Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Venetian-glass intaglios, ancient Greek and Roman coins, antique porcelain buttons and other treasures that Elizabeth Locke collects from around the world all inspire and are incorporated into her earrings, necklaces and other handmade designs.
The Virginia-based jeweler began her journey as a collector after she’d already launched her namesake jewelry line, and her assemblage of micromosaics, which are essentially miniature plaques composed of enameled-glass tesserae, were the subject of the 2020–21 exhibition “A Return to the Grand Tour: Micromosaic Jewels from the Collection of Elizabeth Locke” at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
“They’re very hard to find, and you never know where you’ll see them,” Locke explains of micromosaics, the magnificent, miniature works for which she’s had to navigate lesser-known antique shops and auctions and build relationships with private dealers in Europe.
All of Locke’s imaginative jewelry pieces see an integration of rare and eclectic materials, the kind that might’ve been amassed during a 19th-century Grand Tour of Europe, when these coming-of-age journeys had long been popular (mostly for wealthy European men). Working in a neoclassical style, Locke references history with a modern approach for her moonstone earrings, gold-link bracelets, Venetian-glass pendants and other distinctive accessories. As she told W magazine, “Jewelry is designed for the era in which it is worn.”
In 1988, as an editor for Town & Country, Locke traveled to Bangkok to write about making jewelry. Unexpectedly, she found her niche. Upon her return home, Locke enrolled in the Gemological Institute of America and began sketching ideas. By 1990, her tourmaline ring — crafted with the goldsmiths she had met in Bangkok and who she would continue to collaborate with over the following decades — landed the cover of W.
Locke’s handmade, 19-karat-gold designs give one-of-a-kind antiquities new meaning in the 21st century. Not one to follow trends, Locke prefers designs that express a unique vision. “I know what I can do and I know what I feel comfortable doing, and I stick to it,” she has said.
Find a collection of Elizabeth Locke’s jewelry on 1stDibs.
1980s Vintage Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Agate, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century North American Neoclassical Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s American Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Citrine, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Unknown Retro Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
1980s Vintage Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Blue Sapphire, Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Modern Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
1990s Contemporary Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
1980s American Vintage Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Citrine, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s American Modern Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Neoclassical Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Diamond, Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s American Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Diamond, Moonstone, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s Vintage Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Revival Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Yellow Gold, Silver
1980s American Modern Vintage Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Carnelian, Yellow Gold
1980s Contemporary Vintage Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Gold, Yellow Gold, Silver, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
18k Gold
1980s Contemporary Vintage Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Moonstone, Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Contemporary Vintage Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Onyx, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s American Vintage Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
18k Gold
Late 20th Century Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Labradorite, Black Pearl, Blue Sapphire
1990s Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
2010s American Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Modern Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Unknown Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Early 20th Century European Classical Roman Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Agate, Yellow Gold
1970s European Modern Vintage Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Lapis Lazuli, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s French Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Yellow Gold
20th Century Unknown Contemporary Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Lapis Lazuli, Gold, 14k Gold
Mid-20th Century European Art Deco Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Lapis Lazuli, 9k Gold, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Lapis Lazuli, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Contemporary Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
14k Gold
1990s Contemporary Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Contemporary Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Unknown Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Gold
1990s American Renaissance Revival Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s American Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Gold, 18k Gold
1980s Contemporary Vintage Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Contemporary Vintage Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Moonstone, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Contemporary Vintage Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Contemporary Vintage Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Peridot, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Contemporary Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Amethyst, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Contemporary Vintage Elizabeth Locke Jewelry
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold