Svend Jensen Decanter

Rooted in centuries of history of adornment dating back to the ancient world, modern jewelry reimagines traditional techniques, forms and materials for expressive new pieces. As opposed to contemporary jewelry, which responds to the moment in which it was created, modern jewelry often describes designs from the 20th to 21st centuries that reflect movements and trends in visual culture.

Modern jewelry emerged from the 19th-century shift away from jewelry indicating rank or social status. The Industrial Revolution allowed machine-made jewelry using electric gold plating, metal alloys and imitation stones, making beautiful jewelry widely accessible. Although mass production deemphasized the materials of the jewelry, the vision of the designer remained important, something that would be furthered in the 1960s with what’s known as the “critique of preciousness.”

A design fair called the “Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes” brought global attention to the Art Deco style in 1925 and gathered a mix of jewelry artists alongside master jewelers like Van Cleef & Arpels, Mauboussin and Boucheron. Art Deco designs from Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels unconventionally mixed gemstones like placing rock crystals next to diamonds while borrowing motifs from eclectic sources including Asian lacquer and Persian carpets. Among Cartier’s foremost design preoccupations at the time were high-contrast color combinations and crisp, geometric forms and patterns. In the early 20th century, modernist jewelers like Margaret De Patta and artists such as Alexander Calder — who is better known for his kinetic sculptures than his provocative jewelry — explored sculptural metalwork in which geometric shapes and lines were preferred over elaborate ornamentation.

Many of the innovations in modern jewelry were propelled by women designers such as Wendy Ramshaw, who used paper to craft her accessories in the 1960s. During the 1970s, Elsa Peretti created day-to-night pieces for Tiffany & Co. while designers like Lea Stein experimented with layering plastic, a material that had been employed in jewelry since the mid-19th century and had expanded into Bakelite, acrylics and other unique materials.

Find a collection of modern watches, bracelets, engagement rings, necklaces, earrings and other jewelry on 1stDibs.

As part of your treasured collection of silver, flatware and silverplate, you’ll find that vintage and antique pitchers and decanters are both vessels with a great diversity in form, style and materials. Pitchers have an ancient history, with an early example being the Greek hydria, which was used to carry water. Decanters, too, have a rich design heritage.

Usually a term that describes a glass bottle with a stopper, Roman decanters were also made of silver. A resurgence of designs in glass saw popularity during the Renaissance with the Venetian glassmaking industry. Many decanters were designed from a place of necessity, such as those in the Georgian era that allowed unfiltered sediment from wine that had been shipped across Europe to visibly settle.

Pitchers and decanters have continued to evolve with shifting times and tastes and now exist in various materials. Whether you're seeking out the delicate elegance of a modern silver pitcher or the playful beauty of an Art Deco decanter, the collection on 1stDibs offers pitchers and decanters of all kinds for use in your dining room, bar or for positioning among the other prized decorative objects you’ve curated in your glass display cabinet.