The Eras of Jewelry

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PinkDiamond
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The Eras of Jewelry

Post by PinkDiamond »

From Fire Mountain, I found this one very enlightening since I've never paid much attention to what various styles of jewelry have been in favor over the years, so I didn't know the differences and nuances of the various eras, and now I do. I figured some of you might not know them either, so I decided to post this one for those of you who want to make jewelry of different styles. I'll give you the first era and you can use the link to check out the others. Enjoy! :)

Image
by Susanne Kathol, Exclusively for Fire Mountain Gems and Beads®

"Explore the different eras of jewelry style and design your own jewelry based on these well-recognized and distinct style periods. Find inspirational suggestions and design ideas for creating historically rich jewelry pieces.

First things first ... what is the difference between vintage and antique? As a general rule antique jewelry is any piece over 100 years old and vintage jewelry is younger (20 years old or so) and is usually dated between 1920 and 1980.

Georgian Jewelry
Victorian/Romantic Jewelry
Art Nouveau Jewelry
Arts and Craft Jewelry
Edwardian Jewelry/Belle Époque Jewelry

Art Deco Jewelry
Retro Jewelry
Modern Jewelry Jewelry

Georgian Jewelry (approximately 1714-1837)

Named after England's Kings George I, II and III, this era's jewelry has an opulent and elegant flair. Well known for its symmetry, jewelry from this period is completely handcrafted, very rare and highly collectable.

Jewelry Materials and Style

Georgian jewelry included precious and semiprecious stones such as garnet, emerald, ruby, diamond, coral and topaz. Statement pieces often featured shapes from nature, such as birds, foliage, flowers, animals, a single curved feather or ribbons and scroll motifs in elaborate and intricate designs. Amber, ivory, pearl, turquoise, translucent agate and carnelian stones and beads were commonly used in jewelry designs, along with carved gems referred to as intaglios. Stones set in Georgian pieces often had enclosed backs and were set over foil.

Matching jewelry sets (known as parures) were in high demand, offering a coordinating necklace, ring, earrings, bracelet and tiara. Short necklaces such as riviéres, comprised of a row of diamonds or gemstones, and chandelier-style earrings were popular. Women wore mourning jewelry, including funeral scenes painted on ivory, jewelry made with a lock of hair from a loved one and portrait miniatures of loved ones on jewelry such as pendants and brooches. Lover's eye lockets with a painting of an eye were in vogue.

Both men and women wore buttons on coats, jeweled shoe buckles, pocket watches and chains. Jewelry was also designed to come apart to form different pieces (also known as convertible jewelry), such as a necklace that becomes two bracelets or a bracelet that could become a pair of earrings and brooch.

Jewelry Designs Inspired by this Era

ImageImageImage

Take-away Design Inspirations

Matching jewelry sets including coordinating earrings, necklace, ring, bracelet, etc.
Pocket watches
Cameos
Brooches
Convertible jewelry
Hair lock jewelry

Victorian/Romantic Jewelry (approximately 1837 to 1901) ... "


https://www.firemountaingems.com/resour ... dium=email
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rocks2dust
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Re: The Eras of Jewelry

Post by rocks2dust »

The problem that I have with this list (and many similar), is that it uses loose terms that aren't really accurate. For instance, the styles labeled "Georgian" and "Victorian" are local variations on much broader trends (in this case, Neoclassicism and revival/eclectic respectively). At one point I started, but never finished, a list of the major styles of different periods. Since at least I can cut and paste, here is my partial take...
  • 1550-1620 Baroque
  • 1700-1770 Rococo, Neoclassical
  • 1770-1789 Neoclassical (à La Grecque)
  • 1790-1810 Neoclassical, Gothic Revival
  • 1810-1825 Empire (French Empire, English Regency), Gothic Revival, First Egyptian Revival
  • 1826-1835 English Regency, Biedermeir, Mughal Revival
  • 1835-1859 Romantic (i.e., Roman Neoclassical), Floral/Lace, Turkish Revival
  • 1860-1875 Victorian Eclecticism, Beidermeir, Archaeological, Victorian Mourning
  • 1875-1889 British Arts and Crafts, Aesthetic Movement, Japonisme, Eclecticism, Etruscan Revival
  • 1890-1900 Art Nouveau, Jugenstil
  • 1901-1914 late Art Nouveau, Jugenstil, American Arts and Crafts
  • 1914-1924 American Arts and Crafts
  • 1925-1930 Art Deco, Futurism, Neoclassical, Constructivism, Cubism, Second Egyptian Revival
  • 1931-1945 Early Modernism (Art Moderne or Ocean Liner Style). Streamline Modern, Fascist Modern, Hollywood Retro
  • 1945-1959 Scandinavian Minimalist, Space-age Modern,
  • 1960-1970 Op, Mod, Pop, Hippie Craftsman
  • 1971-1979 Disco Modern/Plastic Modern. Neo-Deco
  • 1980-1994 Post Modern, Tribal

A problem, too, are the revivals of revivals (sometimes under different names), and the tendency of some styles to hang on long after they have become passé.
r2d

surplus odds and ends that I have on ebid.net
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PinkDiamond
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Re: The Eras of Jewelry

Post by PinkDiamond »

Wow, r2d, that is fantastic, and thanks so much for giving us all these classifications, their eras and the breakdown on each. What an endeavor you undertook to compile that! Thanks so much for sharing it with us. :D
PinkDiamond
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Artfldgr
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Re: The Eras of Jewelry

Post by Artfldgr »

i could add another between 1950 and now..
the era of jewelry whose artwork is barely above the cost of the metal

ie. take a pipe, carve a pattern into it on a lathe, then cut it into wedding ring slices...

at some point, like with watchmaking... the artisans left the studio..
even now... the artisans have a hard time competing with the digital, which is a different beast..
ie. design in unreal space, have machines make it in real space..

it makes for jewelry that is sterile in its perfection...

so in the old days, the best could make it seem perfect by hand.. like titian drawing a circle
now, the best make it seem organic by skewing the measures

which is the reverse of how auto tune ruined music...
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PinkDiamond
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Re: The Eras of Jewelry

Post by PinkDiamond »

Artfldgr wrote:...

at some point, like with watchmaking... the artisans left the studio..
even now... the artisans have a hard time competing with the digital, which is a different beast..


I'm pleased to report that I just posted an article about the rising popularity of traditional watches here: :)
viewtopic.php?f=61&t=3312
PinkDiamond
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· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ ..·´ There are miracles left for you to do .... -:¦:- -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´* It all begins inside of you. ;)
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OpalSpectrum
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Re: The Eras of Jewelry

Post by OpalSpectrum »

when it comes to eras of jewelry I have different point of view :roll:
in my opinion this list should start much earlier - maybe I will write something related to this in other thread but this will take some time
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PinkDiamond
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Re: The Eras of Jewelry

Post by PinkDiamond »

Please do! :)
PinkDiamond
ISG Registered Gemologist


· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ ..·´ There are miracles left for you to do .... -:¦:- -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´* It all begins inside of you. ;)
Artfldgr
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Re: The Eras of Jewelry

Post by Artfldgr »

My favorite watch i watched for years before it disappeared.. someone bought it
and then La Veille Russie closed... it was a captains watch... and the body and parts that could be were all whale ivory..
springs and gems were not of course, but everything else was... bone white and a bit large pocket watch.
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