What is Art Deco?
Originating around World War I, Art Deco was the predominant decorative art and architectural style of the 1920s and 1930s. It was not officially recognised as a distinct movement, however, until the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Moderns of 1925. It’s characterised by bold geometric shapes and strong colours, manifesting in household objects, architecture, and jewellery. Art Deco is an extension of the French Art Nouveau movement, incorporating elements of Arts and Crafts form. The style emphasises embellishment, including marquetry, enamelling and other techniques to create unique and interesting surfaces. This, combined with vivid colours, creates visually stunning pieces of furniture and jewellery. The forms of furniture often juxtaposed sleek curves with angularity, again creating visually arresting pieces.
The Art Deco period was a glamorous period from the outside, despite occurring concurrently with the Great Depression. It was characterised by exciting fashions, bold architecture, and, of course, flapper girls. When thinking of the 1920s, F. Scott Fitzgerald is quick to spring to mind, bringing to life the exciting and fast paced lifestyle of the likes of his character Jay Gatsby, who was surrounded by opulence.
What is Art Deco Jewellery?
So, how does this translate into jewellery? Art Deco jewellery borrowed heavily from architecture, featuring bold, geometric patterns formed of straight lines, squares and triangles. This isn’t too surprising, as jewellery and architecture intersect at the crossroads of design. Both rely on form and structure to create something visually striking.
But another surprising influence on Art Deco jewellery was the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, which resulted in the incorporation of Ancient Egyptian motifs and styles. Some of the pieces from the tomb were reproduced or, at the very least, had elements of their design borrowed for new designs. Van Cleef & Arpels were known for having an Egyptian inspired jewellery collection that featured striking juxtaposing colours and Egyptian motifs. As well as these elements of design, jewellery also saw an upsurge in heavy use of precious metals such as platinum and gold, inspired by the elaborate and stunning gold pieces found in the tomb. Gems also featured heavily in art deco pieces, as they had been used in the tomb.
This exoticism can be seen in almost all art deco jewellery, even if it isn’t directly borrowing aesthetics from Ancient Egypt. Decadence was the word, but not necessarily ostentatious.
Art deco style platinum engagenent ring.
Geometry
One look at Art Deco jewellery and you can see its favouring of geometric shapes and patterns. Art Deco was a post-World War I reaction to the Belle Epoque, with its frills and garland styles. Geometric shapes, order, replaced the chaos and lace that once dominated tastes. This is epitomised by the popular wide platinum bracelets, with small stones cut into emerald or asscher cuts and organised into immaculate grids.
Art Deco buckle made of gold set with diamonds, lapis lazuli, jade, onyx and opal, from firm of Boucheron, Paris (1925)
René Boivin Jewelry, 1934
Design of an Art déco powder compact drawn in the nineteenthirties by Victor Mayer, founder of the jewellerey-manufacture Victor Mayer GmbH & Co KG in Pforzheim, Germany
Asian and Egyptian Influences
As previously mentioned, Ancient Egyptian aesthetics had a heavy influence on Art Deco Jewellery. However, there were also a lot of Asian influences on the likes of Cartier especially. Mystery clocks, vanity cases, and other objets d’art incorporated elements such as sculptural carved jade or inlays featuring Chinese landscapes carved in mother of pearl and laque burgauté (the decoration of lacquer with iridescent blue-green shell inlay). Traditional Chinese mythology was also invoked in the form of dragons and chimera
Egyptian influences in Art Deco architecture
Art Deco Colours and Contrast
Art Deco had a few classic colour combinations it relied on, these being coral/black/white and green/black/white. These colours’ impact was heightened by incorporating swathes of diamonds. Innovations in diamond cutting meant that diamonds could be faceted into elegantly chiselled linear shapes. Platinum became the metal of choice because it was strong enough to support complex mountings and helped to further make the colour of other gemstones and minerals more striking by providing a white backdrop.
New Materials and Combinations
Art Deco favoured the bold, and therefore was more than happy to be rid of the dictates of past trends. Unorthodox combinations of stones were introduced, including coral, onyx, emeralds, rubies, jade, platinum, lapis lazuli, and rock crystal, all used in tandem with plastic and glass stones as well. Semi-precious stones, which were more abundant at this time, were also used to add extra colour to pieces.
Cartier
Some jewellers follow trends while others define them. The latter is certainly true of cartier in this period, as they created some of the most iconic jewellery designs that defined this era. What is it about Cartier’s Art Deco pieces that makes them so emblematic? Likely their ability to encapsulate multiple aspects of the reigning Art Deco aesthetic in one piece. They satisfy the preoccupation with geometric forms and patterns, high-contrast colour combinations, and carved precious gemstones. Their pieces featured straight edged cuts for gemstones, including emerald and asscher cuts, as well as baguettes.
Boucheron
Boucheron was also known for its Art Deco pieces, including jewellery and objets d’art. For all its decadence, Art Deco is referred to by them as a period of “radical simplicity” where “style was all about attitude”. In fact, at the beginning of 2021, Boucheron plumed the depths of its Art Deco archives to create a resurgence in the style. Most notably, this features the stunning Cravate Émeraude, which features an emerald cut emerald, hexagons, and bold black lines, along with many diamonds. There’s that green/black/white colour combo again! It can be worn as a tie, brooch, necklace, or pendant. The collection features large platinum pieces with geometric patterns and cut diamonds, true to the Art Deco style.
Van Cleef & Arpels
Van Cleef & Arpels was actually the result, not of two jewellery houses merging, but of the marriage of Alfred Van Cleef and Estelle Arpels. The jewellery house was founded in 1906 and was quick to pick up popular trends and make a name for itself. As mentioned, Van Cleef & Arpels had a famous Art Deco collection that drew inspiration from Ancient Egyptian motifs. However, they also created many pieces in the popular geometric style, as well as incorporating round-brilliants, less popular at the time, into geometric patterns. The 1930s are considered to be a golden period for creativity at the jewellery house.
Fouquet
As president of the jewellery group at the aforementioned 1925 exhibition, Georges Fouquet was instrumental in shaping the art deco jewellery style we know and love today. He actually wrote several articles and books on the subject of modern jewellery, stating “The jewels most likely to endure are not ostentatious displays, but those in which the metal is associated with raw materials of a financial value less than their beauty, like aquamarine, amethyst, topaz, or tourmaline. Art, which never ages, will prolong the career of these jewels, It will endow them with their true character. They will never be disassembled so the materials can be used in a different form. They are, first of all, works of art rather than financial investments.” This quote encapsulates Fouquet’s and the wider happiness to work with semi-precious stones. But more importantly, it speaks to an attitude towards jewellery that we have lost in the 21st century: that jewellery is art. Now, given the way we can mass produce inexpensive jewellery and cater towards mass appealing minimalist styles, there is less artistry in day-to-day jewellery, and it is reserved only for fine jewellery. But Fouquet spoke to an attitude that went beyond the fine jewellery houses to say that jewellery was an art form and, by extension, a means of expression.
Platinum Art Deco ring with round and taper baguette cut diamond.
What Makes an Art Deco Ring?
So, considering everything above, what makes an Art Deco ring?
We’re dealing with an eclectic period, so it’s hard to pin down exactly what an Art Deco ring will look like. But look for coloured gemstones, platinum, geometric shapes and you’re on the right path.
If you’d like to explore having your own Art Deco influenced ring created then you can book an appointment with us to discuss your ideas.
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