Modern Cuff Bracelets
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.
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1970s Italian Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
18k Gold, Gold
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Diamond, Emerald, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Diamond, Peridot, 18k Gold
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Sterling Silver
1970s Greek Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s American Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum, Enamel
1970s French Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Silver, Sterling Silver
1970s Swedish Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Silver, Sterling Silver
1970s American Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Mixed Metal
1970s American Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Enamel
1970s Canadian Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Blue Sapphire, Ruby, Pearl, Emerald, Diamond, Agate, Yellow Gold, Gold, ...
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Sterling Silver
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Sterling Silver
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Sterling Silver
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Sterling Silver
1970s American Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Brass
1970s Spanish Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Sterling Silver, Gold
20th Century Greek Modern Cuff Bracelets
Gold
2010s British Modern Cuff Bracelets
Aquamarine, Gold Plate, Brass
20th Century American Modern Cuff Bracelets
Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
2010s Italian Modern Cuff Bracelets
Emerald, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cuff Bracelets
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Cuff Bracelets
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold
2010s American Modern Cuff Bracelets
18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Vermeil, Gold Plate
1960s Danish Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Sterling Silver
2010s American Modern Cuff Bracelets
18k Gold, Rose Gold, Vermeil
20th Century French Modern Cuff Bracelets
Onyx, 18k Gold, White Gold
1990s Italian Modern Cuff Bracelets
18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Cuff Bracelets
Opal, 18k Gold, 22k Gold, 14k Gold
1970s French Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold, Silver, Sterling Silver
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Diamond
1970s Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Sterling Silver, Enamel
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Sterling Silver
1970s American Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Sterling Silver
1970s American Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Coral, Onyx, Turquoise, Sterling Silver
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
1970s Unknown Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s American Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Diamond, Gold
1970s Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s Vintage Modern Cuff Bracelets
Sterling Silver