Arthur King 18k
20th Century American Multi-Strand Necklaces
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s British Modernist Brooches
Pearl, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s Brooches
Turquoise, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
Vintage 1960s American Cufflinks
18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Modern Band Rings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Antique 19th Century Brooches
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century American Modern Pendant Necklaces
Quartz, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century American Modern Brooches
Coral, Emerald, Jade, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Modern Pendant Necklaces
Aquamarine, Diamond, Freshwater Pearl, Peridot, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s British Baroque Brooches
Diamond, Brown Diamond, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Multi-Strand Necklaces
Emerald, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Pendant Necklaces
Coral, Diamond, Turquoise, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s North American Modernist Cocktail Rings
Emerald, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s American Modernist Brooches
Coral, Diamond, Turquoise, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Antique 1850s Finnish Victorian Signet Rings
18k Gold
Mid-20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Fashion Rings
Amethyst, Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century German Modernist Cocktail Rings
White Diamond, Diamond, Emerald, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s Unknown Modernist Cluster Rings
Emerald, Ruby, 18k Gold
People Also Browsed
2010s Modern Cuff Bracelets
Sterling Silver
20th Century American Contemporary Brooches
Yellow Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Antique 1870s British Victorian Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Turquoise, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s Modernist Fashion Rings
Bronze
Vintage 1960s Modernist Fashion Rings
Agate, Bronze
20th Century Finnish Modernist Choker Necklaces
14k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
Vintage 1960s French Artist Pendant Necklaces
Silver Plate, Bronze, Gilt Metal
20th Century American Modernist Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Emerald, 14k Gold
Vintage 1950s Choker Necklaces
Sapphire, White Gold
Vintage 1960s Canadian Modernist Brooches
Pearl, Sterling Silver
Vintage 1970s Swiss Fashion Rings
Diamond, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, Gold
Vintage 1980s Unknown Fashion Rings
Citrine, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artist Choker Necklaces
Sterling Silver
Vintage 1970s American Artisan Cocktail Rings
Amethyst, Sterling Silver
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Cocktail Rings
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artisan Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Turquoise, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Recent Sales
Vintage 1960s American Cocktail Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Fashion Rings
Citrine, 18k Gold
20th Century European Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, Tourmaline, Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Modernist Brooches
Diamond, Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold
20th Century Modernist Cuff Bracelets
Diamond, Opal, 18k Gold
20th Century American Retro Dangle Earrings
White Diamond, Blue Diamond, Opal, 18k Gold
20th Century American Retro Pendant Necklaces
Opal, Diamond, 18k Gold
Vintage 1950s American Wrist Watches
18k Gold
American Link Bracelets
Vintage 1970s American Clip-on Earrings
White Diamond, Diamond, Jade, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
American Cocktail Rings
Vintage 1970s American Band Rings
Black Diamond, Brown Diamond, Diamond, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Cufflinks
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Band Rings
18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Band Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
American Necklace Enhancers
American Choker Necklaces
American Cluster Rings
Emerald
Vintage 1970s American Clip-on Earrings
Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modern Bangles
Diamond, Emerald, Pearl, 18k Gold, Gold, Yellow Gold
American Bangles
Cultured Pearl, Diamond
Mid-20th Century American Cufflinks
Pearl, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Fashion Rings
Onyx, Rock Crystal, Yellow Gold, Gold, 18k Gold
American Cocktail Rings
Cultured Pearl
American Brooches
American Necklace Enhancers
Diamond
American Beaded Bracelets
American Choker Necklaces
Cultured Pearl
Vintage 1960s Contemporary Cocktail Rings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
American Choker Necklaces
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Cocktail Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Cocktail Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s Unknown Modernist Cocktail Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Bangles
18k Gold
2010s American Contemporary Drop Earrings
Citrine, Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s French Retro Dome Rings
Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1730s Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Dangle Earrings
Jade, Pearl, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Clip-on Earrings
Coral, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Chain Bracelets
Malachite, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Cocktail Rings
Citrine, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modern Cocktail Rings
Opal, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Stud Earrings
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Cocktail Rings
Coral, Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modern Clip-on Earrings
Turquoise, Diamond, Pearl, 14k Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Clip-on Earrings
Pearl, 18k Gold
Antique 19th Century More Rings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s American Modernist Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Modernist Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modern Cocktail Rings
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century American Multi-Strand Necklaces
Pearl, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Contemporary Cuff Bracelets
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century American Aesthetic Movement Fashion Rings
Amethyst, Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s Swiss Artisan Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Tourmaline, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s Unknown Modernist Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s French Retro Brooches
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Arthur King 18k For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Arthur King 18k?
Arthur King for sale on 1stDibs
Self-taught American jeweler Arthur King worked with baroque pearls, geodes, and raw semi-precious gemstones to create distinctive modernist jewelry during the mid-20th century.
Like many of the accessories that populate our jewelry boxes, the forms of King’s provocative vintage brooches, necklaces, rings and other jewels were inspired by the natural world, but the pieces’ metalwork is sculptural and shapely, resembling gnarled tree branches or the surface of an elm’s aging trunk.
King was born in New Jersey in 1921. He became interested in art at a young age and was fascinated with the lost-wax casting technique practiced by some sculptors. King taught himself the process using scrap metals, and his jewelry and objets d’art would come to share common ground with abstract art in the years to come.
While stationed overseas in the Merchant Marines in World War II, King began to work with metal and dabble in jewelry making, integrating sharks’ teeth, white scrap metal and whatever else he could find into his modest “art jewelry,” a term that has been used to describe adornments created by Alexander Calder, pioneering African American studio jeweler Art Smith, Andrew Grima and others over the years. Upon returning from the war, King continued to develop his skills — eventually opening his first shop in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood.
King truly distinguished himself from other jewelers of the time — at his workbench, he shaped the brass and silver settings for his often unpolished, chunky stones that featured asymmetrical cuts and employed the age-old technique of lost-wax casting, which sees objects cast from wax models. His early pieces mainly featured silver settings, but his popularity soared once he began to craft jewelry in gold.
In 1961, King's work was exhibited at Goldsmiths’ Hall in London as part of the “International Exhibition of Modern Jewellery” and a year later, he opened his flagship store on Madison Avenue. His success allowed him to open more locations in London, Cape Cod, Havana, Miami and elsewhere.
King used a dizzying array of gems and other materials in his unconventional pieces. And as much as the jewelry of the 1960s featured eye-catching candy-colored stones, it was also an era of new textures and freeform gold settings, and King was at the forefront, creating audacious designs that contrasted sharply with the work of the world’s leading luxury houses.
King’s work has been celebrated at a range of institutions over the years including the Museum of Contemporary Crafts (now the Museum of Arts and Design), the Cultured Pearl Association of Japan, the Victoria and Albert Museum and more. His jewelry was exhibited at the Cincinnati Art Museum’s “Simply Brilliant: Artist-Jewelers of the 1960s and 1970s,” which opened in 2021.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Arthur King brooches, rings, necklaces and more.