Buying antique jewelry and dating the piece, is no easy task. When we see a antique piece of jewelry, the time period in which the piece was made is a big part of its story. Most antique and heirloom jewelry can be separated into four distinct time periods. Each time period has it’s own different styles. Doing research on google for the different trends of each time period can help you make the right choices when buying or selling antique jewelry. Besides the overall look, the clasp also will tell you a story.
Victorian Jewelry 1835-1890 is pretty cut and dry. Victorian-style jewelry is unique and very hard to find these days. A signature Victorian piece is the cameo, a silver and pink brooch with a white carved woman at the center. The lady adorning the pin was typically carved from shell, agate, onyx or sardonyx. Cameos were commonly strung on velvet and tied. Gem cuts common to the Victorian era were rose cut, old European cut, miner cut and antique cushion cut.
Edwardian jewelry 1890-1914. Edwardian jewelry was influenced by Art Nouveau style, which was very popular during this time period. Another large influencing factor for Edwardian style jewelry was U.S. mining. Edwardian style jewelry had Complex metalwork, light-colored metals and gemstones and a lacy appearance. All production of this type of jewelry came to an end in 1914 when world war I began.
Art Deco Jewelry, 1918-1935 ( my favorite)! After the war ended times have changed. The jewelry from this time period was more bold and daring. The beautiful Jewelry featured geometric designs. The geometric designs from Eastern and Native American art, along with bright and dark gemstones, made many Art Deco pieces simply gorgeous. Art Deco engagement rings often feature colored gemstones and black onyx. For the first time white gold became available for use and was very popular and easier to work with than platinum. Filigree is the word commonly used to describe the gorgeously complex metal detailing used in Art Deco jewelry. The level of craftsmanship needed to create these pieces is unmatched by todays standards. Diamonds used for engagement rings were old European cut, round brilliant cuts and round transitional cut diamonds.
Mid century jewelry was the time period of 1935-1960. The jewelry pieces from this time period are much simpler. They are not as complex, artistic and the craftsmanship was much weaker. This was the time period for fancy cut diamonds and gem stones. The pieces from this era concentrated on the center stone and not the overall appearance. Many of the jewelry pieces featured heart-shaped, emerald-cut, marquise and pear-shaped diamonds. West Town Jewelry & Loan are qualified experts in this field. Please stop by to get your free appraisal.