Modern Jewelry
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 Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
Early 2000s Unknown Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
20th Century Modern Jewelry
Sterling Silver
20th Century American Modern Jewelry
18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Sterling Silver
20th Century Modern Jewelry
Sterling Silver, Enamel
1970s American Vintage Modern Jewelry
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Modern Jewelry
18k Gold, Sterling Silver
1980s Vintage Modern Jewelry
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Silver, Sterling Silver
2010s Unknown Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Tanzanite, Platinum
2010s American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Jewelry
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
2010s American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Coral, Diamond, 18k Gold
1970s American Vintage Modern Jewelry
18k Gold, Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Jewelry
Gold, 14k Gold
2010s Italian Modern Jewelry
Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Jewelry
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Jewelry
Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Jewelry
Sterling Silver, Silver
20th Century American Modern Jewelry
18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Jewelry
Sapphire, Platinum
2010s American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, White Diamond, Platinum
Early 20th Century American Modern Jewelry
18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Jewelry
Diamond, 18k Gold
20th Century Unknown Modern Jewelry
Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
Late 20th Century American Modern Jewelry
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Sterling Silver
1990s Modern Jewelry
Gold, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
1980s American Vintage Modern Jewelry
Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Central American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
1990s American Modern Jewelry
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s American Modern Jewelry
Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Jewelry
Citrine, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Swiss Modern Jewelry
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Modern Jewelry
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
2010s American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, White Diamond, Emerald, Blue Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
1990s American Modern Jewelry
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s European Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Jewelry
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Sterling Silver
2010s American Modern Jewelry
18k Gold, Rose Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
2010s North American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Tanzanite, Platinum