Why art deco jewellery’s 100-year-old vision of the future still feels revolutionary
In the autumn of 1925, Paris pulsed with energy as the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes opened its doors to a world hungry for transformation. Visitors wandered through pavilions that seemed to herald the future—sleek, geometric, utterly modern. Yet few could have predicted that this exhibition would give birth to a design revolution that would fundamentally transform how we understand luxury, beauty and self-expression. Art deco was more than a style—it was a manifesto written in platinum and diamonds, a Declaration of Independence carved in jade and onyx.
The term “art deco” wouldn’t enter popular vocabulary until 1966 but the seeds were planted decades earlier. “Everybody links art deco to the 1920s and 1930s when it was actually born before [the First] World War, in the late 1900s and early 1910s,” explains Mathieu Rousset-Perrier, conservateur du patrimoine at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. The catalyst was unexpected—a national humiliation that would spark artistic greatness.
Natacha Vassiltchikov (Photo: courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels)
In 1910, French designers attended the International Exhibition in Munich and experienced what Rousset-Perrier describes as “a slap in the face”. The shock wasn’t aesthetic but organisational: the German and Austrian exhibitors presented “whole sets, complete ensembles. That [style of pared-back, minimalistic design] was a shock for France.” This wounded national pride ignited a movement, with French creators organising themselves as early as 1911 to develop what Rousset-Perrier describes as “more defined, stricter lines, more geometrical forms and shapes” across furniture, architecture, fashion and jewellery—an evolution that culminated in the historic art deco exhibition held in Paris in 1925. Yet the art deco movement’s true genius lay in its democratic accessibility. “Unlike art nouveau, which was a more elaborate style of jewellery, art deco was the first [popular] style that spread all around in different stratas of society—you could buy art deco in department stores,” he says. When the armistice marking the end of the First World War was signed in 1918, a new, fundamentally different world emerged. The old order, with its rigid hierarchies and suffocating propriety, lay in ruins. In its place rose a society hungry for pleasure, desperate for beauty and determined to seize life with both hands.
“There were massive social and cultural changes from the beginning of the century right up to the time of the 1925 exposition. The whole world order had changed; [there was a] big redistribution of wealth,” explains London-based jewellery historian Vivienne Becker, whom we meet at the Divine Jewels: The Pursuit of Beauty exhibition celebrating art deco jewellery hosted by L’École School of Jewelry Arts on its Hong Kong campus. There was also a massive shift in gender expectations. Becker says, “During the First World War, [women] had done men’s jobs. Now, they’d worked in the field; they drove trucks and ambulances. They became independent and their fashions, their style, really was all about their freedom and independence.”
Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet, circa 1928 (Photo: courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels)
This freedom also led to a huge change in fashion design. Gone were the corsets and frills of the previous epoch; in their place, designers like Jeanne Lanvin and Coco Chanel championed fluid silhouettes, dropped waists and fabrics that shimmered under the new electric lights of jazz clubs and cabarets. These changes were also reflected in a new freedom in terms of jewellery, Becker continues. “That’s why there’s so much movement in jewellery; the whole silhouette changed from the belle époque. After 1910, women really rebelled against that and they were freed from their corsets. Fashion evolved into the flapper dress, [which was] shorter, so they could move around, tubular instead of big; and it’s interesting to see that jewellery followed suit, so it was always long and thin and full of movement. Women moved, they danced, they drank cocktails.”
As bobbed hairstyles replaced elaborate coiffures, ornate hair ornaments vanished in favour of statement earrings that swayed with the charleston. Women dared to bare their arms, creating a canvas for flexible bracelets that moved like liquid metal, while the famous double-clip brooch emerged as the period’s signature piece—its geometric symmetry could be split apart for versatile styling on lapels or cloche hats. Even everyday accessories were transformed into luxury statements, as cigarette cases and powder compacts became jewel-encrusted declarations of independence.
The war had also seen massive leaps forward in technology, and the use of machinery was now extended to jewellery—an industry which had once viewed the machine as beauty’s enemy but now reimagined it as a source. Hong Kong-based jeweller Julien-Loïc Garin, founder of The Collection by JLG, sees this transformation as pivotal: “The artists were losing a little bit of the sense of craftsmanship and beauty, because everything was starting to be very functional and industrialised. After the First World War, curators and creators in Europe wanted to put beauty into [machine-made objects].”
Art deco coloured and white diamond pendant brooch (Photo: courtesy of L’École School of Jewelry Arts)
This created a paradox that goes some way towards defining art deco’s century-old appeal. Jewellery of the time celebrated machine precision while requiring the most exquisite handcraft. The geometric forms were so precise that they could only have been created by machine, but they were born of time-tested techniques.
As Garin explains: “Everything is quite geometric … in contrast to the period just before—the art nouveau [1880s-1914] and belle époque [1871-1914]—when everything was very rounded, much more inspired by nature.” The movement coincided with cubism and abstract art, reflecting a broader cultural shift. “You have Picasso and cubism and you start to have people like Fernand Léger, who really are trying to galvanise the idea of the machine and the power and society and progress—they want to glorify everything that is human-made versus everything that is naturally made,” he adds.
Art deco’s material innovations were equally revolutionary. While the belle époque era had worshipped gold, art deco proclaimed platinum’s supremacy, creating that distinctive silvery- white appearance that became the period’s signature. As Natacha Vassiltchikov, international deputy heritage director of Van Cleef & Arpels, explains, “Platinum is softer than yellow gold, so you can create these delicate motifs, [using] primarily diamonds. I love to see how, with just diamonds of different cuts, you can create a very intricate design or very bold design.” This technical mastery enabled the creation of pieces that seemed to defy gravity, where precious stones appeared to float in space.
