- HISTORY OF JEWELRY -

The essentials of the Art Deco period 

58 Facettes

Lat period Art Deco experienced its boom in the 20s, born of the desire for a new future and transformation at the end of the Great War. Art Deco succeeds Art Nouveau and offers more strict and stylized geometric shapes, with a finesse and inventiveness of shapes that mark this important period for jewellery.

Exhibition of decorative arts, the major starting point

What marks the real rise of the Art Deco movement is the exhibition of Decorative Arts in 1925. A considerable event of more than 21 countries, it then contains 15 exhibitors and attracts more than 000 million exhibitors. The exhibition extends over a large area of ​​the city of Paris, the aim being to show that France is always present and motivated in order to relaunch the economy and the creation of luxury. Great is the desire to show that the war is beautiful and well over, to present all the know-how and to implement the technical and manual capacities to achieve such objects. Art Deco becomes a real jewelry architecture. In this movement we can then see that the geometric shapes dominate, evoking the true identity that the latter through the stylization of the shapes.

What characterizes an Art Deco jewel in 4 points

Inspirations: the cultural richness of the world

Art Deco draws its inspiration from various horizons and in particular through the cultures of the world. The major inspiration is African art which has a certain cultural richness that some designers illustrate through the various Art Deco jewels. The other important inspiration is that of the pharaohs and more precisely the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, filled with objects which therefore inspired the forms as well as the motifs of Art Deco. Finally, India as well as China and Japan have also influenced this artistic movement in jewelry.

Geometric design: symmetry and cubism

Art Deco jewelry is primarily known for its geometric shape. The jewels belonging to this period are made of clean lines and simple shapes, the jewel thus becoming symmetrical. As we have stated previously, Art Deco jewelry comes from several movements such as Cubism, Indian, Egyptian, Oriental or African art, very obvious influences that fully characterize Art Deco jewelry. We are therefore talking about the sculpture of the jewel, or even the architecture of the jewel.

Metals: white gold and platinum

Regarding metals, Art Deco jewelry is made mainly of cold colors, such as silver, platinum or white gold. These metals are often worked with the filigree method which requires a good mastery of goldsmithing.

The stones: Predominance of black and white and some colors...

In general, Art Deco jewelry is neutral colors, often consisting of black or white. The black color is given by onyx or black enamel and the white is provided by crystals or Diamonds. However, you can also find color in it by using sapphir blue of the emerald et ruby. Finally, many designers add coral, jade or even lapis lazuli.

A period that all the big brands have illustrated

A pavilion of jewelers in 1925 was created after the exhibition of decorative arts. Many creators then gathered in the same space such as Boucheron, Chaumet, Mauboussin, Van Cleef and Arpels or Cartier to highlight their own jewelry pieces. It was one of the first times that so many creators met in one place. It is from this moment that several creators will mark this period such as: Cartier, Boucheron, Van Cleef and Arpels, Mauboussin, Chaumet, Boivin or Lacloche.

Until today, an inspiring period

The Art Deco period will end in 1935 but will continue to conquer the jewelry sector around the world, offering jewelry with their own identities. You can then find our Art deco jewelry collection on our site 58 facettes.

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