A period of seduction! The Age of "Speed" and "Speakeasy's". Social and political elements blended together to create an air of restlessness and recklessness. Women bobbed their hair, wore dresses up to their knees and did not wear corsets! In the Roaring "20's" dancing was much more free and women wore long gold necklaces, which swung with their every movement. Long multiple strands of pearls were also a must for the new flapper dress. The glamour of "Hollywood" was very much in vogue. It created a media blitz and became national news. To further distract people from the memories of war and the Great Depression, the frivolity and glamour of Hollywood and Broadway was captured in Deco jewelry. Clear, bold, symmetrical geometric lines, and contrasting stone colors defined the feeling of skyscrapers as well. Luxury was the key word in Deco jewelry. Many fine jewelry houses, Cartier, Boucheron, Tiffany, Van Cleef & Arpels, Marcus & Co. became famous for their opulent designs. The sleek and sexy jewelry from this period satisfied the needs of a new class, the "Nouveau Riche", who desired to display their glamorous and fashionable lifestyle.
A diverse period in jewelry history! Yellow gold was the metal of choice. The 49'ER "Gold Rush" brought with it a gold fever. Silver laid over gold was occasionally used for the setting of diamonds. Black was "in" as Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, dies in 1861 and the whole country mourned for 60 years alongside their beloved Queen. Black enamel and jet jewelry were the fashion statements of the day. Pearls were the fashion representing tears for the departed. Memorial jewelry became the "style". Grape and wheat clusters, female figures sitting by a weeping willow tree and locks of hair of a loved one were incorporated into a piece of jewelry. More revivals, Etruscan, Egyptian, Moorish, Roman, Greek and Gothic, occurred in this period than any other period. Goldsmithing was at its highest level of achievement. Love token jewelry in the form of lockets and rings with heart motifs as romantic sentiments engraved on the piece was widely worn.
King Edward VII and his elegant wife Queen Alexandra led English society to new taste levels so sophistication and elegance became the definitive style of this period. Edwardian jewels reflected gracious delicacy with ribbons, bows, swags and tassels, decorated décolletè dresses of lace, embroidery and fringe of pale hues. Toward the end of the 19th century, diamonds were found in quantity in South Africa. Quantities of platinum were also discovered in Kimberly, South Africa early in the 20th century and it became the favored metal for this period's diamond jewelry. Its malleability and strength made working intricate, pierced open-work into the metal much easier than did gold. Platinum also retained a high degree of reflectivity and luminosity giving this period's jewelry its own special beauty.