Loving Heart Climber

When thinking about the colorful gemstones and flashy forms that so frequently characterized 1980s jewelry, it is impossible not to conjure images of the expressive confections that Paloma Picasso created for legendary American luxury house Tiffany & Co. For iconic work such as the Loving Heart ring and the Love & Kisses brooch, Picasso mined what she admired about urban street art in New York City’s grungy subways and brought it to fine jewelry-making on a global stage.

The daughter of artists Pablo Picasso and Françoise Gilot, Paloma was destined for creative success. She was determined to succeed on her own, however, and didn’t rely on her parents' renown. Picasso graduated from the Université de Paris in Nanterre, where she studied jewelry design and costuming. She spent a short period in the late 1960s as a fashion designer and a jewelry stylist for a Parisian theater company, an experience that essentially ignited Picasso’s career. Critics took notice, and her friend and French fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent commissioned her to make costume jewelry for his runway collections.

Picasso designed a collection of necklaces and bracelets for the Greek jewelry firm Zolotas in the early 1970s, and her success with Saint-Laurent led to an important connection between Picasso and Tiffany & Co. design director John Loring. Picasso jumped at Loring’s request to present a table setting at a 1979 Tiffany & Co. exhibition, and within a single year, Loring commissioned her to design jewelry for the brand. Her first proper collection, Paloma's Graffiti, is her best-known work for the company.

Paloma had joined the illustrious ranks of Elsa Peretti and Angela Cummings — both revered jewelry designers who’d signed contracts with Tiffany just before her. Her Graffiti collection, which initially comprised a range of both slender and bubble-letter-like scribbles, X’s, O’s and other figures in 18-karat gold and palladium, was an extraordinary debut for her. Finding inspiration in Keith Haring’s Pop art as well as the street art that covered Manhattan subway cars of the era, Picasso introduced a graphic quality to her inaugural Tiffany line.

“In the ‘70s, people were starting to tag subways and walls, which had everyone outraged,” Picasso explained of the concepts behind her vibrant rings, earrings and necklaces. “I wanted to look at graffiti differently and try to make something positive out of it.”

Picasso would later draw on nature for her sterling silver-and-pearl Olive Leaf accessories at Tiffany and frequently created gold necklaces and bracelets that were set with a striking mix of colorful semi-precious stones.

Throughout her career, Picasso has garnered acclaim from many institutions such as the Fashion Group International and was presented with an award in 1988 by the Hispanic Designers Council. She has been recognized the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and her work is held in the collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the Field Museum in Chicago.

Find vintage Paloma Picasso Tiffany & Co. brooches, bracelets and other jewelry on 1stDibs.

Contemporary jewelry is inextricably linked with the moment in which it is created, frequently reflecting current social, cultural and political issues such as environmental consciousness, identity and sustainability. It’s informed by fashion trends, from the chokers of the 1990s to the large chain necklaces of the early 2000s.

Jewelry is one of the oldest forms of adornment. Lockets made of silver or gold have been treasured gifts for hundreds of years, for example, and charm bracelets, which have existed since prehistoric times, didn’t become especially popular until the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. For many centuries, fine jewelry was used primarily to express wealth or status through lavish materials. Then, in the 1960s, a concept known as the “critique of preciousness” emerged, with jewelers creating pieces that did not get their value from gemstones or precious metals. Instead, it was the jeweler’s artistic vision that was prized and elevated.

This shift still informs Contemporary jewelry being made by artists today. Whether they are using cheap, found materials and working with provocative geometric shapes or seeking out the rarest stones, they are imbuing their work with meaning through their skills, techniques and ideas. Innovative designers such as Elsa Peretti, who popularized sculptural sterling-silver jewelry for Tiffany & Co., and David Yurman, who twisted metal into the simple yet striking Cable bracelet, have also influenced the direction of Contemporary jewelry’s forms and aesthetics.

Meanwhile, technological advancements like metal alloys and laser engraving have led to new possibilities in jewelry design. Now, edgy makers and brands as well as minimalist designers are pushing Contemporary jewelry forward into the 21st century.

Find a collection of Contemporary rings, earrings, necklaces and other jewelry on 1stDibs.

Stud earrings have a unique and rich cultural history. Though their design has evolved, vintage stud earrings are still a classic jewelry style.

Stud earrings are frequently dated back over 7,000 years to Asia, where they were worn mostly by upper-class men to indicate their wealth and status. Although earrings sometimes fell out of favor over the years — such as when ear piercing was prohibited by the Catholic Church in the 13th century — they’ve remained one of the most enduring forms of body modification.

When diamond jewelry gained prominence in the 19th century, thanks to prosperity in Europe and the United States as well as the greater accessibility of gemstones, studs adorned with fine diamonds became popular. Screw-back earrings debuted in the late 19th century and allowed people without pierced ears to don the embellishment. Stud earrings became especially popular in the 1960s.

Stud earrings are simple and usually small in size, making them lightweight and easy to wear. Unlike other earrings, stud earrings have a floating appearance. They are often made with a single gemstone, such as a sapphire or emerald, and a straight post that goes through the ear, typically with a rubber or metal backing to hold it in place.

Today, stud earrings accentuate outfits with a casual, elegant style, adding a bit of glam to any ensemble. Find an eclectic array of stud earrings on 1stDibs.