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 French Modern Jewelry
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Pearl, Black Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, White Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Jewelry
Chrysophrase, Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Emerald, Cultured Pearl, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, Pearl, White Diamond, Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, Pearl, White Diamond, Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Jewelry
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, Pearl, White Diamond, Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, White Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Jewelry
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, Ye...
Mid-20th Century Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Jewelry
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, Pearl, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Pearl, Black Pearl, Cultured Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, South Sea Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Jewelry
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Tourmaline, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Asian Modern Jewelry
Black Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold
Mid-20th Century Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Jewelry
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Japanese Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s English Modern Jewelry
Ruby, Freshwater Pearl, Cultured Pearl, White Diamond, Diamond, White Go...
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, Pearl, White Diamond, Diamond, Gold, White Gold, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century European Modern Jewelry
South Sea Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Pearl, Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Blue Topaz, Cultured Pearl, Topaz, Peridot, Freshwater Pearl, Pearl, Dia...
20th Century European Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Oriental Pearl, Platinum
Late 20th Century American Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Quartz, Silver, Sterling ...
2010s French Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, Diamond, White Diamond, Opal, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
Early 2000s Brazilian Modern Jewelry
Amethyst, Citrine, Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Peridot, Tourmaline, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century European Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Ruby, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
South Sea Pearl, Oriental Pearl, Natural Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Pearl, Y...
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Jewelry
Pearl, Black Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Jewelry
Sapphire, Cultured Pearl, Pearl, White Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary North American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Pearl, Black Pearl, Cultured Pearl, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
South Sea Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s American Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, Rock Crystal, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s French Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, Peridot, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
2010s British Modern Jewelry
White Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Diamond, 18k Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Jewelry
Cultured Pearl, South Sea Pearl, Diamond, White Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Jewelry
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Jewelry
Ruby, Oriental Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Pearl, White Diamond, Diamond, Ste...