Museum Director Reveals Similarities in Past and Present Jewelry

By Amy Toosley and Jeffery E. Pizzino

Everything old is new again, at least when you compare jewelry fashions. A study of tastes and styles from the Edwardian, Art Nouveau periods and the new millennium draws some surprising similarities.

GIA Museum Director Elise Misiorowski, G.G., illustrated this phenomenon by pointing out the parallels in today’s jewelry with designs from the late 19th and 20th centuries in her presentation, “Then And Now: Jewelry Circa 1900 & 2000” Feb. 7.

Art Nouveau
The Art Nouveau period, prominent from 1890 through 1914, is known for its radical departure from previous styles, where imaginative and artistic values took precedence over the gems themselves, Misiorowski said. Natural subjects such as flowers, animals and butterflies are common in Art Nouveau jewelry, along with figures of fantasy such as fairies.

Similar themes can be seen in the jewelry during the women’s liberation movement of the 1970s when some pieces featured women being transformed into exotic creatures, for example.

“Art Nouveau artists use their gemstones like a painter uses his paint on a canvas,” Misiorowski said. “And the subject matter is often bizarre and highly charged.”

Edwardian
The elegant Edwardian style (1900-1915), also known as the “Garland style,” was fashionable among the affluent, Misiorowski said. Derived from 18th century ornamentation, Edwardian jewelry had a lacy look that typically featured garlands or flowers tied with ribbons and bows.

A greater availability of diamonds during this period allowed for improvements in cutting techniques, which placed new emphasis on gem quality. Exceptionally large and fine sapphires, emeralds, rubies and diamonds were often worn by the upper class of this era, such as Princess of Wales, to purposely display their wealth.

Phenomenal gems such as opals, moonstones and alexandrites were also favored. Rare and expensive fancy colored diamonds in platinum mountings of exceptional workmanship, were truly characteristic of the Edwardian style, Misiorowski said.

New Millennium
Exceptional gemstone carving techniques, such as the craftsmanship of Idar-Oberstein, are still appreciated in the new millennium. In fact, a number of modern artists specialize in using gemstones as a medium for abstract art, similar to the imaginative Art Nouveau era. Bernd Munsteiner, known as the father of the fantasy cut (see related story page 32), has been an inspiration for contemporary carvers such as Glenn Lehrer, G.G., Michael Dyber and Steve Walters.

A published jewelry historian, Misiorowski also pointed out similarities in today’s society with that of the past, including a greater number of people with extraordinary personal wealth, an expanded interest in gems, new explorations and sources for known gems and discoveries of new gem varieties.

Prosperity in the 1990s, reminiscent of the Edwardian period, has renewed the fascination for rare diamonds and unusual gemstones fashioned in designer cuts. The laser was adapted for diamond cutting in the late 1970s, making it possible to cut them in unusual shapes. New high-tech cuts such as the princess and radiant cuts were introduced, and a revived interest in antique cuts such as the briolette and rose, old mine and cushion cuts surfaced.

“Color is everything and you’re seeing it everywhere,” said Misiorowski of today’s jewelry, using the 2004 AGTA Spectrum Awards as an example. “People are looking for a lot of exciting color in unusual combinations, just like they did 100 years ago. Nowadays, anything goes. We’re in a rich time where everything is blossoming.”