Elegance & expression: why we love Art Nouveau

Spanning the turn of the 20th century– around 1890 to 1914– Art Nouveau has been one of our absolute favorite eras to collect and share. Driven by the rejection of mass production and industrialization, artisans of the era focused on carefully handmade jewelry with high attention to detail, a sentiment that still feels highly relevant to us and our brand over a century later. Paralleling the English Arts and Crafts movement, the Art Nouveau movement started in France, spreading throughout Europe and to the United States. It’s hard not to fall in love with the romantic pieces of the era, the celebration of the female form, the nature-inspired motifs, and the use of color via gemstones and enamel. Some well-known jewelers from this time include Georges Fouquet, René Lalique, and Louis Comfort Tiffany. 

Japanese art continued to have a large influence on European design, particularly woodblock prints. Japanese Woodblock prints often had bold colors, featured stylized depictions of nature, and asymmetric, flowing lines, inspiring the “whiplash” line characteristic of Art Nouveau design. These flowy, curving, nature-inspired lines imbue the jewelry of this era with a sense of movement and ethereality that we are particularly drawn to. 

As women’s roles in society changed, nouveau jewelry saw lots of depictions of women and mythical female figures like fairies, nymphs, and mermaids, often with a sense of sensuality. The flowing, expressive lines are seen in the above locket, in which a beautiful fairy, wearing a low-cut top to expose part of the breasts and a choker of glimmering rose cut diamonds, is surrounded by flowers.

Artisans of the period used gemstones such as opal, moonstone, and baroque pearls, their ethereal, glimmering qualities suiting this new style. While gold was also often used, the jewelry of the era was really not about the value of the materials, but the skill and craftsmanship of the jeweler. Glass and horn, both relatively cheap materials, were skillfully carved and shaped into works of art.

This beautiful little pair of violet pins features painted enamel, capturing the look of real flower petals. Enamel was often skillfully used in Art Nouveau jewelry, adding color and dimension to pieces. While the enamel in these pins was painted over a gold backing, the “plique-à-jour” technique was also popularized during this time, a technique in which the metal the enamel is applied on is removed, resulting in translucent enamel sections in between the metal. In the Victorian era, inspiration from flora and fauna were common jewelry motifs, which continued through the Art Nouveau era but were re-imagined in this new style. 

Art Nouveau eventually fell out of popularity as World War I began, giving way to the straight, geometric lines of Art Deco design.