Chaumet Bee Pendant

Decades before luxury French jewelry maisons such as Van Cleef & Arpels and Cartier were born, Marie-Étienne Nitot (1750–1809) founded the house that became the internationally esteemed Chaumet, which, for centuries, has created timeless necklaces, watches, rings, tiaras and other jewelry and accessories for royalty as well as Hollywood luminaries.

Before opening his own jewelry house, Nitot worked as an apprentice to Ange-Joseph Aubert, court jeweler to Marie Antoinette, and collaborated on pieces for the Queen. In 1780, he left Aubert’s side to open his own maison.

Surviving the upheaval of the French Revolution, Nitot soon found lavish commissions with the new people in power. The Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte longed for France to once again be the epicenter of luxury, making himself the fashionable face of the prospering country. Nitot’s commissions for Napoléon began with the papal tiara for Pope Pius VII that included a 414-carat emerald among its thousands of precious stones and the 1804 coronation sword, a decadent piece that featured the 140-carat Regent diamond.

The young jewelry house soon became the official jeweler of the Imperial Court, the personal jeweler of Empress Joséphine and one of the most sought-after jewelers in Europe. Chaumet’s work in this era helped popularize the tiara as a status symbol, with ornate pieces designed for Joséphine and Empress Marie-Louise, Napoléon’s second wife.

After Nitot died in 1809, his son, François-Regnault, took over in 1812 and moved the maison into the Place Vendôme, making it the first business to occupy the Parisian center of luxury. By then, Chaumet had included timepieces in its offerings, such as bracelet watches adorned with precious gemstones and equipped with movements made by Breguet (which opened a shop on Place Vendôme in 1933).

After the fall of the Napoléon Empire, successors Jean-Baptiste and Jules Fossin focused more on romantic styles of jewelry that referenced the past and nature, an approach carried on by Valentin and Prosper Morel. It was Joseph Chaumet, director from 1885 to 1928, who gave the maison its illustrious name and brought it into the 20th century with jewelry, accessories and tiaras inspired by the extravagant decor of the Belle Époque.

Later, with Joseph’s son, Marcel Chaumet, succeeding him, the house would be featured at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris — from which the term Art Deco derives — and, alongside the likes of Cartier, would be seen as a leader in introducing the flamboyantly geometric designs and high-contrast color pairings of Art Deco jewelry to the global stage.

Chaumet has adapted over the years to meet changing tastes and trends. The house still reigns in the world of luxury jewelry, celebrating its 240th anniversary in 2020. Since 1999, it has been part of the LVMH Group. Its salons and high jewelry workshop continue to operate in the Place Vendôme where gem-setters, polishers and jewelers craft rings, earrings, watches and enduringly popular tiaras.

Find an exquisite range of authentic vintage Chaumet jewelry on 1stDibs.

Gold is the feel-good metal, the serotonin of jewelry. Wear vintage and antique gold necklaces, watches, gold bracelets or gold rings and you feel happy, you feel dressed, you feel, well, yourself. 

Gold, especially yellow gold, with its rich patina and ancient pedigree going back thousands of years, is the steady standby, the well-mannered metal of choice. Any discussion of this lustrous metal comes down to a basic truth: Gold is elementary, my dear. Gold jewelry that couples the mystique of the metal with superb design and craftsmanship achieves the status of an enduring classic. Many luxury houses have given us some of our most treasured and lasting examples of gold jewelry over the years.

Since its founding, in 1837, Tiffany & Co. has built its reputation on its company jewelry as well as its coterie of boutique designers, which has included Jean Schlumberger, Donald Claflin, Angela Cummings and Elsa Peretti. There are numerous gold Tiffany classics worth citing. Some are accented with gemstones, but all stand out for their design and the workmanship displayed.

For the woman who prefers a minimalist look, the Tiffany & Co. twist bangle (thin, slightly ovoid) is stylishly simple. For Cummings devotees, signature pieces feature hard stone inlay, such as her pairs of gold ear clips inlaid with black jade (a play on the classic Chanel black and tan), or bangles whose design recalls ocean waves, with undulating lines of lapis lazuli and mother-of-pearl. And just about any design by the great Jean Schlumberger is by definition a classic.

Even had he eschewed stones and diamonds, Southern-born David Webb would be hailed for the vast arsenal of heavy gold jewelry he designed. Gold, usually hammered or textured in some manner, defines great David Webb jewelry. The self-taught jeweler made very au courant pieces while drawing inspiration from ancient and out-of-the-way sources — East meets West in the commanding gold necklaces made by Webb in the early 1970s. The same could be said for his endlessly varied gold cuffs.

In Europe, many houses have given us gold jewelry that sets the highest standard for excellence, pieces that were highly sought after when they were made and continue to be so. 

