Art Nouveau Jewelry Sparks A Revival

In Jewelry Art History:

Art Nouveau Jewelry was made between 1895 - 1910.

Investing in gold, diamond, gemstone and antique Jewelry made from other materials from the Art Nouveau period can be both profitable and exciting.

Since its introduction in the Fin-De-Siecle, ( end of the century) the desirability of Art Nouveau (new art), forerunner to the Edwardian Style has never stopped.

Over the last three to four decades though there has been an even greater demand for authentic Art Nouveau. Especially in the area Art Nouveau Design and Art Nouveau Jewelry.

The word: 'Art Nouveau' was named after an avant-garde Paris shop, 'La Maison de l'Art Nouveau' in 1900, and known by that name in France, Belgium, Holland, England, and the United States.

In other places, it had other names, "Jugendstil" in Austria and Germany (after the magazine Der Jugend, "youth"), "Modernismo" in Spain and "Floreale" or "Liberty" in Italy.

Proponents of this movement tried to synthesize all the arts in an attempt to create art based on natural forms that could be mass-produced for a large audience. It influenced all the decorative arts.

The free, sinuous whiplash curve of Japanese print designs inspired Art Nouveau artists who also borrowed from the expressive patterned style of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin.

The Art Nouveau movement left us a legacy of outstanding jewelry of an understated debauched delicacy. Indulgent sensuality was a dominant force and designs of nature were endowed with the female form, rippling hair, writhing abstract forms, wriggling marine plants resembling tentacles.

There was a wildness of nature uncontrolled by man, like the fine-de-siecle culture that was characteristically unrestrained and freewheeling.

This is particularly interesting:

in Britain the only earlier jewelry remotely resembling it was that made by the ancient Celts. (Pearsall, R., 1999, A Connoisseur's Guide to Antique Jewellery, Todtri Publishers, New York.)

Color is the child of nature and if you decide to invest in Art Nouveau enamel Jewelry you will notice the beautiful colors that closely resemble the natural world. The use of enamels to achieve certain shades, textures and colors is a quintessential key that features strongly in the period.

~The Mystique of Lalique~

When it came to subtle use of color no-one could come close to French Art Nouveau master, René Lailique (1860-1945). His acute awareness of color and texture with his feeling for the spirit of the subject beyond its physical reality, was unequalled. His work epitomized the view that value lay in the designer's vision and the craftsman's skill rather than in the size of the gemstones. You will notice that many of his pieces are made of non-precious materials such a horn and glass.

Actress Sarah Bernhardt brought Lalique great fame by promoting his designs, which she boldly wore on-stage and at public events. Moonstone jewelry and chalcedony were popular. Gemstones were chosen for desirability as motif, not for their expensiveness.

Have You Seen the Jewel-of-the-Month Yet?

Return to the top of Art Nouveau Jewelry 101

Return to Invest in Art Nouveau Jewelry

Return to Antique Jewelry Investor Homepage