Antique and 20th Century Jewellery

by Vivienne Becker

Aiming to spotlight areas of collectability—mainly from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries—which are available to enthusiasts today, this is an important study of both well-known and forgotten jewelry fashions and trends. Each chapter—there are 22 in this second edition—concentrates on a specific topic, but there is a comprehensive cross-referencing to other chapters. Almost every item shown has been on the market in recent years. No other jewelry book reflects the antique jewelry market or collectors’ enthusiasms in quite the same way. Among the types of jewelry covered are diamond brooches, coral 19th-century gold work, piqué, silver jewels, cameos and intaglios, mosaics, Edwardian pendants, and unusual materials. "Theme" jewelry is another area described with an amazing variety of representations of animals or flowers, as well as Victorian Scottish jewelry and 19th-century archaeological revival jewels inspired by the goldwork of the Greeks, Etruscans, or ancient Egyptians. The work of individual artist-jewelers, who played such an important part in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements, is documented, along with the glamorous, highly sought after jewels created by the great jewel houses like Cartier, Tiffany, Falize, and Van Cleef & Arpels. Finally the important "movements"—Arts and Crafts; Art Nouveau, including Liberty’s huge output; and Art Deco—are assessed. Newly added is a chapter on Retro Modern—the cocktail jewelry for the 1940s—the best of which has become eminently collectable.

Genres: Jewellery

356 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980