Art Deco Jewelry

A Revolution in Design and Philosophy B Y G US DAV I S

hen the subject of Art Deco design arises, images of the glamorous

W twenties, with its sleekly coiffed starlets, fast-paced living, perhaps

the romance of The Great Gatsby, invariably come to mind. What
is less likely to come to mind is the historical basis of the Art Deco movement.
Jewelry and social historians alike concur that both the emergence and resulting
popularity of Art Deco jewelry was directly tied to the social and political climate
following the devastation of the First World War. Although the Art Deco period
spans the years from the end of WWI up to and including the late 1930s, the
An Art Deco platinum, decade from 1920 to 1930 is generally viewed as the core period.
diamond, emerald, To understand the impact of Art Deco design one must look at the
and onyx watch pin.
specific factors that swung the pendulum away from the elaborate styles and
excesses of pre-war Art Nouveau jewelry and towards the stylized, elegant
simplicity of Art Deco. For one, women of post-war Europe and America had
undergone a metamorphosis. Gone were the helpless heroines, both depicted
in, and appreciative of, elaborate, fanciful Art Nouveau jewelry. The women
who emerged had survived a war, taken on a man’s role, and now emancipated
themselves from restrictive clothing and elaborate hair. The overriding desire
was for clean-cut design and strong, elegant lines.
The face of fashion had changed as well. Frivolity seemed inappropriate in the
aftermath of the war. Top designers of the era, including Coco Chanel and Elsa
Schiaparelli, ignited style with tailored suits and pared down, body hugging
evening wear. As fashion adopted tailored style, a masculine air, and a lack
of excess, so did the jewelry world. Art Deco emerged with clean, sharp lines,
geometric leanings and a recognizable architectural flair.
Peacetime also imbued Europe and America with a sense of liberation — a
fresh approach to design and a need to establish a break from all that recalled life
before the war. Paris was the epicenter of the early Art Deco period, brandishing
a new sensibility of sharp modern design at the 1925 Exposition des Arts
Décoratifs et Industriels Moderns held in Paris in 1925. This revolutionary exhi-
bition was the namesake from which the design movement exploded. Finally,
strong minimalist and geometric design were influential in the new artistic con-
cepts of modernism, such as Cubism and Fauvism.
The French influence was powerful and can be seen in the works of some of
An Art Deco platinum, diamond, rock crystal, and enamel brooch.
the most recognizable names in Art Deco. Jean Despres (1889–1980), whose

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industrial design background is instantly recog-
nizable in his jewelry, and fellow jewelers Gérard
Sandoz, Jean Fouquet, and Raymond Templier
were but a few of the younger talents that
embraced the new movement. Venerable, estab-
lished international jewelry houses were equally
enthralled with the new aesthetic; some of the
finest examples of Art Deco design came from
Cartier, Boucheron, Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany,
Belperron, Oscar Heyman, and Mauboussin. An Art Deco platinum, emerald,
and diamond bracelet.
As the roaring twenties sped in so did techno-
Circa 1935. Cartier, London.
logical advances. New materials and methods of
gem cutting produced jewelry with a brilliance
never before seen. The use of jade, malachite,
onyx, and turquoise suddenly became possible
with new tools and techniques that allowed for
the cutting of harder stones. Japanese inventor
Kokichi Mikimoto revolutionized the jewelry
world with a method of developing cultured
pearls, nearly indistinguishable from expensive
natural pearls. Platinum, discovered around the
turn of the century, was the precious metal of
choice. Despite its high cost and relative scarcity,
the strength of platinum allowed less to be used
for settings, and unlike silver, it doesn’t oxidize. A
true Art Deco piece is rarely set in silver or yellow
gold — it is almost exclusively set in platinum.
As the technical advances and prevailing philoso- An Art Deco platinum
phies of the time contributed to the development and diamond bracelet.

of Art Deco design, jewelry took on a recognizable

face, with restrained elegance and strength of
design. Though jewelry of the Art Deco period
covers a broad spectrum, some of the “hallmarks”
of Art Deco jewelry include:
• Platinum settings.
• Bold, often symmetrical design.
• Clean lines; sometimes an Egyptian flavor
that arose from the discovery of
Tutankhamun’s tomb in the early 1920s.
• Geometric elements: circles, squares,
rectangles, diamonds.
• Color using enamel or stones;
often in blocks of color.
• Popular stones include black onyx,
coral, emeralds, jadeite, sapphires,
rubies, and turquoise.
• Baguette-shaped diamonds (synonymous
with Art Deco) as well as trapezoid and
moon shaped diamonds.
Perhaps the defining feature of all Art Deco
jewelry is its clear emphasis on design; over and
above the value and status of the materials used.
Despite the proliferation of diamonds, platinum,
and precious stones, the impact and beauty of
Art Deco jewelry lies solidly in its revolutionary
design and reflection of a specific, intriguing
time in history. It is those unique elements that
ensure Art Deco jewelry will always be sought
after and in high demand.
Gus Davis is co-owner, with Camilla Dietz
Bergeron, of Camilla Dietz Bergeron, Ltd.,
of New York, specialists in antique, period,
and estate jewelry.

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