Modern Solitaire 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.
2010s Zambian Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Emerald, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s Indian Modern Solitaire Rings
Opal, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Solitaire Rings
Emerald, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Modern Solitaire Rings
White Diamond, Diamond
2010s Italian Modern Solitaire Rings
Ruby, White Diamond, Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Platinum
2010s Italian Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, White Diamond
2010s Italian Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Solitaire Rings
Aquamarine, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s Belgian Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Italian Modern Solitaire Rings
Emerald, White Diamond, Diamond, Platinum, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Solitaire Rings
Emerald, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Colombian Modern Solitaire Rings
Emerald, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Modern Solitaire Rings
Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, White Diamond, Diamond, 18k Gold
2010s Italian Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Platinum
1960s British Vintage Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Indian Modern Solitaire Rings
Garnet, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Platinum
2010s Italian Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
2010s Italian Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold
Early 20th Century Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Gold, Platinum
2010s American Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Platinum
2010s Indian Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Solitaire Rings
Topaz, Blue Topaz, Sterling Silver
2010s Australian Modern Solitaire Rings
Pink Diamond
20th Century Unknown Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Yellow Gold, White Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
2010s British Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Modern Solitaire Rings
Ruby, Diamond, Platinum, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Solitaire Rings
Emerald, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Turkish Modern Solitaire Rings
Garnet, Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Solitaire Rings
Platinum, Sterling Silver, Silver
1970s British Vintage Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Platinum
2010s Thai Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Solitaire Rings
Emerald, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, 14k Gold, White Gold
20th Century German Modern Solitaire Rings
White Diamond, Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Solitaire Rings
Tourmaline, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
Early 2000s Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Platinum, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
Early 2000s Italian Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
2010s Unknown Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
2010s Italian Modern Solitaire Rings
Emerald, White Diamond, Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Italian Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Amethyst, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
2010s Italian Modern Solitaire Rings
Pink Diamond, White Diamond, Diamond, Yellow Gold, White Gold, 18k Gold
1970s Vintage Modern Solitaire Rings
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s Thai Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Italian Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Yellow Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Solitaire Rings
Emerald, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Platinum
2010s Indian Modern Solitaire Rings
Yellow Sapphire, Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
20th Century American Modern Solitaire Rings
White Diamond, Diamond, Gold, Platinum, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Platinum
2010s Unknown Modern Solitaire Rings
Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Solitaire Rings
Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Solitaire Rings
Ruby, 14k Gold
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Solitaire Rings
Garnet, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold