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A definition of style (The first 50 years)
As technology accelerated into the twentieth century, with distances becoming shorter and communication faster, man's cultural influences became more and more varied. Styles were to change frequently and the demands that society asked of the arbiters of fashion and taste were insatiable.
This is clearly illustrated in jewelry design from the remnants of Victorian tradition (lot 197) where classical lines and clusters are symmetrically set alongside traditional figurative motifs to the eccentric and slightly irreverent whims of the Hollywood designer Paul Flato (lot 237).
The Belle Epoque's Garland style was a redefinition of grandeur with ribbons, bows and swags meticulously defined in platinum, a new metal that was to revolutionize the manufacturing of jewelry. The leading exponent of these majestic jewels was Cartier (lot 230) and on both sides of the Atlantic the world's richest and most powerful elite were walking through the doors of 13 rue de la Paix to acquire these treasures.
With the outbreak of World War I, the mood shifted and a feeling of austerity prevailed. The stark geometric lines of the Art Deco were to influence design for the next twenty years. Although monochromatic, angular motifs defined this era, there were many varied styles inspired by different cultures around the world. The Orient inspired many of the great houses with Chinese and Japanese figurative motifs (lot 231) as well as the delicate flowers (lot 207) depicted in vivid color. With the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, the Egyptian style proved to be enormously popular and is amusingly illustrated by Cartier's famous panther motif striking a Sphinx-like pose (lot 229). Islam, India and Russia were all strong influences as well but the underlying theme so elegantly conveyed by Cole Porter was that "anything goes". This was the jazz age; fun, fast and furious and waiting for no one. The Art Deco Jazz Band bracelet (lot 206) could not be a clearer illustration of society in this modern age.
World War II brought a radical change in style and the 1940's were to begin a new era in jewelry design. Not just in its preferred use of gold over platinum or the absence of diamonds, but scale and proportion were to change as well. The Chaumet bracelet (lot 238) shows the influence of the Machine Age, so popular in the 1930's but with a completely different emphasis on color and scale.
Style and perceived good taste can manifest itself in so many different ways and this is perfectly proven when studying jewelry design. A jewel is an extension of the personality wearing it, which is why we will always live with elegance, good taste and the indefinable "je ne sais quois".
AN ELEGANT BELLE EPOQUE DIAMOND, RUBY AND EMERALD BROOCH
Details
AN ELEGANT BELLE EPOQUE DIAMOND, RUBY AND EMERALD BROOCH
Designed as two rose and old European-cut diamond doves with ruby collet eyes, enhanced by a marquise-cut diamond, to the old European and single-cut diamond vase, with French-cut ruby trim, accented by circular-cut emerald and ruby flowers with diamond collet pistils, and old European-cut diamond leaves, mounted in platinum and gold, (with concealed pendant hoop for suspension), circa 1910
Designed as two rose and old European-cut diamond doves with ruby collet eyes, enhanced by a marquise-cut diamond, to the old European and single-cut diamond vase, with French-cut ruby trim, accented by circular-cut emerald and ruby flowers with diamond collet pistils, and old European-cut diamond leaves, mounted in platinum and gold, (with concealed pendant hoop for suspension), circa 1910