Design Inspirations

From the Past

Part 4 of a 5 part series

 

Art Deco, 1920s and 30s

Emerging after World War 1, the Art Deco period replaced the soft tones of the Art Nouveau era with bold geometric and cubism designs coupled with dramatic contrasts of color.  The discovery of King Tut’s tomb in the 1920’s created an international fervor known as “Egyptomania.”  Jewelry designs with ancient Egyptian motifs such as falcons, scarabs and griffins appeared on jewelry.  The gemstones found in the jewelry of King Tut’s tomb such as lapis lazuli, onyx, and carnelian was frequently used in Art Deco jewelry. 

Popular during the Art Deco period were plaque and link bracelets created with bold geometric and linear designs.  Bracelets were made in the all-white look using platinum or white gold and diamonds. Other jewelry was made using contrasts of brightly colored gemstones, such as rubies, sapphires and emeralds creating a tutti-frutti look.  Van Cleef and Arpels introduced the invisible setting for gemstones in the 1930’s.

Technical advances in diamond cutting allowed diamonds to be cut into modern, three dimensional geometric designs such as triangles, hexagons and octagons.  The round brilliant cut diamond was introduced into the market, eventually replacing the Old European, rose and single cut diamonds.



Beautiful Tutti-fruitti Bracelet