What makes Art Nouveau jewelry so unique? After all, it is jewelry that was made in the late 19th century. Even though it is old, it does command a high price point. Why you ask. It is due to its rarity and quality handcraftsmanship. Art Nouveau jewelry was a new trend, in which new material and a unique style developed by handcrafting beautiful jewelry based on art and not valuable materials. This new style was accepted by many, however, there were some who thought it was audacious.
Art Nouveau movement started in the late 19th century through the early 20th century, due to several factors. “The term art nouveau first appeared in the 1880s in the Belgian journal L’ Art Moderne to describe the work of Les Vingt, twenty painters and sculptors seeking reform through art.” (www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/artn/hd_artn) As for jewelers, they were disgusted with the shoddy work produced by massed produced jewelry, whereas, handcrafted jewelry produced better quality.
December 1895, Samuel Siegfried Bing, German who moved to Paris, opened his art gallery L’ Art Nouveau filling it with contemporary décor. Bing’s shop is what gave the movement its name as Art Nouveau. However, not all countries call this movement Art Nouveau.
Germany – Jugendstil
Belgium – Art Nouveau
Netherlands – Paling Stijl
Austria- Secessionstil
Spain – Modernismo
England, then the US – Arts and Crafts was still during this period
New innovations and artistic styles emerged during this time period, due to the re-opening of trade between the west and Japan. Japanese art was displayed in Bing’s gallery exposing different styles and colors to the public. Inspired by the Japanese’s use of style, color, and new materials that were used.
The materials that the jewelers used were mixed metals, enamel techniques, glass, and gemstones for accents. Previously, gemstones were used to design jewelry for value, but not so for Art Nouveau jewelry, it was designed for art. Opal, moonstone, pearls, citrine, turquoise, peridote, diamonds, sapphire, and ruby were some of the gemstones used. Auguste Victor Louis Verneuil successfully made the first synthetic ruby called Verneuil ruby. Enamel techniques used were plique-a-jour, champlevé, cloisonné, and pate-de-verre. The colors jewelers used and the techniques they used made their pieces flow, like pieces of art.
Jewelers incorporated in their jewelry, curvy, wavy, and sinuous lines or “whiplash” lines. The jewelers of Art Nouveau were very good at showing movement in their jewelry. Women’s faces and flowing hair was another motif, however, the most controversial was the nude/semi nude woman. Can you just see the people’s expression of shock? Other types of the motifs were of nature, dragonflies, butterflies, peacocks, flowers, sea creatures, lizzards, and landscapes. Snakes, made during the Victorian Era symbolized eternal love, but took on a different look. A look of movement.
Some of Art Nouveau’s renown jewelers are;
France: Rene Lalique, Georges Fouquet, Henri Vever, and Etienne Tourette
Germany: Wilhelm Lucas Von Cranach designer, Louis Werner made the jewelry
Austria: Josef Hoffman, Koloman Moser designed and the Viennese Workshop made most of the jewelry
Spain: Luis Mariera
Scandinavia: Georg Jensen
England: Archibald Knox, Charles Ashbee
United States: Tiffany and Co.
Boucheron, Cartier, and Chaumet made only a few pieces of jewelry.
Art Nouveau only lasted a short time, up until WWI. Over the years, some pieces were melted down and the gemstones were placed in a new setting. However, you can still find Art Nouveau jewelry made by some of the famous jewelers like, Rene Lalique, Henri Vever, Archibald Knox, and others. Thanks to these innovators in jewelry designs, jewelry became flowing and picturesque.
Featured image is at https://www.langantiques.com/art-nouveau-peridot-and-pearl-pendant
Charissa Jewelry 
Hi there, thanks for your blog about Art Nouveau jewellery. I would like to rectify one issue though: ‘Belgian – Palingstil’.
First of all, in Belgium the style was called Art Nouveau as most of it appeared in Brussels where people speak French. Paling Stijl is a word used in Dutch speaking areas, meaning ‘eel style’, when people were kind of mocking the designs. Others called it spaghetti style, of noodle style. But those names were only used by people who did not appreciate the design. The real term used in The Netherlands is Nieuwe Kunst, translating into New Art or Art Nouveau.
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Hello! Thank you so very much for catching my error. I am truly grateful! Also, I greatly appreciate the additional information, it is very fascinating. I want my blogs to be accurate, not deceiving. Thank you once again!
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