Modern Fashion 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 Hong Kong Modern Fashion Rings
Agate, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, Ruby, 14k Gold
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern Fashion Rings
Pink Sapphire, Quartz, Diamond, Rose Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Fashion Rings
Moonstone, Quartz, Rainbow Moonstone, Sterling Silver
2010s Turkish Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Fashion Rings
Quartz, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, Topaz, Amethyst, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Fashion Rings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Fashion Rings
Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, Enamel, Platinum, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Thai Modern Fashion Rings
Turquoise, White Diamond, Diamond, Yellow Gold, White Gold, Rose Gold, 1...
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Fashion Rings
Opal, Black Opal, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
2010s American Modern Fashion Rings
Emerald, Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
Early 2000s Unknown Modern Fashion Rings
Citrine, Sapphire, Topaz, Diamond, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, Emerald, 14k Gold
20th Century Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, Gold, Platinum
2010s American Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
2010s American Modern Fashion Rings
Tsavorite, Tourmaline, Pink Sapphire, Diamond, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Fashion Rings
Aquamarine, Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold
2010s American Modern Fashion Rings
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Diamond, Yellow Gold, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s American Modern Fashion Rings
Ruby, 14k Gold
2010s German Modern Fashion Rings
Apatite, Tourmaline, Peridot, Iolite, Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
Early 2000s Modern Fashion Rings
White Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Modern Fashion Rings
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire
2010s Turkish Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold
1970s American Vintage Modern Fashion Rings
Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Fashion Rings
White Diamond, Brown Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Japanese Modern Fashion Rings
Rainbow Moonstone, Moonstone, Yellow Gold, 22k Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
1990s Unknown Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Fashion Rings
White Diamond, Tourmaline, Diamond, Platinum
2010s Turkish Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Fashion Rings
Topaz, 14k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Fashion Rings
Black Diamond, Tsavorite, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Thai Modern Fashion Rings
Emerald, Diamond, Yellow Gold, White Gold, Rose Gold, 18k Gold
Early 17th Century American Antique Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, Enamel, Platinum, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century American Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, Yellow Gold, Platinum, Enamel
20th Century Unknown Modern Fashion Rings
Opal, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Fashion Rings
Agate, Base Metal
20th Century American Modern Fashion Rings
Coral, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Fashion Rings
Brown Diamond, Yellow Diamond, White Diamond, Ruby, Diamond, Rose Gold, ...
2010s American Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Thai Modern Fashion Rings
Emerald, White Diamond, Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
20th Century American Modern Fashion Rings
Aquamarine, Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century French Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Fashion Rings
Ruby, Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold
2010s English Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Modern Fashion Rings
Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Fashion Rings
Aquamarine, Diamond, 18k Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Fashion Rings
Amethyst, Diamond, Sterling Silver