About Art Deco Jewelry
Art Deco jewelry lasted from the 1920's up to the Second
World War. Its zenith was during the roaring twenties
and in particular the "jazz age". Reacting against the
classical mores of the Edwardian pre World War I era
and embracing the avant garde designs of the Bauhaus
school in Germany and the Cubism movement in France,
a new style of jewelry emerged. Sleek, fast, industrial,
geometric, and severe were the adjectives of Art Deco
designers. In jewelry the great houses of Cartier, Van
Cleef & Arpels, Boucheron, Mauboussin and Tiffany among
many others used contrasting colors (diamonds against
black onyx or red coral next to rock crystal), harsh
severe geometric angles and an extravagance of composition
to create this new design. New cuts of diamonds emerged
such as emerald cuts, Asscher cuts and the use of baguette
cut diamond to accent important diamonds. Rubies, sapphires
and emeralds not only were used in more traditional manners,
but were carved into leaves and flowers and set in "fruit
salad" or "tutti Fruitti" (these terms derived from the
unconventional use of carved colored gemstones in jewelry)
pieces of jewelry. The term "Art Deco" is derived from
the title of the great worlds fair in Paris called L'EXPOSITION
DES ARTS DECORATIFS" in which the world discovered the
commercial application of this artistic movement. As
the world became "smaller" after the first world war,
jewelry embraced different ancient and historical styles
from Chinese, Japanese, Indian and most importantly Egyptian.
With the stock market crash of 1929, the exuberance of
Art Deco jewelry waned and the second world war was its
death knell.
