Art Deco Jewellery

In the 1920s and 30s, as Art Deco became fashionable, jewellery design changed dramatically. It was not only the influence of Art Deco and other Modernist art movements that brought this about, but also the changes in women's fashion. Out went long dresses and long hair, in came short skirts and a cropped cut and so jewellery also changed to complement the new look.

Short hair meant that women could wear long dangly earrings, some reaching as low as the shoulders. The famous flapper shape, thin and flat chested, was complemented by long necklaces hanging down as far as or below the woman's natural waist. The fashion for sleeveless dresses encouraged woment to wear bracelets around wrists or the upper arm. This period also saw the rise in popularity of wristwatches for women. The use of brooches changed too. Formerly they had been reserved for evening wear, now they adorned coat collars, cloche hats, straps and belts.

Although traditional jewellery continued to be made, fashionable jewelley design changed dramatically. It drew on Modernist and Art Deco influences. The lines were clean and geometric and precious stones were combined with wood, plastic or base metal. Amongst other materials used were ebony, chrome, coral, bakelite and enamels, providing an enlarged palette of colours and textures.

Costume jewellery came into vogue during this period. Introduced by Coco Chanel, this was disposable jewellery, made to be worn only while it was fashionable.

Jewellery making techniques changed too. Gems were cut into new shapes and they were also engraved. Platinum became popular as a setting because it is stronger than gold or silver so large stones could be set with fewer retaining teeth so displaying the jewels to greater advantage.

Some Leading Art Deco Jewellers

• René Lalique - he made beautiful but fragile glass jewellery, little survives.
• Cartier - during this period, the jewellery shows strong Egyptian and Oriental influences and use strongly contrasting coloured stones.
• Van Cleef & Arpels - they used simple shapes to show off a profusion of precious stones. Their pieces can all be identified dated by serial numbers.
• Gerard Sandoz - this designer used pronounced Cubist designs with strongly contrasting primary colours. He used few precious stones but is well known for eggshell lacquer and niello work.
• Raymond Templier - famous for his very bold black and white geometric jewellery.

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Copyright © 2001 Carol Fisher