Time Periods
Buyer's Guide »
Time Periods Stones and Metals
Victorian
1837-1901
The longest reigning monarch in British History, Queen Victoria ruled the British Empire for more than half a century. It was during her reign that society and jewelry design transitioned from
the ways of the middle ages to the beginnings of the modern age. Queen Victoria ruled the British Empire during its peak; she was therefore, the ruler of the western world as we know it. Victoria
set the fashion trends for the entire world to follow.
The Queen loved jewelry and the world’s jewelry designers soon copied what she wore. Queen Victoria was married with a serpent engagement ring (a symbol of good luck) and she loved Scottish
jewelry. Soon rings, bracelets, pins etc. were being designed with serpent motifs. Scottish jewelry was characterized by brooches and pins often made of silver; sometimes of gold The stones used
in these pieces were those local to Scotland; Quartz, carnelian, banded and moss agates, and others.
The Early Victorian period was also characterized by cameos (often made of shell), rose cut diamonds (when they could be found), and elaborate gold mountings. Gold was very rare at this stage
of history so the mountings were worked with incredible detail and made to look massive, but were in fact, extremely thin and light.
It was the death of the Queen's husband, Prince Albert, in 1861, which brought about the fashionable mourning and sentimental jewelry. Black and white materials characterized mourning jewelry.
Black onyx and black enameling were used as were seed pearls (considered to be baby tears). Often a lock or woven piece of hair was featured as an integral part of the jewelry. Regard or dearest
jewelry were pieces young couples often exchanged when separated for long periods of time. These items often hadstones whose first letters spelled out Regard or Dearest i.e. ruby, emerald, garnet,
amethyst, ruby and diamond.
During the latter part of the Queen's reign, archaeological discoveries greatly influenced jewelry design. One such discovery was of Etruscan jewelry. These pieces had fine gold granulation,
which the modern jeweler could not reproduce. It was the Italian jeweler Castellini who found a remote village in the mountains of northern Italy where the ancient art of gold granulation had
been passed down for generations. Castellini took the process back to Rome and made his fortune reproducing Etruscan jewelry.
It was in the last part of the Victorian period that we see the pronounced trends toward a modern society and modern jewelry. Society was already well into the industrial age. The wealthy people of Europe
and the United States had electric lights in their homes, diamonds had been discovered in abundance in South Africa, gold was more plentiful, and the growing middle class had money to spend.
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Art Nouveau
c1890 - 1914
Both the Victorians and the Edwardians celebrated the advancement of civilization and the industrial age. For many people, things made by machine were considered more desirable than those made
by man. During the 1880's, some people began to resist the surge of mechanization and embrace more simple styles in decor and jewelry. In England the Arts and Crafts movement gained momentum,
and by 1890, the Art Nouveau period began in earnest in France.
Following the opening of trade with Japan, and increasing trade with the Far East in general in the late 1800's, Asian art and decorative styles became all the rage in Europe and the United States.
Early Art Nouveau artists, especially Rene Lalique, (considered by most to be the father of Art Nouveau), incorporated the themes of nature and the female form.
Themes such as insects, birds, flowers, and dragons were borrowed from Japanese art. Sensual female forms, often nude, were also common, and were considered quite scandalous by the conservative
Victorians and Edwardians.
Art Nouveau designs used materials and designs shunned by mainstream designers. Pieces were often asymmetrical with soft flowing lines. Precious metals and stones were used sparingly. Yellow gold was
used primarily, in contrast to the white metal preferred by the Edwardians. Exquisite multi-colored enamels were used to bring the pieces to life. Small diamonds, opals and pastel colored stones provided
subtle accents.
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Edwardian
c1890 - 1910
During the final years of Victoria's reign her influence on fashion, and especially jewelry began to diminish. The influence of her son Prince Edward, and his devotees, became more prominent.
Victoria died in 1901, leaving the throne to Edward. His reign, though short, had a fashion all its own.
The Victorians had primarily used yellow gold and in their jewelry. Due to the proliferation of electric lights, and lighter fabrics and fashions, the Edwardians preferred the look of white metal.
Their first choice was silver, usually with a gold backing to enhance the value of the piece, as well as, to keep tarnish off their clothes. With the development of the hotter jewelry torches,
the relatively unknown metal platinum became the metal of choice. The tradition of backing the pieces, even those made of platinum, with yellow gold continued up until about 1910, and helps to
identify Edwardian pieces.
Edwardian jewelry is characterized by light and open filigree work, the use of many small diamonds (primarily from the South African mines), soft pastel colored stones, pearls and opals.
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Art Deco
1918 - 1940
Art Deco was the predominant style of jewelry between the World Wars. It took its name from the great Paris exhibition of 1925, L'Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels
Modernes. In contrast to the soft, flowing lines of the Art Nouveau style which preceded it, Art Deco designs were characterized by bold, geometric patterns. Art Deco borrowed heavily from Native
American, African, Asian, Islamic, and especially Egyptian motifs (Due primarily to the opening Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922).
Platinum was the metal of choice, and diamonds the stone of desire. In the 1930's white gold became an acceptable, cost effective substitute for the extremely costly platinum. Colored stones were used
in simple but striking designs, usually to compliment or accentuate the diamonds. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and black onyx were the colored stones of choice. It was quite common for synthetic stones
(almost always flame-fusion rubies and sapphires) to be used in both less expensive and higher end pieces.
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Retro Arts
1935 - 1950
During the later part of the depression and the subsequent war years, gold began to regain its prominence in jewelry manufacturing. As World War II drew nearer, both Platinum and Nickel (a key
ingredient in a white gold alloy) became “Strategic” metals, controlled by the government for use in military applications. Yellow, rose, and even green gold became the metals of choice,
and were often used in combination.
Political factors, such as reduced trade with Indochina, wartime luxury taxes and new trade with South America lead to wide spread use of synthetic corundum (mainly ruby) and large semi-precious
stones. Brazil in particular supplied vast quantities of aquamarine, topaz, emerald, and many varieties of quartz (citrine, amethyst, etc). It was quite common to see a mixture of natural and
synthetic stones in Retro jewelry.
Retro jewelry tended to be very feminine. Bows, ribbons, and flowers were common themes. Retro pieces also tended to be large, especially the “cocktail” rings, and flowing brooches of the
time.
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Reproductions
Estate jewelry is, unfortunately, a finite resource. There are far more people actively searching for beautiful old pieces than there were original owners. In the mid-late 1990's estate jewelry became all
the rage and much of our prized old stock was bought up. Dianne's carries two varieties of reproduction jewelry: Estate reproductions and newly manufactured reproductions.
Estate reproductions are simply pieces we find at estates that not as old as they appear. These reproductions can imitate any time period, and are usually anywhere from five to fifty years old.
Newly manufactured reproductions are produced by one of several talented platinum smiths we work with. Most of these pieces are Edwardian to Art Deco in style and are all hand made. Because of the tremendous
labor involved in created a detailed, old style piece, these reproductions are usually much more costly than an equivalent old piece. The biggest advantage of a newly manufactured piece is that it can
be modified and/or sized with relative ease. The drawback is that the piece is not one-of-a-kind, but rather one-of-a-few.
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