The word "jewel" appeared in the 15th century. It is borrowed from the Breton bizou , which means "ring for the finger". So cute, isn't it?
The history of jewellery goes back to prehistoric times with the first ornaments made of organic materials Shells, bones and animal teeth were collected and transformed into ornaments.
Goldsmithing (i.e. the art of making objects from gold) appeared in antiquity.
We don't intend to go back seven thousand years of history, but we wanted to draw up a panorama of jewellery in order to help you see it more clearly. For once, we'll start with the most recent... Welcome to the 20th century 😉
The Belle Époque - 1895-1914
La Mode Pratique, No. 754, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1907.
The "Belle Époque" style developed from the end of the 19th century. The term was coined retrospectively, around 1920, to describe the prosperous years between the economic crisis of the 1880s and the First World War. This was the height of the Industrial Revolution, a flourishing period marked by economic, technical and social progress as well as a relative carefree attitude.
The Edwardian style is referred to on the other side of the Channel, in reference to Edward VII. A so-called "transitional" king because he reigned for only nine years, between 1901 and 1910, after waiting his turn for almost 60 years. Since then, the current Prince of Wales has beaten him to the throne: he has been eligible for 64 years. The expression "Doing as Charles did" has never been truer! If he had known, he would probably have married Camilla earlier... In any case, Edward VII encourages a gay and whimsical but not sluttish fashion, in his own image: the king is known as much for his peacemaking qualities as for his reputation as a playboy.
Belle Époque ornaments draw their inspiration from the decorative arts of the 18th century, and more specifically from the Rococo style. Marie-Antoinette's is a good example of inspirational jewellery: for example, the diamond pendant in the shape of a knot holding a baroque pearl sold by Sotheby's in 2018.
Did we say bows? Yes, the essence of this style is very "girly " (don't think of it as something pejorative): motifs inspired by flora, ribbons, pompoms, bows; it is also called " garland style ". The jewellery is often transformable so that it can be worn on several occasions. It was also the great period of "shaking" settings, i.e. the motifs were placed on springs in such a way as to provoke their movement and give an impression of life (and while we're at it, to make the diamonds that very often adorn these floral designs shine with a thousand lights).
The result is delicate jewellery, which also owes its finesse to the democratisation of platinum (which was also used later in Art Deco frames). With its intrinsic qualities of heat resistance and elasticity, it replaced silver - which had previously been used to set the stones - and made it possible to lighten the frames, thus enhancing the gems.
Another point of reference for dating a Belle Epoque jewel is the grain, millegrain or pavé setting consisting of a juxtaposition of metal balls, typical of this period.
In addition, the fine pearl is one of the jewels of the period. Baroque pearls were mentioned earlier, in the shape of a pear, but they were also worn as a saltire, a negligee, a bayadère or a dog collar. Finally, diamonds were omnipresent - at this time, the South African mines discovered in the mid-19th century represented a new manna, the historical Indian deposits having been exhausted. And then, theassociation of pearls and diamonds works quite well, all in delicacy and so 18th century!
Ready for our selection? And if you want to know even more, go to the dedicated article !
Art Nouveau - 1895-1910
Alfons Mucha, Dance [Four Arts Cycle], Mucha Museum, Prague, 1898
In parallel with the Belle Époque, a very different movement was developing: Art Nouveau. In this period of Industrial Revolution, the artists of this brief but intense movement joined forces in reaction to the prevailing classicism. The beginnings of Art Nouveau can be found in the English Arts & Crafts movement embodied by John Ruskin and William Morris. Faced with the industrialisation of the late 19th century and the beginnings of mass production flooding the market, they advocated a return to craftsmanship, drawing their inspiration from the Middle Ages.
One of the particularities ofArts & Crafts, which can be found in Art Nouveau, is that it is a total art. Since Antiquity there has been a sort of classification of the arts personified by the nine Muses, even if the notion of the artist in its current sense appeared more during the Renaissance. It is in this line that we distinguish between the "major arts", or Fine Arts, for example architecture and painting (which is why we speak of the 7th art in relation to the cinema) from the "minor arts" or applied arts, or finally decorative arts - that is to say, those with a utilitarian vocation: tapestry, jewellery, ceramics for example. This categorisation has a hard skin, and is still quite present in France at any rate. However, for both the Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau movements, the boundaries between the arts and the decorative arts became porous, which is why we speak of total art. For example, the painter Alfons Mucha also had a great deal to do with the Decorative Arts, designing a lot of advertising - in particular for the Moët & Chandon champagne brand, but also by creating a line of jewellery with Fouquet for the actress Sarah Bernhardt.
Sarah Bernardt via © Pinterest
One of the interesting points about Art Nouveau is that it is an international trend: in addition to the Arts & Crafts movement in England, Art Nouveau in France, the Jugendstil in Germany and the Viennese Secession in Austria, for example, shared the same concerns.