Lacloche Art Déco Egyptian Style Bracelet (Photo: courtesy of L’École School of Jewelry Arts)
The period also saw unprecedented cultural synthesis as the world became increasingly interdependent. The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 sent shockwaves through the decorative arts. “The fact of finding a tomb from a Pharaoh which was intact with all these treasures—it really caught the imagination of the people,” says Vassiltchikov. This global cultural exchange was remarkably progressive for its time. Garin says that, “If you were a European lady of high society wearing Egyptian jewellery, wearing Indian jewellery, it was the start of some kind of more cultural understanding and exchange.” The cosmopolitan spirit of art deco reflected a world that was simultaneously recovering from devastating war and embracing new possibilities for connection and understanding.
Cinema’s influence on jewellery design cannot be overstated either. “It was the very early years of Hollywood, with these wonderful black-and-white movies, and so the ladies who were being photographed needed jewellery that could stand out well in black and white,” explains Vassiltchikov. “That’s why you see a lot of simple diamond pieces where the motif is what catches the eye, or very contrasting colours, so onyx was one of the favourite materials.” The interplay between jewellery and film created a feedback loop that amplified both mediums’ visual impact.
To understand art deco jewellery is to recognise its essential vocabulary of forms, materials and techniques. The movement is instantly recognisable by its geometric language—zigzags, chevrons, sunburst patterns, stepped pyramids and fan motifs. The era also saw a revolutionary use of contrasting materials—onyx paired with diamonds, coral with jade, rock crystal with coloured stones—creating visual drama through opposition.
Art deco also forced people to recognise the importance of less popular diamond cuts—emerald, baguette and step cuts in particular emphasised clarity over brilliance.
Cartier Mughal-style tree and bird brooch, circa 1935 (Photo: courtesy of L’École School of Jewelry Arts)
Settings became architectural, with stones arranged in patterns that seemed to challenge the laws of physics. The famous “mystery setting” technique by Van Cleef & Arpels, where stones appear to float without visible prongs, epitomises the period’s technical innovation and its aesthetic philosophy of making the impossible seem effortless.
Perhaps most importantly, authentic art deco pieces incorporate movement and flexibility. Bracelets flex like fabric, earrings sway with the wearer’s motion, brooches have trembling elements that catch and reflect light. Rousset-Perrier emphasises “the incredible craft that goes into the jewel”, ensuring pieces are “so supple. It’s like an engineer’s work, without engineers”.
Behind these revolutionary designs stood legendary creators who defined the movement’s aesthetic language. While René Lalique transitioned his art nouveau mastery into early deco sensibilities, houses like Van Cleef & Arpels and Boucheron pioneered the geometric precision that became synonymous with the era. French innovators like Jean Fouquet, Raymond Templier and Gérard Sandoz pushed boundaries alongside established names like Cartier, whose timepieces became essential accessories for the cocktail generation. The democratic nature of the movement also elevated international talent—Danish silversmith Georg Jensen brought Scandinavian minimalism to the style, while American houses like Tiffany & Co interpreted deco motifs for the new world’s newly wealthy clientele.
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The Collection by JLG Art Deco ring (Photo: courtesy of The Collection by JLG)
Vassiltchikov identifies the defining elements as “ the delicacy, the movement and the creativity with simple materials”. Consider Van Cleef & Arpels’ prize-winning roses bracelet from 1925, which perfectly demonstrates these principles with its “rapid repetition and contrast between colour and white, between the rubies and the white diamonds”. For collectors today, authenticity markers include maker’s marks from prestigious houses like Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels or Boucheron, along with period-appropriate construction techniques and materials that show the era’s characteristic precision and innovation.
The period from 1918 to 1929 saw unprecedented prosperity, but the 1929 economic crash fundamentally altered luxury consumption patterns. “I see two different phases of what we call art deco jewellery,” says Becker. “The first one was a time of huge wealth. Before the Wall Street crash [and subsequent depression], there were huge amounts of money and hedonism.” The crash forced creative innovation in jewellery rather than creative retreat. Garin explains: “Around 1935, yellow gold replaced platinum for financial, economic reasons; because of 1929, nobody could afford platinum, which was far more expensive than gold at the time.”
The Collection by JLG clips (Photo: courtesy of The Collection by JLG)
Designers responded by finding ways to create “jewels that were a bit more bigger and bolder, and to make more of an impact with less metal. The focus was not on the most expensive stones any more. It was really a question of the cuts and of the colour and contrast,” says Garin. This democratisation of luxury paradoxically strengthened art deco’s appeal, proving that great design could transcend economic circumstances.
Today, art deco’s influence feels as relevant as ever—perhaps even more so, as the digital age mirrors the technological optimism of the Twenties. Rousset-Perrier attributes this longevity to the movement’s democratic character: “It was the first style that really went down all the different strata of society— everybody, even poor people, could have art deco pieces, and that’s why it still resonates today; [plus, its] clean lines fit perfectly with our way of living today.”
Perhaps this is art deco’s ultimate achievement—it transformed jewellery from mere decoration into a language of aspiration, infusing the ancient human desire for beauty with the modern spirit of innovation, equality and global consciousness. The women who wore art deco jewellery weren’t just displaying wealth—they were claiming their right to beauty, to self-expression, to a rightful place in the modern world. The jazz age might be over but its spirit lives on, reminding us that even though fashion comes and goes, style is eternal.
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