Modern Watches
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.
1970s French Vintage Modern Watches
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Watches
Diamond, Steel, Stainless Steel
Early 2000s Italian Modern Watches
Stainless Steel, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Watches
Titanium
Late 20th Century Swiss Modern Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s French Vintage Modern Watches
Blue Sapphire, Silver
1980s Vintage Modern Watches
Sapphire, Gold, Vermeil, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
1950s Vintage Modern Watches
14k Gold, White Gold, Stainless Steel
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
Early 2000s Swiss Modern Watches
18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
Mid-20th Century Swiss Modern Watches
Gold, 18k Gold
1970s French Vintage Modern Watches
Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century American Modern Watches
Sterling Silver
2010s Swiss Modern Watches
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Steel, Stainless Steel
2010s Swiss Modern Watches
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
18k Gold
2010s Swiss Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
2010s Swiss Modern Watches
Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Watches
Titanium
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
18k Gold, Stainless Steel
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
Early 2000s European Modern Watches
Diamond, Steel, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Watches
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Watches
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Watches
Diamond, Gold
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
1980s Vintage Modern Watches
Gold, 18k Gold
1960s Vintage Modern Watches
Diamond, Stainless Steel
1990s Modern Watches
Sapphire, Vermeil, Sterling Silver
1980s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Stainless Steel
1970s Vintage Modern Watches
18k Gold
1980s Vintage Modern Watches
Sapphire, Stainless Steel
Early 2000s European Modern Watches
Diamond, 18k Gold
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
2010s European Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
2010s European Modern Watches
Diamond, Pearl, Yellow Gold
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
2010s Swiss Modern Watches
Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
2010s Swiss Modern Watches
Early 2000s Swiss Modern Watches
Diamond, Stainless Steel, Steel
1950s French Vintage Modern Watches
Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
1980s Vintage Modern Watches
Gold, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Watches
18k Gold, White Gold
1940s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
18k Gold
2010s Swiss Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
1870s Swiss Antique Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
20th Century Swiss Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
2010s British Modern Watches
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
18k Gold, White Gold
1970s French Vintage Modern Watches
Blue Sapphire, Silver
1960s Vintage Modern Watches
14k Gold, White Gold, Stainless Steel
20th Century Italian Modern Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Italian Modern Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Watches
Diamond, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Watches
Diamond, Steel, Stainless Steel
1980s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
White Gold, Stainless Steel
Early 2000s Swiss Modern Watches
18k Gold, Rose Gold
1970s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
1960s Swiss Vintage Modern Watches
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Watches
Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Modern Watches
Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Watches
Diamond, Pink Diamond, Yellow Gold