But let's go back to Paris, and to jewellery. On 26 December 1895, the Oriental art and object dealer Samuel Bing opened his gallery called "La Maison de l'Art Nouveau", from which the movement took its name. Described as the "noodle style" by its detractors, Art Nouveau was characterised by the influence of nature and the use of hyper-organic forms. The artists drew their inspiration from fauna, in particular insects, and flora. The second major source of inspiration is the woman and her long hair, which is the pretext for endless twists and turns. This also results in fantastic creatures, such as dragonflies and butterflies.
René Lalique, Femme libellule [corsage ornament], gold, enamel, chrysoprase, diamonds and moonstones, Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, 1897-1898
Art Nouveau gave birth to a new generation of jewellers, led by Lalique and Vever. For the first time in centuries, they no longer based the value of a piece of jewellery on its weight or the materials used. The result was a creative and uninhibited jewellery that combined precious stones, fine and hard stones, coloured glass and organic materials. It was also the heyday ofenamel worked in cloisonné or plique-à-jour, in the manner of cathedral windows, and also the swan song of head jewellery soon abandoned in favour of short cuts.
Art Nouveau was an immediate success and although artists turned away from it in 1905, commercial productions continued until the First World War.
Parisians still have the chance to admire the Art Nouveau masterpieces that are Hector Guimard's metro stations every day, but you can also go to Barcelona and take a walk in the Güell park designed by the architect Antoni Gaudi... Jewellery by Galerie Pénélope of course!
Art Deco - 1920 - 1935
Egigio Scaioni, Mirella, model Lucien Lelong, Palais Galliera, Paris, 1927.
One of them, if not the most popular movement in antique jewellery; no doubt because the geometric shapes of this movement have stood the test of time without really getting old. And then the Roaring Twenties, it is above all the liberation of the woman; subject so current if it is... One hundred years later, we are not yet finished with the strings of the patriarchy!
At the end of the First World War, the men having been mobilised, the women put their hands to the wheel to participate in the war effort and boil the pot. It is as much to say that the green-dog plant, wrapped up in its corset and its multiple petticoats, seems to be far away! Women became emancipated and conquered a freedom of movement that brought them closer to men, facilitated by shortened skirts, "boyish" cuts and trousers. If we have to remember only one name of a couturier, in this case a dressmaker, it is that of Gabrielle Chanel who contributed a lot to the androgynous wardrobe and was one of the first to work with knitwear offering a suppleness that was unheard of at the time. The fashion of these "Roaring Twenties" is the expression of a newfound freedom, of a frenzy of movement with dresses for dancing the Charleston or the first scandalously uncovered swimming costumes. It contains the seeds of the values that were to become those of the 20th century: youth, slimness, movement. Travel was made easier by the democratisation of the car and later the first paid holidays.
Robert Bonfils, Poster for the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, 1925.
Paris became the epicentre of artistic inspiration and the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts was held in the city in 1925. It gave its name to the "Art Deco" movement. The imagery of this style, which also affected all spheres of art, broke away from the visual culture of the previous movements: the sinuous lines of Art Nouveau were left behind, and space was made available to meet the demands of modern life: simplification of forms, nomadic objects; this was the heyday of cigarette cases, compacts and minaudières, which were taken with you to parties, while the wristwatch became popular.
An aesthetic break with the past, based on geometry, which can be found in architecture, fashion and jewellery. In this field, the sizes of gems also evolved: round, trapezoid, rectangle; so many shapes from which lapidaries were inspired to create new sizes, for example the baguette cut.
It was also in these years that Van Cleefs & Arpels patented a new setting called " mystery setting " or illusion. The metal is worked in such a way as to make it appear that the stones stand alone.
Ida Rubinstein and Vaslav Nijinsky, Scheherazade, 1910
Although geometry predominates, the sources of inspiration for this period are numerous and varied: Greek Antiquity, the Far East, the Egypt of the Pharaohs, spurred on by the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922, but also African art, an enthusiasm shared by the Cubist artists who at this time took a close interest in the First Arts; and finally the Slavic aesthetic conveyed by the international tour of the Ballets Russes from 1909. Gabrielle Chanel, for example, with close ties to the Russian intelligentsia of the early 20th century, and in particular to the composer Igor Stravinsky, presented a collection inspired by Stravinsky's country in the 1920s.
Art Deco jewellery has some hints of the Belle Epoque with the massive use of platinum, but also pearl necklaces, pompoms, and the popularity of brooches that can sometimes be transformed into clips. Long diamond or imitation earrings are also very fashionable. They are gaining in visibility thanks to shortened hair.
Of monochrome appearance, with a preponderance of diamonds, the use of rock crystal, blackonyx and marcasites as well as beads Art Deco jewellery also knew how to adorn itself with colours inspired by the Orient: in addition to the coloured gems of the select club of 4gemstones, opaque gemstones (turquoiselapis lazuli, jade for example) as well as the coral are also in vogue.
To learn more about this fascinating period of history, visit the article dedicated to it!
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Let's continue our journey through time: The 40s to the 70s is here !