Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
It’s fitting that Ilias Lalaounis (1920–2013) is the only jeweler ever inducted into the prestigious Académie des Beaux-Arts — the Greek jeweler’s creations, such as his decorative gold necklaces and rings, are less fashion adornment and more works of art.
Lalaounis was born in Athens in 1920 to a family of goldsmiths and watchmakers with origins in Delphi. Before turning to the family business, Lalaounis studied law, economics, business and music and trained with the painter Alexandros Alexandrakis. Such a well-rounded education laid the foundation for his unique approach to jewelry.
Lalaounis took the helm of his uncle’s jewelry company in 1940. The impact of the Second World War on Greece inspired the jeweler to celebrate his country’s history by reinterpreting its artifacts into new works of art. In 1957, Lalaounis founded the Greek Jewelers’ Association and exhibited at the Thessaloniki International Fair, showcasing the first of his “collections,” as he would come to define his phases of work. This, the Archaeological Collection, was informed by classical and Hellenistic history.
Lalaounis would go on to find new ways to render historic motifs in gold and gemstones after founding his namesake house in 1969. For his 1970s-era collection, Blow Up, he displayed gold pieces inspired by Minoan art on his models’ entire bodies; after opening a store in Tokyo, he presented a collection informed by Japanese art. Later, Lalaounis introduced a collection inspired by Native Americans at his Madison Avenue store in Manhattan. One of the jeweler’s most important commissions came in 1976, when he designed a collection that drew on Persian art for Empress Farah of Iran.
In 1984, Lalaounis explored his unique creative vision with a book, Metamorphoses. By the 1990s, he had stores across Europe as well as in Tokyo, Hong Kong and New York City, and his work had been exhibited at the National Museum of American History and the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, to name a few. In 1994, he founded his own eponymous museum in Athens, with a permanent collection of pieces from 45 of his collections. Lalaounis died in 2013.
Lalaounis’s research-driven approach to jewelry design gives his pieces a depth on par with any art form.
Find an ornate assortment of Ilias Lalaounis’s yellow-gold necklaces, rings and more on 1stDibs.
Late 20th Century Greek Greek Revival Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
20th Century Greek Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Yellow Gold
1990s Greek Modern Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
10k Gold
1970s Greek Classical Greek Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold
1980s Greek Contemporary Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s Greek Byzantine Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Lapis Lazuli
1970s Greek Contemporary Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Diamond, Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold
1970s Greek Modernist Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Contemporary Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Contemporary Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
18k Gold
20th Century Greek Contemporary Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
1990s European Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Yellow Gold
1970s Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
18k Gold
1990s Greek Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Pearl, Ruby, Cultured Pearl, Gold
1990s Greek Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Citrine, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1960s Greek Modernist Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
22k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Italian Contemporary Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
18k Gold
1980s Greek Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Ruby, Sapphire, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Classical Greek Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Greek Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Pearl, Gold
20th Century Greek Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Gold
1970s Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Diamond, Yellow Gold
1960s Greek Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Agate, 22k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s Greek Greek Revival Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Greek Modern Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Contemporary Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Greek Modern Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Rock Crystal, Gold, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
1990s Greek Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Diamond, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Contemporary Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Turquoise, 18k Gold
1980s Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s Modernist Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s Greek Modernist Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Contemporary Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
18k Gold
20th Century Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Contemporary Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
18k Gold
1980s Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Turquoise, Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century Greek Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Yellow Gold
1970s Greek Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Crystal, Rock Crystal, Ruby, Gold
1970s Greek Retro Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Greek Hellenistic Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Greek Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Ruby, Gold
20th Century Greek Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1960s Greek Greek Revival Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Emerald, Ruby, 18k Gold
1960s Greek Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Ruby, 18k Gold
20th Century Greek Ilias Lalaounis Earrings
Gold