Antique Art Nouveau Rings

Art Nouveau is a style of jewellery that is now considered antique. The designs are unique and you would not be able to mistake them for anything else. Art Nouveau jewellery is highly sought after due to the intricate designs and uniqueness that separates them apart from other art movements. Unfortunately, the Art Nouveau movement only had a short reign over the jewellery industry with it starting to make an appearance in 1890 and quickly running dry just before world war 1 in 1910. The quality of our antique Art Nouveau jewellery is unparalleled in any other era for its unique designs and craftsmanship. We have some pieces of history that you can be proud to be a part of.

The Art Nouveau jewellery era broke barriers and traditional methods of creating beautiful pieces. Jewellers of this era put more emphasis on the setting of the jewellery rather than the gemstones alone. Although this is the case, they also used a range of coloured gemstones within the antique Art Nouveau jewellery. The movement gave licence to be able to test and experiment with a range of enamelling techniques as well as the use of precious and semi-precious stones. The licence to experiment allowed Art Nouveau jewellery designers to be more creative with their artistry which completely redefined the notion of value. This resulted in designers using a range of materials that had not been used in innovative ways such as using materials like ivory, glass, blister pearls and amber. The framing was almost always gold or silver with detailed and unique intricate designs. Antique Art Nouveau jewellery is commonly found with diamonds as an accent stone whereas other gemstones such as freshwater pearls, opal, moonstones and amethyst were also common within these designs.

The Art Nouveau jewellery era had a series of renowned jewellery designers in the world. Due to the Art Nouveau era starting in France, it is only natural that the top designers were also from France. Here are some renowned Antique Art Nouveau jewellery designers of that era: Rene Lalique 1860 - 1945 Rene Lalique is one of the most famous of all Art Nouveau jewellery designers and glass designers. His intricate designs embodied the essence of the movement and affected Europe by storm. He is most famous for his designs where he used his skills as a glass designer to create pieces that could change colour in natural light throughout the day. If you ever have the opportunity to see some of his antique Art Nouveau jewellery, it is truly beautiful. George Fouquet 1862 - 1957 George Fouquet is another famous Art Nouveau jewellery designer who gained fame from collaborating with the famous artist Alphonse Mucha. His most famous vintage Art Nouveau jewellery piece was his serpentine bracelet that was created for a famous actress Sarah Bernhardt and sold in 1987 for $757,000. Henri Vever 1857 - 1942 Henri Vever already founded the House of Vever in 1821 and was already designing renaissance-style jewellery and producing jewels. But at the turn of the Art Nouveau movement, he turned his efforts to this design and aligned the house with the Art Nouveau jewellery movement when he saw the style in Paris in 1900.

The Art Nouveau jewellery movement showed a range of telling signature characteristics that are unmistakable to the era. If you are worried about telling whether a piece is authentic, it is wise to have a professional with you when you purchase. The other alternative is to only purchase from reputable vendors. Here are some of the key vintage and antique Art Nouveau jewellery characteristics to look out for. Curved Lines One of the most significant characteristics of vintage and antique Art Nouveau jewellery is its curved lines which were used by one of the most prestigious designers of that time, Rene Lalique. The swooshing, art ornamental shaping was completely fresh which completely contrasted with the Art Deco era which was using more geometric designs. Nature A recurring element of Art Nouveau jewellery is the use of stylised imagery featuring a range of characteristics from nature. When you look at classic Art Nouveau jewellery pieces, you will find that there are features of animals and plants within the design. This is a tell-tale characteristic in most antique Art Nouveau jewellery as well as fantasy-based characters such as the famous dragonfly lady. Materials Art Nouveau jewellery uses traditional materials including gold and silver whilst also incorporating a range of coloured gemstones. Moonstones, freshwater pearls and amethyst can be seen throughout most designs. Other stones characterised by the Art Nouveau movement were the use of other precious stones such as diamonds and sapphires.