Ilias Lalaounis Rings
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.
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Contemporary Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Gold, 22k Gold, Yellow Gold
1950s Greek Revival Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Greek Contemporary Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold
1980s Greek Hellenistic Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Gold
1980s Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Yellow Gold
1980s Greek Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Emerald, Ruby, Yellow Gold
20th Century Greek Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Ruby, Gold
1980s Greek Modern Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Ruby, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Greek Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Greek Modernist Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Crystal, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Greek Etruscan Revival Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, Gold
20th Century Greek Greek Revival Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Amethyst, 18k Gold
20th Century Greek Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Gold
20th Century Greek Modern Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Gold, 14k Gold, Sterling Silver
20th Century Greek Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Gold
20th Century Greek Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Yellow Gold
1990s Greek Classical Roman Ilias Lalaounis Rings
18k Gold
20th Century Greek Ilias Lalaounis Rings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Greek Modernist Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Rock Crystal, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Yellow Gold
20th Century Greek Ilias Lalaounis Rings
22k Gold
1970s Greek Retro Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Rings
18k Gold, Sterling Silver, Yellow Gold
1970s Italian Art Deco Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Lapis Lazuli, Gold, 18k Gold
1970s Greek Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, Emerald
20th Century Greek Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Turquoise, Gold
2010s Contemporary Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, Silver, Gold, 22k Gold
2010s Unknown Contemporary Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, Gold, 22k Gold, Silver
Late 20th Century Modern Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold, White Gold
20th Century Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artisan Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Lapis Lazuli, Diamond, Turquoise, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Japanese Modern Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Opal, Black Opal, 22k Gold, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 1900s British Edwardian Antique Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Gold, 22k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Byzantine Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Green Sapphire,...
1980s Italian Retro Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald, Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Byzantine Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Blue Diamond, Emerald, Yellow Diamond, Pink Diamond, Multi-gemstone, Bla...
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Turquoise, Diamond, Lapis Lazuli, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Artisan Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s Greek Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, Emerald
1990s Greek Byzantine Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s Greek Hellenistic Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Ruby, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s Greek Hellenistic Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Ruby, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Greek Modern Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, Yellow Gold
1960s French Greek Revival Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Rings
18k Gold
1960s Greek Greek Revival Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Gold, 18k Gold
2010s North American Modern Ilias Lalaounis Rings
22k Gold
1970s Greek Modernist Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, Yellow Gold, Silver, Sterling Silver
1880s Greek Hellenistic Antique Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Ilias Lalaounis Rings
Emerald, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold