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.
Find a collection of modern watches, bracelets, engagement rings, necklaces, earrings and other jewelry on 1stDibs.
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
1980s American Vintage Modern Band Rings
Gold, 18k Gold, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Platinum
2010s French Modern Band Rings
Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Band Rings
Rose Gold
Early 2000s French Modern Band Rings
White Diamond, Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Band Rings
Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
20th Century Italian Modern Band Rings
Silver, Sterling Silver, Enamel
20th Century American Modern Band Rings
Emerald, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
White Diamond, Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Band Rings
Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
Early 2000s American Modern Band Rings
Tsavorite, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Platinum
2010s American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Platinum
20th Century American Modern Band Rings
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Italian Modern Band Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Platinum
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Platinum
20th Century American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Platinum
Mid-20th Century American Modern Band Rings
Gold, Enamel
1990s French Modern Band Rings
Black Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
1980s American Vintage Modern Band Rings
Blue Sapphire, Platinum
2010s American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Platinum
1990s American Modern Band Rings
Yellow Diamond, Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, Gold
2010s American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Band Rings
Aquamarine, Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s French Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, Platinum
Late 20th Century French Modern Band Rings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Sterling Silver
20th Century American Modern Band Rings
Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Gold, White Gold, 18k Gold
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Band Rings
Gold
20th Century American Modern Band Rings
Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
20th Century American Modern Band Rings
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s French Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, White Gold, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Italian Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond
2010s Italian Modern Band Rings
White Diamond, Emerald, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s Italian Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Platinum
Early 2000s French Modern Band Rings
Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
Early 2000s American Modern Band Rings
Emerald, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Modern Band Rings
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold, White Gold
1990s Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Gold