The dramatic evolution of 20th century European jewelry design, documenting the innovative trends, sources, and makers. Artists' limited-edition creations, as well as fashion and costume jewelry, are explored through the well-researched text, over 700 wonderful photos and vintage prints. Biographical sketches are provided for the artists and couturiers who worked closely with the fashion designers.

A survey of the finest costume jewelry created by American and European designers and manufacturers in this century. Includes photographs of over 600 pieces--earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and more--designed by Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Napier, Trefari, Monet, and others. With technical guide. 643 illustrations, including 500 in full color.

"Through meticulous research, this book explores the Italian twentieth-century jewelry and goldsmithing landscape. This is the first time the topic is investigated in such a comprehensive manner, having previously only been dealt with limitedly to specific producers or production areas. Following the evolution of an art that is the result of millenary stratifications, this volume contains over three hundred images illustrating jewelry produced between 1900 and 1990. The chapters follow a chronological order and systematically look at the political and economic events influencing the fate of jewelry, as well as the fashion, the role of women, the artistic and architectural experiences, and the tastes of the time. Alongside the most prominent maisons feature less-known jewelers of doubtless creativity and artistic quality. Detailed biographies of each of the jewelers mentioned are included at the end of the volume"--Back cover.

Profiles the extraordinary group of women who influenced styles in jewelry design after World War I For centuries the collecting of precious gems and the jewelry fashioned from them was the exclusive prerogative of kings and queens, emperors, popes, and maharajahs. In the aftermath of World War I an extraordinary group of women emerged who had the means to deck themselves in glittering bracelets, rings, necklaces, earrings, tiaras, and brooches. This book presents eleven profiles of glamorous women who assembled these astonishing collections in the mid-twentieth century. The fall of European monarchies meant royal jewels passed into the hands of a new social elite that included figures from show business and the worlds of industry and commerce. The women of the era cut their hair, wore looser-fitting clothes, and had greater freedom than before the war. The change in fashion led to a new style of jewelry—the historic gemstones were reset and new collections created. These influential women included Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton, the Duchess of Windsor, the film star Merle Oberon, and the great diva Maria Callas. There were also less well-known figures such as the mysterious and beautiful Nina Dyer, whose husbands were the Baron von Thyssen and Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan. The book brings to life the worlds in which these women moved—elegant yachts, extravagant parties—and describes the details of the jewels and the jewelers (Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Harry Winston) that created the exquisite settings.

The most diverse anthology on jewellery, supported by technical information and a concise, authoritative and stimulating essay. The third Skira monograph dedicated to the modern decorative arts, following Italian Art Ceramics 1900-1950 and Twentieth-century Fabrics is an analysis of some 350 jewels by artists and designers operating in Europe and the United States from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day. The work is organised chronologically, beginning with jewellery designed in the Art Nouveau period by leading figures such as Lalique and Fouquet; works produced during the Secession (in Berlin, Munich, and Vienna) by artists such as Moser and Hoffmann; splendid art deco pieces, with a look at great names such as Cartier, Boucheron, Buccellati, Cleef & Arpels and Tiffany; a study of European and American production from the 1950s; the influences of the informal artistic culture; the use of new materials and new techniques and current influences deriving from extra-European cultures and computer-driven means of expression. The spotlight is on leading art and design figures, and the working methods and styles of the most famous production houses throughout the course of the twentieth century. Key Sales Information * Outstanding photographs illustrate and illuminate examples of elaborate techniques and very original materials. * Eight sections in chronological order, with European and American objects. Every section opening with a brief introduction. * The publication includes a biography of the principal production houses, laboratories, master jewellers and designers, a glossary of technical terms, a bibliography divided by theme and an index of names. * An indispensable tool for the specialist, the collector, or anyone curious about art and jewellery. Author Alba Cappellieri is an architect and design critic. She is an associate professor of jewellery design and is director of the jewelry design specialization course at the Milan Polytechnic.

Discusses the major trends in fine jewelry from Art Nouveau to the present, and introduces the work of a variety of designers