Art Deco Jewelry

As we rush headlong into the digital age, ironically, the public's appetite for styles of the past seems to increase daily. You only have to peak in the fashion magazine or catalog that lands in your mailbox. From fashion to furniture, retail is in the reissue game, redefining and releasing yesterday's classic designs.

With that in mind, it is no surprise that 1920s and '30s art deco jewelry is enjoying a surge in popularity and production. You can find the proof on any one of the online auction sites. This week, AW counted more than 1,000 art deco jewelry auctions running on eBay, Yahoo Auctions, Amazon.com Auctions, and the FairMarket Network. From original Cartier designs and vintage costume pieces to tasteful reproductions, the shrewd jewelry consignor is adding art deco to his or her inventory.

What Is It?
The term art deco was coined at the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industrels Moderne (International Paris Exposition of Decorative and Modern Industrial Arts), although Louis Cartier and other jewelry designers had started to develop the style at least 20 years earlier. Stylistically, it is considered to be the successor of art nouveau, an amalgam of creative and industrial design that flourished after World War I.

According to art historian Bevis Hillier (Art Deco Style), art deco draws inspiration from various sources, including the more austere side of art nouveau, cubism, the Russian Ballet, American Indian art, and the Bauhaus. Hillier also noted that art deco speaks "to symmetry rather than asymmetry, and to the rectilinear rather than the curvilinear." Since its inception, art deco design has had a profound effect on art, architecture, and industry. In fact, some of the most memorable examples of art deco design can be found in the airplanes, railroad trains, ocean liners, and automobiles of the 1920s and '30s.

Art deco jewelry, specifically, mixes precious and semi-precious, and even nonprecious, materials in a single piece. Diamonds and sapphires were coupled with coral, platinum, even steel. A 1925-29 Cartier Chinese-style clock was made of rock crystal, mother-of-pearl, enamel, emeralds, diamonds, platinum, obsidian, coral, and gold. In the 1920s and '30s, it also was considered modern to create jewelry (and decorative accessories) with new, industrial materials, including early plastics, such as Bakelite. Today, '30s Bakelite jewelry has become a fervently collected subset of art deco jewelry. Pieces of Art Deco Silver are also increasingly being sought after.

Two distinct varieties of art deco jewelry are collected today: rare, handcrafted pieces, produced by the genre's original designers (Louis Cartier, Raymond Templier, Edouard Marcel Sandoz, Jean Dunand, and others), and cheaper, mass-produced costume jewelry. Reproductions of original designs also are on the rise, though they are not considered collectible. All three, though, are strong candidates for purchase and resale at auction.

What's It Worth?
Art deco jewelry crafted by French designer Louis Cartier is the category's most collectible and valuable. Original Cartier necklaces, bracelets, pins, clocks, and other pieces can sell anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000. From the beginning, his pieces have been in high demand, sought after by his era's most influential people, including legendary composer Cole Porter, who purchased twin Cartier bracelets in 1926 and 1930. Boasting sapphires, emeralds, and rubies, the bracelet set was one of Cartier's masterworks. (When you think about it, Cartier and Cole Porter's compositions have a lot in common: They're both smart and sophisticated and they'll never go out of style.)

Beyond their costly materials, Cartier pieces are at the top of the market because they are stylistically distinct from the work of other early art deco artists. In his writings, Hillier emphasizes that Cartier did not rely solely on geometric, linear, and structural motifs. Instead, he was influenced by non-European, figurative art (Egyptian, Chinese, and Indian) and "incorporated it into the linear context of art deco." Original pieces from Cartier's contemporaries range in price from $1,000 to $10,000.

Though made of lesser materials, original art deco costume jewelry also is historically significant and, thus, increasing in value. Like the Cartier pieces, authentic costume pieces can be beautiful and equally evocative of the swinging '20s and '30s. Sid Schatzky, who sells costume deco jewelry at Geffner and Schatzky Antiques in South Egremont, Massachusetts, says that deco costume jewelry has been consistently popular for the 15 years he has been selling it, currently ranging in price from $100 to $500.

"In terms of how they look, costume pieces are the same," said Schatzky. "What is different is the materials. Costume pieces are not made with precious metals or real stones, so their intrinsic value will always be less than the value of the real thing." Nonetheless, he stressed that his vintage costume pieces "are not reproductions." He also emphasized that the market for authentic deco jewelry is limited to what was produced during the 1920s and '30s. Faux stones or not, if the age is genuine, prices will only continue to rise.

Costume pieces made of plastic Bakelite, produced during the depression as a substitute for expensive jewelry, are enjoying the biggest rise in value, ranging from $200 to $2,000 currently. "My customers have a seemingly insatiable appetite for adding Bakelite to their collections," said Anne Kaufman, owner of Hyde & Seek Antiques in San Francisco. "It's fun-loving, playful, and looks like candy."

As demand outpaces supply, it's important for collectors and consignors to do their homework and not buy reproductions intentionally or unintentionally described as Cartier or vintage costume. New collectors and consignors need to train themselves to recognize true examples by reading authoritative texts and catalogs, visiting auction previews, and consulting with dealers who specialize in the field.

Schatzky said he expects art deco jewelry, whether made from diamonds and rubies or faux stones, to become increasingly prominent as the fashion establishment rediscovers it. Luxury items, such as silver money clip are also priving to be increasingly popular. Just the same, he said art deco is a good buy anytime: "Deco is a classic--there's always a core group who will want it."

by Katherine W. James