Modern Band Rings
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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21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Emerald, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
1980s American Vintage Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Gold, White Gold
Late 20th Century European Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Modern Band Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Modern Band Rings
Brown Diamond, Diamond, Rose Gold, Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Platinum
Mid-20th Century American Modern Band Rings
Gold, Enamel
20th Century Swiss Modern Band Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century French Modern Band Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Band Rings
Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Band Rings
Tourmaline, Blue Sapphire, Emerald, White Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Italian Modern Band Rings
White Diamond, Diamond, Yellow Gold, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s American Modern Band Rings
14k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
2010s American Modern Band Rings
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Yellow Gold, White Gold, 14k Gold, Gold
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Band Rings
Sapphire, Diamond, Gold, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
Early 2000s English Modern Band Rings
Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, 14k Gold, White Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century British Modern Band Rings
9k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Band Rings
Amethyst, Green Sapphire, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Pink Sapphire, Rose Gold, 14k Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Tourmaline, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
White Diamond, Diamond, White Gold, 14k Gold, Gold
2010s Modern Band Rings
Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Band Rings
White Diamond, Onyx, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Multi-gemstone, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s French Modern Band Rings
18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Band Rings
Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Modern Band Rings
14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Enamel, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Modern Band Rings
Rose Gold
1950s British Vintage Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Band Rings
White Diamond, Diamond, Sterling Silver, Yellow Gold, Gold Plate, 14k Gold
2010s American Modern Band Rings
Topaz, Blue Topaz, Diamond, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
Early 2000s Unknown Modern Band Rings
Platinum
2010s Indian Modern Band Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Band Rings
Gold, 14k Gold
2010s Indian Modern Band Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
20th Century French Modern Band Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Band Rings
Amethyst, Rose Gold, White Gold
2010s Modern Band Rings
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Platinum