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.
Antique Reid & Sons Newcastle Brooch Box
Located in Braintree, GB
Antique Reid & Sons Ltd brooch box, the satin lid printed with a crown and Reids, Newcastle on Tyne, Est. 1778. Reid & Sons were Newcastle's leading goldsmiths, founded in 1...
Other
Antique J.H. Dougherty Huddersfield Pendant or Medallion Box
Located in Braintree, GB
Antique J.H. Dougherty presentation box, the satin lid printed in gilt with a crown and J.H. Dougherty, Watchmaker & Jeweller, Kirkgate, Huddersfield. The rounded rectangular ca...
Other
Vintage Garrard & Co. Watch or Bracelet Presentation Box, 112 Regent Street
Located in Braintree, GB
Vintage Garrard & Co. presentation box for a watch or bracelet, the lid blocked in gilt with the royal warrant and the address 112 Regent Street. The silk reads in full: By appo...
Vintage D. Thomson Jewellery Box, Dunfermline Watchmaker and Jeweller
Located in Braintree, GB
Vintage jewellery box from D. Thomson, Watchmaker & Jeweller, 131 High Street, Dunfermline, in red brown leather with a gilt tooled border. The imprint mixes three letterforms, ...
Other
Antique H.A.B. Bouchette Wooden Coin or Pendant Box, Amsterdam
Located in Braintree, GB
Antique wooden presentation box from H.A.B. Bouchette, the silk lid printed with the name and 131 Haarlemmerdijk 131, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Arnhem. The case is turned and planed woo...
Vintage Red Velvet Watch or Bracelet Presentation Box, Cologne Jeweller
Located in Braintree, GB
Vintage watch or bracelet presentation box covered entirely in red purple velvet, the silk lid printed with a crown and a Cologne jeweller's address at Domkloster 1. Domkloster is t...
Vintage Asprey & Co. Jewellery Presentation Box, New Bond Street
By Asprey
Located in Braintree, GB
Vintage Asprey & Co. jewellery presentation box in burgundy leather with a gilt tooled border, the satin lid stamped with the royal arms and Asprey & Co. Ltd, New Bond Street...
Antique Miramar Necklace Presentation Box, Green Shagreen Pattern
Located in Braintree, GB
Antique Miramar necklace presentation box covered in green shagreen patterned paper, the silk lid signed Miramar in script. The covering imitates shagreen, the pebbled green ray ski...
Vintage A.H. Hadley Co. Jewellery Presentation Box, Red Suede
Located in Braintree, GB
Vintage A.H. Hadley Co. Jewelers presentation box in red suede, folding open to a black suede interior with the name stamped in gilt. The case is soft sided and folds like a wallet,...
Antique Hamilton & Co. Presentation Box, Calcutta Jewellers
Located in Braintree, GB
Antique Hamilton & Co. presentation box, the violet satin lid stamped in gilt with the roundel of Hamilton & Co., Jewellers, Calcutta. Hamilton & Co. was founded in Calc...
Vintage A.C. Bloxham Ltd London Red Leather Jewellery Box
Located in Braintree, GB
Vintage A.C. Bloxham Ltd, London presentation box in red leather, the silk lid printed with the name in gilt. A shallow oblong with a flat black velvet pad, a multipurpose format fo...
Other
Antique Long Black Leather Necklace Presentation Box
Located in Braintree, GB
Antique necklace presentation box of unusually long form, 31 cm from end to end, in black grained leather with a black velvet bed and a cream silk lid. The length is the point of it...
Other
Vintage David Morris Travel Jewellery Case, Bronze Leather
By David Morris
Located in Braintree, GB
Vintage David Morris travel jewellery case in bronze metallic leather, lined in pale pink suede and stamped David Morris in gilt. David Morris was founded in London in 1962 and trad...
Other
Vintage Gérard Egberts Ring Box, Brussels
Located in Braintree, GB
Vintage ring box from the Brussels jeweller Gérard Egberts, the silk lid printed Gérard Egberts, 140 rue du Midi 140, Bruxelles. The name is set in a bold script over a sweeping rul...
Other
Vintage C.H. Moody & Son Ring Box, Crewe
Located in Braintree, GB
Vintage ring box from C.H. Moody & Son, Jewellers, 50 High St, Crewe, in burgundy with a faceted pyramid lid and a gilt tooled border. The lid rises in four flat planes to a cen...
Vintage Liberty of London Square Jewellery Box
Located in Braintree, GB
Vintage Liberty of London square jewellery box in brown, the silk lid printed in gilt Liberty of London with a border of stars. The case is ...
Antique Buick & Co. Velvet Jewellery Box
Located in Braintree, GB
Antique jewellery box in purple-grey velvet, the silk lid printed in gilt Buick & Co. The velvet covers every face of the case, and the base is a deep purple velvet pad suited t...
Vintage Liberty of London Ring Box
Located in Braintree, GB
Vintage Liberty of London ring box in burgundy, the silk lid printed in gilt with Liberty of London inside a border of stars. The imprint se...
Other
Vintage Harrods Jewellery Presentation Box
By Harrods
Located in Braintree, GB
Vintage Harrods jewellery presentation box covered in a blue violet patterned paper, the lid printed with the Harrods signature in script. The signature is the handwritten Harrods m...
