Designs & Motifs
Flora, fauna, and indeed all things in the natural world have heavily influenced jewelry design through the ages. In addition, archaeological discoveries and world events created a market for retrospective collections featuring previously popular styles. Fashion trends and artistic movements have also left their mark on jewelry. Select from the pictorial glossary of Jewelry Designs and Motifs to read more.
Vignettes
Throughout history, communication, and therefore symbolism, has been an integral part of human interaction. Symbols play a powerful part in the rituals of expression and we employ thousands of them...
Popular throughout the Victorian Era, the jewelry we think of as “Scottish” is just as likely to have been made in England as in Scotland. Also referred to as “pebble”...
Egyptomania is an extreme obsession for all things Egyptian and, throughout history, a passion for Egypt has been a recurring theme. By the time Napoléon Bonaparte stormed Egypt at the...
Glyptography is the art of gemstone carving and the term applies to both intaglios and cameos. Begun in ancient times, circa 15,000 B.C., as one of the earliest forms of communication,...
Micromosaics are a type of mosaic created from tiny fragments of glass, called tesserae. The tesserae are mosaic pieces made from an opaque vitreous glass or enamel in a multitude of colors called smalto. The smalto is pulled into rods...
Cannetille is a close relative of filigree work. It typically features fine gold wires or thinly hammered sheets. Jewelry with cannetille was very popular in the 1820’s and 1830’s. Motifs included tendrils, scrolls,...
The Brutalism movement in architecture went beyond Modernism’s form and function, rejecting the role of light and clean lines. This new style, emerging c.1950s, created functional buildings intentionally ignoring all...
Terms & Definitions
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Amatory jewels were a popular type of love jewelry c.late 1700s. These were navette-shaped pendants, or sometimes brooches, with pearl, gem-set or enamel surrounds. The center featured flowers, initials, or sentiments rendered in seed pearls atop a woven...
An anchor chain is a cable chain with an additional cross bar. They are named after the metal chains used to raise or lower a ship’s anchor.
Archaeological revival refers to the neo-styles of the 18th and 19th centuries inspired by the excavations and discoveries of Roman, Egyptian, Hellenistic and Etruscan sites. The first revival came after...
A basket mount is a fancy setting for a gemstone that is pierced to give the setting a lacy or basket look.
A belcher ring has a flush setting, similar to a gypsy ring, whereby the prongs are cut into the mounting. The stone is placed within a recess created in the shank and secured by the carved-out...
A boule ring is a ring with a domed head which is usually set with pave set gemstones. It came into fashion around 1935. See also bombé. The term boule (from...
Brick link consists of rows of abutted rectangular links, offset every other row, resembling a brick masonry pattern. Brick links can be found in necklaces and bracelets. Originally brick link was a Victorian...