Spring in Bloom

As the saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers.” While there are lots of beautifully designed jewelry with floral motifs, the Art Nouveau time period of jewelry showcases it like no other!  Let’s take a look.

Pendant and picture credit to Lang Antiques

The Art Nouveau time period of jewelry is from 1895 to 1915 as a counter design of the industrial age of machinery used in jewelry. The artists wanted to highlight nature with organic themes, curving lines, and attention to the materials being used.  In fact, art nouveau means “new art” in French.  Samuel Bing, an art dealer in Paris, coined the term when he renamed his art gallery L’ Art Nouveau. 

The key design elements of Art Nouveau jewelry are:

·       Nature themes. This can range from florals and plant life to animals, even including fantastic animals like dragons, fairies, and mermaids.

·       The female form. The curve of a woman’s body or the coils of her hair falling over her shoulders is another design element of Art Nouveau. 

·       Curvy.  You will recognize Art Nouveau jewelry from other time periods fairly easy because of the attention to curves and flowing lines. Most things in nature, excluding minerals, are not straight but are full of windy twists and arcing curves.  When designers created their pieces, they were no longer linear.

·       Golden. Most Art Nouveau jewelry was created with gold instead of silver or platinum.  My guess is that yellow gold feels more organic, but mostly, I think it was an abrupt change from the technology of creating white gold. Yellow gold was natural, while white gold had to be made by adding other white metals to gold. 

·       New techniques. Two techniques emerged that gave artist the ability to add color to a piece.  Plique-a-jour pieces were created by adding colored enamel to cells with temporary backing, which is then burned away after enamel hardens. The name is translated from French to mean “letting in the daylight,” which is what happens when the backing is burned away, light filters through the enamel leaving it translucent and like it is lit from within.  Pate de Verre is another technique that is translated to “glass paste” in French. It is ground up glass with color pigments added that become 3D on a piece of jewelry and can mimic gemstones. 

Art Nouveau jewelry is so beautiful, and I would love to help you bring some of that design into your jewelry! Angela Cisneros Jewelry Concierge brings back the joy and confidence of jewelry shopping, so that you can celebrate with ease! My by-appointment approach means:

• One-on-one appointments (personal attention and no crowds!)

• Discretion and privacy (surprises remain surprises!)

• Expert help from a Graduate Gemologist with 27 years of experience (yep, that’s me!)

Learn more about me and my process: www.AngelaCisneros.com 

Book your FREE appointment with me today! www.AngelaCisneros.com/book-appointment