Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co, Chanel, Harry Winston, Belperron and Mellerio embrace Art Deco design in their jewelry and watch creations.
The Art Deco design movement first took hold globally at the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris. In the late 1920s and into the ’30s, the groundbreaking Art Deco movement saw its influence in visual arts, architecture and product design, including fine jewelry and watches. New York’s Chrysler and Empire State buildings and Rockefeller Center are architectural icons of the Art Deco period.
While Art Deco design has passed the century mark, its elegant, clean lines live on in modern fine jewelry and luxury watches. Art Deco is short for the French Arts Décoratifs, meaning decorative arts.
Jewelry from the Art Deco period, and the modern pieces featured below, are crafted largely of diamonds set in platinum or white gold, with accents of onyx, emeralds and other colored gemstones.
Pure Creativity
In 1925, the Louis Vuitton brand participated in the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs. Headquartered in Paris and founded in 1854, the brand was a world-renowned trunk maker, and Gaston-Louis Vuitton, the founder’s grandson, had brought “Louis Vuitton into the creative spotlight of the 1920s.” The brand has remained in the spotlight ever since.
Louis Vuitton unveiled its first fine jewelry collection in 2004, and the Pure V collection has a decidedly Deco vibe. The bracelet pictured above “features a dynamic interplay of lustrous black lacquer and 18-karat white gold paved with diamonds, culminating in four bold architectural Vs,” according to the brand.
An American Icon
In 1837, Charles Lewis Tiffany and his business partner, John B. Young, opened a “stationery and fancy goods” store in Manhattan, which would go on to be one of the most iconic jewelry brands in the world. Today, more than 175 years since its founding, Tiffany & Co. remains firmly rooted in New York, and its flagship store, known as the Landmark, has been its home since 1940. The brand’s Art Deco watch features the signature black and white aesthetic of the Deco period, showcasing 76 round brilliant diamonds and four baguette diamonds with a total carat weight of 2.36. Made in Switzerland, the watch features a mother-of-pearl mosaic dial.
Breaking Boundaries
Legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel was famous for her bold and daring personal jewelry, as well as her groundbreaking fashion design. In 1932, Chanel introduced her first jewelry collection, “Bijoux de Diamants,” which translates to diamond jewelry. The collection has often been cited as the first high jewelry collection in history. “I chose the diamond because its density represents the greatest value for the smallest size,” she said. The collection applied the principles of haute couture to high jewelry, according to the brand. “She envisioned jewelry as a new idea, a way of establishing a unique relationship with the body.” The Chanel Comète 1932 ring features diamonds set in white gold.
Architectural Artistry
“Since 1932, Harry Winston jewels have celebrated the exquisite artistry of the world around us – from fine art, to interior design, to textiles and fabrics, to architecture,” according to the brand. The world-renowned New York-based jeweler is known for the unparalleled quality of its gemstones and exquisite designs. The brand’s Art Deco by Harry Winston collection “continues the House’s longstanding commitment to exceptional quality in craftsmanship and design.” The bracelets pictured left are crafted of 18-k white gold set with round- and baguette-cut diamonds.
Sensual Sophistication
The late designer Suzanne Belperron (1900-1983) “pioneered a new aesthetic in jewelry: sensual, tactile and arrestingly modern,” according to the brand. Her jewelry was worn by style icons Diana Vreeland, Elsa Schiaparelli and the Duchess of Windsor, among others. The brand was revived in 2015, with a salon on New York’s Fifth Avenue, offering vintage Belperron and modern pieces whose design comes from Belperron’s archive of over 9,300 original designs. The Saddle Series Cuff No. 6 bracelets are crafted of black jade and “mounted with antique diamond and white gold French motifs circa 1920.”
Lasting Legacy
Paris-based Mellerio was founded in 1613 by Royal Privilege from French Queen Marie de Medici, three centuries before the Art Deco movement took hold. Mellerio is the oldest jeweler in the world and is still in the hands of its founding family. CEO Laure-Isabelle Mellerio is the 14th generation of her family at the helm of the business. The Mellerio High Jewelry bracelet pictured left features a central emerald surrounded by baguette diamonds and onyx. The bracelet, which is crafted of 18-k white gold, features a total of 298 baguette-, marquise- and round-cut diamonds.