Published by Mathew Hinton on Friday, January 20, 2017
Have you ever wondered what makes a piece of jewellery 'Art Deco', or how this style was established?
The Art Deco era reigned supreme from 1920 to 1939 but reached its peak in 1925. This was a result of an event that was dedicated to the jewellery arts in Paris, France, which happened to coincide with women gaining the right to vote in America. The term Art Deco is a shortened version of the name of the events, 'Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes' (International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts).
The style of Art Deco jewellery is industrial, emulating its emergence in a period of widespread industrialisation. Designed to be sleek, linear and particularly geometric, it is there to make a statement and to be almost theatrical.
The designs are influenced by skyscrapers, nature and a variety of cultures, including Asia, Africa and Egypt. Normally presenting precise but bold geometric shapes such as circles, triangles, squares, rectangles and even polygons, Art Deco pieces are known for their parallel lines and vivid colours.
These influences are softened slightly with stylishly floral motifs and carved cabochons in a variety of gemstones. Commonly used, rubies, sapphires, onyx, jade, lapis lazuli, aquamarine and diamond (-just to name a few!) in the sytle of Art Deco, just ooze luxury.
There are many types of Art Deco jewellery, the most common being brooches, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings, duette clips, dress & fur clips, watches and even flapper beads. Names such as Cartier, Raymond Templier, Tiffany & Co and Rene Boivin have been some of the most influential jewellers of this period. Many of the designs that are referred to as ‘vintage’ today have origins in the art deco period.
The art deco period did not just influence ring and jewellery design, it also influenced the type of gems used and the way they were cut. Baguette and emerald cut diamonds lend themselves to the art deco style very well due to the long, straight edges and the step cut feel; the ‘step cut’ was also very popular along with more square or octagon shapes.
The cut that just screams art deco is the Asscher cut (or square modified emerald cut) as the square shape of the stone and the step cuts result in a kaleidoscope effect where the straight cut lines all meet in the centre. Don't take my word for it, see for yourself - flick through our selection of Asscher cut diamonds for yourself here.
As you know by now, here at Victoria James Jewellers we are big lovers of Art Deco. Personally, Art Deco has always been a passion of mine. From the days when I used to flick through the art deco themed books in the library as a boy, to buying 1930’s houses and decorating them in Art Deco styles (Well, the wallpaper at least!)
I love the simple lines of art deco with it’s symmetrical composition as opposed to the more organic style of it’s predecessor- art nouveau. It seemed like a natural progression for me to incorporate my love of art deco design into the jewellery that I make, and after making our first art deco style ring we developed the range to include all of the prescious (and some semi-prescious) gemstones to be set into rings, pendants and earrings.
You can see our range of art deco gemstone rings here, and our collection of art deco style jewellery here.