Ilias Lalaounis Hoop 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.
20th Century Italian Contemporary Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
18k Gold
1980s Greek Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
Late 20th Century French Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
18k Gold
2010s American Contemporary Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
Diamond, Gold
1960s American Contemporary Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s French Modern Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
Yellow Gold
1980s Contemporary Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s German Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
2010s Turkish Modern Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
Diamond, Citrine, Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Byzantine Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
Yellow Gold
1990s Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Italian Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Art Deco Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
Diamond, Sterling Silver
1970s Greek Greek Revival Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Ruby, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s Greek Greek Revival Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1960s Greek Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
1980s Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
Gold
1980s Greek Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
1960s Greek Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
22k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Vintage Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Greek Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
Gold
Late 20th Century Greek Greek Revival Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Greek Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Greek Classical Greek Ilias Lalaounis Hoop Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold