Vintage Jewelry

Vintage Jewelry at www.faycullen.com denotes the era encompassing the 1930's and the 1940's, a period in which the outbreak of war slowed down jewlery production. The big difference between these decades was the opulence of large gemstones and the richness of surfaces entirely pave or invisibly-set with diamonds, rubies or sapphires substituted by limited sized semi-precious stones and large metallic surfaces.

Citrine, aquamarine, amethyst, topaz and quartz were set into similar sized items of Vintage Retro Jewellery but in hollow constructions to conserve metal. Precious metals were rare, gold was scarce and platinum was almost unobtainable. Copper took the place of nickel, now used in armament manufacture, in gold manufacture, thus birthing Rose Gold, and Palladium was introduced to jewelry for the first time.

Craftsmen either volunteered for, or were conscripted into the armed forces. German jewelry at this time consisted of enameled silver or jewelry made from thin gold wire, unlike Vintage Filigree Jewelry.  Vintage Diamond Jewelry was mounted with Antique-cut Diamonds, European-cut Diamonds and Old Mine-cut Diamonds. Cartier evacuated their valuable Vintage Platinum Jewelry collections to safer havens while France faired slightly better in German occupied Paris , where remounting replaced manufacturing. Although relatively unavailable, jewelry became a valuable source of portable capital, as it does in times of economic instability.

An appreciation for Retro Jewelry is a recent phenomenon which began in Italy , France and the USA in the early 1980's and it has now spread throughout Europe . The bold, chunky styles of the 1940's were well suited to the women who had taken over jobs left by men called to arms, they wore tailored suits, knee-length skirts and comfortable shoes, more appropriate with their jobs in commerce and industry.