Vintage Cross Jewelers Ring Box, Portland Maine
Located in Braintree, GB
Vintage Cross Jewelers ring box, Portland, Maine, the gold satin lid printed with the Cross script mark in blue. The case is a small cube in dark grey w...
Vintage Clading & Co. Velvet Ring Box, Brighton
Located in Braintree, GB
Vintage velvet ring box from Clading & Compy, 46 & 47 Kings Road, Brighton, in deep burgundy with the jeweller's imprint to the silk lid. Kings Road is the Brighton seafront...
David Morris London Ring Box, Bronze Leather
By David Morris
Located in Braintree, GB
David Morris ring presentation box in bronze metallic leather, opening to pale pink suede stamped in gilt David Morris, London. The case is a domed cube in the house's bronze leathe...
Other
Antique Burgundy Leather Bracelet Presentation Box, Gilt Tooled
Located in Braintree, GB
Antique bracelet presentation box in burgundy leather, the lid bordered with a gilt tooled running pattern, opening to white satin and a crimson velvet bed. The tooling is a small r...
Other
Antique Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Company Large Brooch Box, 112 Regent Street
Located in Braintree, GB
Antique Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Company large brooch box in tan leather, the silk lid printed with the arms and By appointment to H.M. the King, 112 Regent St, London W. The c...
Antique Stewart Dawson & Co. Ring Box, Regent Street London
Located in Braintree, GB
Antique ring box from Stewart Dawson & Company Limited, Regent Street W., the silk lid printed with the name in a ribboned cartouche. The case is a small domed cube in grey-gree...
Other
Antique H.G. Mabbett Stick Pin Box, Watchmaker Jeweller and Optician
Located in Braintree, GB
Antique stick pin box from H.G. Mabbett, Watchmaker, Jeweller & Optician, in red velvet, the silk lid printed in gilt beneath a crown. The case is a narrow velvet bar, and the r...
Antique Shaped Leather Jewellery Suite Case, 19th Century
Located in Braintree, GB
Antique 19th century jewellery case in black leather, built to a sinuous shaped outline and opening to a contoured fitting cut for a suite of pieces. Cases were made to the outline ...
Other
Vintage Tilden-Thurber Coin or Pendant Box with Outer Box, Providence
Located in Braintree, GB
Vintage Tilden-Thurber presentation box with its outer box, the satin lid printed with the arms and Tilden-Thurber, Jewelers, Silversmiths, Providence. The case is a small shallow s...
Vintage Hancocks & Co. Large Brooch Box, Burlington Gardens London
By Hancocks
Located in Braintree, GB
Vintage Hancocks & Co. large brooch box in red leather with canted corners, the white satin lid printed with the royal arms and 1 Burlington Gardens, London. The imprint reads B...
Antique Mallett Necklace Presentation Box, The Octagon Bath and New Bond Street
Located in Braintree, GB
Antique Mallett necklace presentation box, the silk lid printed Mallett, The Octagon, Bath & 40 New Bond St, London. Mallett traded from The Octagon in Bath alongside its New Bo...
Other
Vintage W.D. Webb Jewelers Box, Greenwich Connecticut
Located in Braintree, GB
Vintage presentation box from W.D. Webb, Jewelers, Greenwich, Conn., in cream patterned card with the name printed in blue inside the lid. The case is a shallow oblong covered in an...
Antique F.W. Hartley Ltd, 41 Albemarle Street, London Blue Leather Ring Box
Located in Braintree, GB
An antique ring box from F.W. Hartley Ltd of 41 Albemarle Street, London. Blue leather exterior with a beige velvet lined interior. Square fitted ring box. A handsome Mayfair retail...
Other
Vintage Philips Jewellers Leeds Ring Box
Located in Braintree, GB
A vintage ring presentation box by Philips Jewellers of 4 The Headrow, Leeds. Compact square form with a fitted velvet ring slot and the original retailer mark printed to the satin l...
M.S. Bourla, Salonique Vintage Blue Bracelet Box, Circa 1950s
Located in Braintree, GB
A vintage M.S. Bourla jewellers box from Salonique (Thessaloniki), with a blue exterior and a blue velvet lined interior. Long rectangular form, designed for a bracelet. A rare and ...
Antique A. Emler Ring Box, High Wycombe
Located in Braintree, GB
Antique ring presentation box by A. Emler of High Wycombe, the silk lid printed with the jeweller's name and the interior fitted with a sprung ring slot. The lid interior carries th...
Other
Antique Roop Bracelet Box, Burlington Arcade London
Located in Braintree, GB
Antique bracelet presentation box by Roop, Diamond Merchants of 52 & 53 Burlington Arcade, the silk lid printed with the firm's name and Mayfair address. The imprint reads DIAMO...
Other
Antique Liberty and Co, Regent Street, London Dress Set Box, Circa 1920s
Located in Braintree, GB
An antique Liberty and Co dress set box from their Regent Street, London premises. Brown leather exterior with a beige velvet lined interior, fitted for a complete dress set includin...
Other
Vintage S. J. Phillips Ltd London Watch and Bracelet Box, Circa 1980s to 1990s
Located in Braintree, GB
A vintage S. J. Phillips Ltd jewellery presentation box from the 1980s to 1990s. Long slender rectangular form in red leather with gilt tooled border and a push-button clasp, satin l...
Other