Numerous designs from Cartier are homages to gold. There are the classic Trinity rings, necklaces and bracelets — trifectas of yellow, white and rose gold. As a testament to the power of love, consider the endurance of the Cartier Love bracelet.

Aldo Cipullo, Cartier’s top in-house designer from the late 1960s into the early ’70s, made history in 1969 with the Love bracelet. Cipullo frequently said that the Love bracelet was born of a sleepless night contemplating a love affair gone wrong and his realization that “the only remnants he possessed of the romance were memories.” He distilled the urge to keep a loved one close into a slim 18-karat gold bangle. 

BVLGARI and its coin jewelry, gemme nummarie, hit the jackpot when the line launched in the 1960s. The line has been perennially popular. BVLGARI coin jewelry features ancient Greek and Roman coins embedded in striking gold mounts, usually hung on thick link necklaces of varying lengths. In the 1970s, BVLGARI introduced the Tubogas line, most often made in yellow gold. The Tubogas watches are classics, and then there is the Serpenti, the house's outstanding snake-themed watches and bracelets.

A collection called Monete that incorporated the gold coins is one of several iconic BVLGARI lines that debuted in the 1970s and ’80s, catering to a new generation of empowered women. Just as designers like Halston and Yves Saint Laurent were popularizing fuss-free ready-to-wear fashion for women on the go, BVLGARI offered jewels to be lived in. 

Since Van Cleef & Arpels opened its Place Vendôme doors in 1906, collection after collection of jewelry classics have enchanted the public. As predominantly expressed in a honeycomb of gold, there is the Ludo watch and accessories, circa the 1920s, and the golden Zip necklace, 1951, whose ingenious transformation of the traditional zipper was originally proposed by the Duchess of Windsor. Van Cleef's Alhambra, with its Moroccan motif, was introduced in 1968 and from the start its popularity pivoted on royalty and celebrity status. It remains one of VCA’s most popular and collected styles.

Mention must be made of Buccellati, whose name is synonymous with gold so finely spun that it suggests tapestry. The house’s many gold bracelets, typically embellished with a few or many diamonds, signified taste and distinction and are always in favor on the secondary market. Other important mid-20th-century houses known for their gold-themed jewelry include Hermès and Ilias Lalaounis.

Find a stunning collection of vintage and antique gold jewelry on 1stDibs.

Antique diamond rings, diamond tiaras and dazzling vintage diamond earrings are on the wish lists of every lover of fine jewelry. And diamonds and diamond jewelry are primarily associated with storybook engagements and red-carpet grand entrances — indeed, this ultra-cherished gemstone has a dramatic history on its hands.

From “A Diamond Is Forever” to “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” pop culture has ingrained in our minds that diamonds are the most desired, the most lasting and the most valuable gemstone. But what makes the diamond so special? Each stone — whether it’s rubies, sapphires or another stone — is unique and important in its own right. April babies might claim diamonds for themselves, but just about everyone wants this kind of sparkle in their lives!

There are several factors that set diamonds apart from other stones, and these points are important to our gem education.

Diamonds are minerals. They are made up of almost entirely of carbon (carbon comprises 99.95 percent; the remainder consists of various trace elements). Diamonds are the hardest gemstones, ranking number 10 on the Mohs Hardness Scale. Even its name, diamond, is rooted in the Greek adamas, or unconquerable. The only object that can scratch a diamond is another diamond. Diamonds are formed deep within the earth at very high temperatures (1,652–2,372 degrees Fahrenheit at depths between 90 and 120 miles beneath the earth’s surface) and are carried up by volcanic activity. Diamonds are quite rare, according to the Gemological Institute of America, and only 30 percent of all the diamonds mined in the world are gem quality.

In the 1950s, the Gemological Institute of America developed the 4Cs grading system to classify diamonds: clarity, color, cut and carat weight. Not all diamonds are created equal (there are diamonds, and then there are diamonds). The value of the diamond depends on the clarity (flawless diamonds are very rare but a diamond's value decreases if there are many blemishes or inclusions), color (the less color the higher the grade), cut (how the diamond’s facets catch the light, certain cuts of diamonds show off the stone better than others) and carat weight (the bigger, the better).

When you start shopping for a diamond engagement ring, always prioritize the cut, which plays the largest role in the diamond's beauty (taking the time to clean your diamond ring at least every six months or so plays a role in maintaining said beauty). And on 1stDibs, a range of buying guides can be found for those in the market for antique engagement rings, vintage engagement rings or Art Deco engagement rings. 

Shop antique and vintage diamond rings, diamond necklaces and other extraordinary diamond jewelry on 1stDibs.