If you are looking into starting an antique jewelry collection, you should know that antique jewelry is separated into different eras based on time periods where certain trends reigned. There are a number of different time periods associated with antique jewelry, and you should know a few of the most popular eras for antique jewelry collectors.
Art Deco Era
The era of art deco jewelry spanned from 1920 to 1930. Art deco jewelry commonly features styles that were borrowed from the modernist movement, including sharp, clean lines, geometric shapes and patterns, symmetrical arrangements and repeating designs. A lot of the design of the art deco movement was also borrowed from ancient Aztec, Egyptian and African Culture. These bold pieces have stayed popular throughout the years.
Victorian Era
The Victorian era of jewelry, lasting from 1830 to 1901 can be separated into three distinct areas, romantic jewelry, grand jewelry, and aesthetic jewelry. Romantic jewelry, which is the earliest era of victorian jewelry, favored gold jewelry intricately engraved, as well as jewelry featuring florals, hearts, birds, and servants. The middle era, grand jewelry, featured dark jewels and black enamel and jewelry made from hair of a deceased loved one in order to remember them. The period of aesthetic jewelry returns to a lighter mindset and featured bejeweled insects and animals, stars, dragons and varying symbols of good fortune. Gemstones and silver were popular materials for pieces made during this era.
Retro Era
The retro era of jewelry began in 1940 and is characterized by glitz and glamour, featuring bold pieces that were often times oversized in order to draw more attention to them. Retro era jewelry also featured highly feminine designs, like curved edges, bows, ruffles, flowers and ribbons. The metals used in retro jewelry featured gold as well as creative, new interpretations of gold made by mixing together gold and either silver or copper to create alloys with distinctive coloring. During this time period, there was a limited supply of gemstones available, leading to many retro era pieces using synthetic gems or semi-precious stones, like topaz, aquamarine, and citrine as the centerpieces. This time period is also known for its use of contrasting materials to make the jewelry stand out.
Of course, these eras, despite their popularity, might not speak to you in style and form. Before you start collecting antique jewelry, research each era and determine what style suits you best and then seek out pieces from that era.
Share9 June 2016
A few days ago, my mother-in-law’s dad passed away. This sweet man lived a long, full life. He was ninety-one-years-old when he died. At his funeral, my mother-in-law told me she liked the ruby, cross pendant I was wearing. Because I wanted to cheer this sweet woman up, I immediately came up with a plan. I decided to buy her a pendant like mine. Because this pendant was also available in sapphire, I decided to purchase this stone for my mother-in-law. Sapphire is her birthstone. On this blog, I hope you will discover the best types of jewelry items to buy for a mother-in-law. Enjoy!