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.
1950s Vintage Modern Jewelry
Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Platinum
2010s Thai Modern Jewelry
Ruby, Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold
2010s American Modern Jewelry
Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Unknown Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Jewelry
Tourmaline, Lapis Lazuli, Citrine, Pink Sapphire, Gold, Yellow Gold, 18k...
2010s Turkish Modern Jewelry
Pink Sapphire, Tanzanite, 14k Gold
Early 2000s British Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Hong Kong Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, White Gold
2010s Italian Modern Jewelry
Diamond, White Diamond, Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Sapphire, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Jewelry
Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum
1960s Vintage Modern Jewelry
White Diamond, Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Purple Sapphire, Yellow Gold, Go...
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Tanzanite, 18k Gold
2010s African Modern Jewelry
Moonstone, Sapphire, Tanzanite, Pink Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Platinum...
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Jewelry
Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Green Sapphire,...
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Unknown Modern Jewelry
Ruby, Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold, Rhodium
2010s Turkish Modern Jewelry
Amethyst, Pink Sapphire, 14k Gold
2010s Italian Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Tanzanite, 18k Gold
2010s Swiss Modern Jewelry
Pink Sapphire, Diamond, White Diamond, Quartz, Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Tanzanite, 18k Gold
2010s Belgian Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
2010s American Modern Jewelry
Pink Sapphire, Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, W...
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Green Sapphire, ...
2010s Italian Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Rose Gold, White Gold
2010s Italian Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold
2010s Italian Modern Jewelry
Quartz, Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold
2010s British Modern Jewelry
Yellow Diamond, Pink Diamond, Black Diamond, Emerald, Garnet, Multi-gems...
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Gold, Sterling Silver
2010s American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, South Sea Pearl, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18...
2010s Italian Modern Jewelry
Pink Sapphire, Green Sapphire, Diamond, Yellow Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, ...
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Jewelry
Pink Sapphire, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Jewelry
Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold, White ...
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Pink Sapphire, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Jewelry
Moonstone, Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
White Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Italian Modern Jewelry
Purple Sapphire, Green Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire,...
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Modern Jewelry
Pink Sapphire, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
2010s American Modern Jewelry
Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Diamond, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Pink Sapphire, Diamond, Moonstone, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s Italian Modern Jewelry
Brown Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Green Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, 14k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s Italian Modern Jewelry
Brown Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Diamond, Green Sapphire, 18...
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pearl, Pink Sapphire, 14k Gold, White Gold
