Art Deco Jewelry | Gems.com

In the jewelry world, the Art-Deco Period is generally considered to be around 1920 to 1940 although there were pieces that had stylistic elements tending toward the Art-Deco feel previous to this and it remains an important influence for today's designers. Art-Deco jewelry has an elegant, sophisticated look to it. Clean symmetrical lines within geometric forms are very typical of this style, as are repeating patterns, architectural structure, blends of different materials, and strong contrasts with dark and light.

Art-Deco represented the opulent sense of modernity society was experiencing after the end of the war. They had survived, and they were celebrating with beautiful ideas that were often a combination of new and old- such as designs drawn from ancient motifs but updated with new man-made accents. The explosion of technology fueled this worldwide pride with a host of new materials such as bakelite. Bakelite was an early synthetic plastic that found widespread acceptance during the art deco period in uses as widely varied as billiard balls, fine jewelry, and a host of household products. It was even considered as a replacement material for the United States penny!

Terms such as "The Roaring Twenties" bring to mind the exuberance of the period. In the Art-Deco, music was enjoying the surge of good feelings the world was experiencing and the scope of music expanded to embrace those feelings. Novelty songs took off, big songs, big personalities, and big bands filled the world via a new technology- radio! People would gather together to hear popular songs, news, and radio dramas so it was only natural to decorate their radio and record players in the new Art-Deco style. Some of the most recognizable Art-Deco designs are the opulent jukeboxes or the sleek, sometimes chromed or finned, table top radios.

With all these influences converging together, it's easy to understand the forces that shaped jewelry during this period. Pieces from this period remain among the most collectable and finest examples of the jeweler's art. Fine quality was a hallmark of these pieces so most are still in wonderful condition. If you have a piece of Art-Deco jewelry, count yourself lucky!