Modern Earrings
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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20th Century French Modern Earrings
Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Thai Modern Earrings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, White Gold, 14k Gold
1980s American Vintage Modern Earrings
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Earrings
Yellow Diamond, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Earrings
Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s French Modern Earrings
Gilt Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, Morganite, Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Earrings
Diamond, Garnet, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s American Vintage Modern Earrings
1990s American Modern Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Thai Modern Earrings
Blue Topaz, Peridot, Garnet, Citrine, Amethyst, Yellow Gold, White Gold,...
21st Century and Contemporary Thai Modern Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, White Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Earrings
Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold, Enamel
2010s Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, Blue Topaz, Topaz, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Thai Modern Earrings
Emerald, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Unknown Modern Earrings
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, Black Diamond, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Rhodium, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, Opal, 18k Gold
2010s French Modern Earrings
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, White Gold, 14k Gold
2010s Swiss Modern Earrings
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Modern Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, Freshwater Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow ...
20th Century French Modern Earrings
Amethyst, Diamond, Coral, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Italian Modern Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, Turquoise, Yellow Gold, 10k Gold
Early 2000s Italian Modern Earrings
21st Century and Contemporary Thai Modern Earrings
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Earrings
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, White Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Australian Modern Earrings
Diamond, Opal, Tsavorite, Platinum
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Earrings
2010s Zambian Modern Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, White Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
2010s American Modern Earrings
18k Gold
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Earrings
Cultured Pearl, Gold, Yellow Gold, 10k Gold
2010s Italian Modern Earrings
White Diamond, Quartz, Diamond, Yellow Gold, Rose Gold, Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Emerald, Diamond, White Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Earrings
Crystal, Gold Plate
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Earrings
Diamond, Gold, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, Jade, Yellow Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, Rhodium
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, Turquoise, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Thai Modern Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Thai Modern Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Earrings
Diamond, Gold
Early 2000s Italian Modern Earrings
21st Century and Contemporary Thai Modern Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s American Vintage Modern Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold
2010s Russian Modern Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, Turquoise, White Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Modern Earrings
Tourmaline, Black Diamond, White Diamond, Yellow Gold, White Gold, 18k G...
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Earrings
Amethyst, Diamond, Tanzanite, 18k Gold
2010s Dominican Modern Earrings
Coral, Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Earrings
Diamond, White Gold, 14k Gold
2010s Swiss Modern Earrings
Diamond, Amethyst, Tourmaline, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Thai Modern Earrings
Blue Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald, Diamond, Yellow Gold, White Gold, Rose Gol...
2010s Swiss Modern Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Earrings
Diamond, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Dutch Modern Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Earrings
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s European Modern Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold