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Art Deco Jewellery

Lucy Marles (of the Jewellery Department) discusses the Art Deco movement in jewellery, which has re-emerged as one of today's most popular antique jewellery styles.

A typical Art Deco ring.

A typical Art Deco ring.

Art Deco jewellery emerged during the 1920s and 1930s and has since re-emerged as one of the most popular antique jewellery styles today.

The term Art Deco is a shortened form of the event's name Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts). The sharp, new geometric styles mimicked the rise in technology between the 1920s and 1950s and blended with styles from Egypt, Africa, Greece and East Asia to name a few.

Jewellery creations within the Art Deco period incorporated elaborate, less expensive materials such as enamels, black onyx and glass. Higher value items were also created during this period and used mostly platinum instead of gold and quite often incorporated antique-cut diamonds, notably Old European-Cut diamonds and Asscher-Cut diamonds.

Jewellery creations also incorporated a wide range of colours. Designers began to use lapis-lazuli, coral and other colourful stones. Jewellers were inspired to create extraordinary wristwatches, quite often using black onyx and encrusted with diamonds. When purchasing Art Deco jewellery at auction, familiarise yourself with the description. For example, if an item is described as 'Art Deco style', this is an indication that the item was not made in the early 20th century and is mostly likely a reproduction.

Tags

  • Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood
  • Jewellery
  • Art Deco

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About the Author

Lucy MarlesLucy Marles
Jewellery and Watches

Lucy Marles is the jewellery specialist at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood. Lucy began working for Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood in 2011 on a part-time basis whilst learning about jewellery and the jewellery industry alongside her father Jethro Marles.

Lucy now works full time as a jewellery specialist and oversees the day-to-day running of the jewellery department. Prior to working with Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood, Lucy Marles completed a secretarial diploma at her local college. From 2007, Lucy worked for many years within the beauty industry, which led her to run her own part-time business.

Art Deco Jewellery was written on Friday, 14th June 2019.