Art Deco
JewelryWiki Editorial·2 sources·Reviewed 2026-08-04
Named after the fact, for an exhibition held after the style had already matured — and the period when dense, geometric concentrations of stones became the point.
Properties
| Property | Value | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | V&A, for jewellery: the 1920s to the 1950s. The pivotal moment was the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, Paris, 1925. [1] | — |
| Named for | An abbreviation of the title of the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes — applied later, and described by the Met as a catch-all label, perhaps somewhat imprecise, for the decorative arts and architecture created between the two world wars. The V&A dates the term itself to the 1960s; at the time the style was known as Style Moderne. [2] | — |
| Defining traits | Sharp, geometric patterns celebrating the machine age, alongside exotic creations inspired by the Near and Far East. Arguably not one style but a pastiche of sources — historic European movements, avant-garde art, the Russian ballets, folk art and the urban imagery of the machine age. The 1922 excavation of Tutankhamun’s tomb triggered a proliferation of Egyptian imagery. [1] | — |
| Characteristic stones and metals | Dense concentrations of gemstones are characteristic. Platinum early on; from about 1933 gold returned to fashion, partly because it was cheaper than platinum. [1] | — |
| Where the dating differs | The V&A carries Art Deco jewellery through to the 1950s. The Met describes a style already internationally mature by 1925, which had flourished in the years following the First World War, peaked at the 1925 fair, and was promoted well into the 1930s. So the two accounts agree on the peak and diverge on the tail by roughly two decades — which matters, because a 1948 piece is Art Deco under one account and after it under the other. [2] | — |
| What to watch for | The 1933 metal switch is the most practical dating clue on this page. Platinum suggests earlier in the period, gold later — and it was a price decision, not a taste one. [1] | — |
Sources
- V&A — A history of jewellery — Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A, A history of jewellery)
- The Met — French Art Deco (Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History) — The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: French Art Deco (Jared Goss, 2010))