Antique Jewelry

Until the gold discoveries of the 1840’s in the US and the first appearance of Cape diamonds on the market in the 1870’s, almost all precious antique jewellery had to be remounted due to limited supply. Georgian jewelry brought with it romanticism, sentiment and symbolism. Cannetille work, chased borders and encrusted elaborate floral motif parures blossomed set with Rose-cut Diamonds and Old Mine-cut Diamonds.

Early Victorian Jewelry miniatures and shell cameos were popular, often in the form of snakes. Steam and gas engines were not widely used in workshops until the early 1860’s, making production slow. Mid Victorian Jewellery witnessed the peak of eccentricity in fashion and jewelry was worn in abundance in France and England. Eugenie, Napoleon's wife, favored emeralds, which were second to antique-cut diamonds in popularity. Late victorian jewlery felt the impact of the industrial revolution and victorian jewelry became affordable to the masses, the gold carat and quality diminished while women of the Aesthetic movement abandoned all ornaments.

Art Nouveau Jewelry illustrated the desire to break with tradition, restoring the desire for spontaneity of inspiration over the concern for intrinsic value. Snakes became symbols of life, eternity and sexuality and spiders adopted a shocking and sensual quality. Seen as a response to the Industrial Revolution, the Art Nouveau age was welcomed by some artists and not by others, Art Nouveau Jewellery enamellers rescued the skilled use of plique-a-jour enamel, led by Rene Lalique.

England reacted strongly to the mass produced jewelry that mechanization brought, resulting in the Arts and Crafts Jewelry movement led by John Ruskin and William Morris. Edwardian Jewelry was characterized by a lightness and delicacy incorporating garlands, ribbons, bows and hearts, encouraged by Louis Cartier for his royal, aristocratic and rich clientele on both sides of the Atlantic.

Art Deco Jewelry was in reaction to the end of the war, women favored a more masculine look as jewelry assumed more simple, geometrical and linear lines, abolishing unnecessary decoration and accentuated by dazzling outbursts of vivid contrasting primary colors.