a patriotic statement at times of the war. Contemporary fashion magazines suggested wearing various of these so-called 'fetish' brooches to convey humour and affection.

A 'Sioux' clip brooch sold at Christie's Geneva, 14 November 2001 for SFr. 16,450