Modern Vanity Items
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.
1960s English Vintage Modern Vanity Items
Brass
Early 2000s American Modern Vanity Items
Silver, Sterling Silver
1890s Russian Antique Modern Vanity Items
Gold Plate, Silver, Enamel
1950s French Vintage Modern Vanity Items
Early 2000s American Modern Vanity Items
Yellow Gold, 14k Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Vanity Items
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Modern Vanity Items
Citrine, Tourmaline, Sterling Silver, Enamel, Rhodium, Silver
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Vanity Items
Diamond, Turquoise, White Gold, 18k Gold
Mid-20th Century American Modern Vanity Items
Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century North American Modern Vanity Items
Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Vanity Items
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Vanity Items
Sterling Silver
Mid-19th Century French Antique Modern Vanity Items
Mid-19th Century French Antique Modern Vanity Items
2010s American Modern Vanity Items
20th Century American Modern Vanity Items
Sterling Silver
Early 2000s French Modern Vanity Items
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Vanity Items
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Modern Vanity Items
2010s American Modern Vanity Items
Early 2000s French Modern Vanity Items
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Vanity Items
Sterling Silver
2010s American Modern Vanity Items
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Vanity Items
Sterling Silver
1970s English Vintage Modern Vanity Items
9k Gold, Steel
Late 20th Century European Modern Vanity Items
Sterling Silver, Enamel
1990s English Modern Vanity Items
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Modern Vanity Items
Gold, Silver
20th Century American Modern Vanity Items
Sterling Silver
2010s Italian Modern Vanity Items
Gold, 9k Gold
