Antique Jewelry

The Georgian Period is named for the reign of four British King Georges. The period is known as the "age of the faceted stone" and diamonds were popular. The early gemstone cut styles were the table-cut, rose-cut, briolette, and the pendeloque. Because of the emphasis on gemstones, most were reset as fashion demanded. Therefore, very few major pieces of Georgian jewelry exist today. The few exceptional pieces of this period that have survived intact all show extraordinary craftsmanship. Standards for gold in the Georgian Period were 18 karat or higher. The most popular gemstones were amethyst, aquamarine, chrysoprase, chrysoberyl, opals, moonstones, sapphires, turquoise, and rubies.

The early years of the Victorian era have been described as romantic or sentimental and reflected the youth, courtship and marriage of the young queen, Victoria. In 1840, Victoria married Albert. The engagement ring he gave her was a snake with an emerald-set head — the snake was a symbol of eternal love and the emerald was her birthstone. It was the beginning of birthstones being used in Victorian engagement rings. Motifs in this era were primarily pansies, animals, forget-me-nots, flowers, trefoils, grapes, hands, insects, starburst, horseshoe, lizards, snakes, birds, and ivy.

Albert, the love of Victoria's life, passed away in 1861. She was overwhelmed at his death, and mourned his death for the next 40 years. Jewelry of the period included book chain necklaces, massive brooches and earrings, pique and tortoise shell, Egyptian, Italian, and Greek archeological influenced jewelry, revivalist, mourning jewelry, and mosaics. Opals, garnets and pearls were used as embellishments.

With the proliferation of factories and modern machinery during the Industrial Revolution, metalworking could be performed on a mass scale and there was a corresponding drop in the cost of jewelry, which made pieces more accessible to the public. The technique for die stamping and gold plating led to the ability to mass-produce jewelry for the rising middle class. The mass produced jewelry often was engraved by hand and decorated with taille d'epergne enamel. Hinged bangle bracelets are probably the item most associated with the use of taille d'epergne enamelwork.

The term "Art Nouveau" originated in 1895 when an art gallery in Paris began featuring a new kind of art. Europeans were fascinated with designs from nature. Impressionism was a major theme of the era. Soft, dreamy colors with flowing lines and cherub-like images were the order of the day. Motifs such as orchids, irises, water lilies, and trailing vines became popular. Other popular motifs were snakes, dragonflies, butterflies, birds, and sinister looking reptiles. Expert hand craftsmanship and individual design was emphasized in opposition to the standardization of goods during the Industrial Revolution.

King Edward VII reigned over England for only nine years from 1901–1910, yet the style of jewelry known as "Edwardian" was popular until World War I broke out. Edwardian jewelry was understated and feminine in style. The hallmark of this era was the use of platinum in intricate designs. The strength of platinum allowed master jewelers to create delicate designs that had a lace-like appearance. New cuts such as the marquise, emerald, baguette and briolette were often used in earrings and lavaliere necklaces. King Edward was passionate about horse racing, and horseshoes became a popular motif in Edwardian jewelry.

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 1920s created an international fervor known as "Egyptomania." Jewelry designs with ancient Egyptian motifs such as falcons, scarabs and griffins appeared on jewelry. Van Cleef and Arpels introduced the invisible setting for gemstones in the 1930s. The round brilliant cut diamond was introduced into the market, eventually replacing the Old European, rose and single cut diamonds.

During the war years, platinum was conscripted for the war effort. Because of the changes in availability of materials, jewelry designers focused on using large expanses of polished gold but relatively few gemstones. Bicolor and tricolor gold became the norm including rose (pink), yellow and white. Rose gold with its dramatic pink look, a result of the high percentage of copper in the alloy, was especially popular. The prevalent themes of Retro Jewelry were feminine, patriotic, or industrial motifs. Large gemstones such as citrine, aquamarine, tourmaline, peridot and amber accented with smaller rubies, sapphires and diamonds dominated the market.