An absorbing history of the evolution of the Art Deco style in

After the extravagant forms of Art Nouveau, the Art Deco movement represented a return to simplicity and severity. As this book richly demonstrates, in that period jewelry found a virtually unlimited source of renewal. Designers drew inspiration from the entire vivid spectrum of the plastic arts: riotous colors in explosive combinations from the Ballets Russes and the Fauves, geometric shapes from Cubism and Suprematism, the contrast of black and white from Neo-Plasticism, and a fascination with the mechanical world from Futurism. Nor were its exponents confined to the modern European world: an Egyptian vogue was prompted by the 1922 discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, while other themes were borrowed from the Far East, Persia, and Africa. Art Deco Jewelry displays through sumptuous illustrations, coupled with a lucid and informative text, the creations of the haute joaillerie (jewelers such as Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels) and of the avant-garde designers -- Jean Fouquet, Raymond Templier, Gerard Sandoz, Jean Durand, and Paul Brandt -- to whom we owe some of the most daring and brilliant jewels of the period. There is also an exquisite range of accessories: dainty vanity cases fashioned with the maximum of detail in the minimum of space, boxes and cigarette cases, and a spectacular array of clocks. With the addition of succinct biographies of the most innovative and influential jewelers of the day, a select bibliography, and a glossary, this book serves as an essential reference for anyone interested in the period or in superb examples of the jeweler's art.

A geometric formal idiom reminiscent of Cubism and the aesthetic of the machine, colored plastic and chrome are synonymous with art deco costume jewelry, which was widespread throughout the 1920s and '30s Europe. Hitherto classified by specialists in the field as 'French Jewelry', these objects were in fact created in the Chain and Jewelry factory founded in 1873 by Jakob Bengel in Idar-Oberstein. The Bengel production from 1928 until 1936 is distinguished by extraordinary innovation and distinctive individuality surpassing anything comparable from other contemporaneous makers. Jakob Bengel, who was Ernst Hartenberger's son-in-law, also possesses the business acumen to market and distribute his wares worldwide. More than 250 pieces of jewelry are shown and described in the present book. Moreover, this monograph is the first in-depth study of the subject, drawing extensively on the Bengel pattern books from 1924 to 1936. The more than 20,000 drawings in color reproduced in them are invaluable sources for understanding designers and design practice.

A geometric formal idiom reminiscent of Cubism and the aesthetic of the machine, colored plastic and chrome are synonymous with art deco costume jewelry, which was widespread throughout the 1920s and '30s Europe. Hitherto classified by specialists in the field as 'French Jewelry', these objects were in fact created in the Chain and Jewelry factory founded in 1873 by Jakob Bengel in Idar-Oberstein. The Bengel production from 1928 until 1936 is distinguished by extraordinary innovation and distinctive individuality surpassing anything comparable from other contemporaneous makers. Jakob Bengel, who was Ernst Hartenberger's son-in-law, also possesses the business acumen to market and distribute his wares worldwide. More than 250 pieces of jewelry are shown and described in the present book. Moreover, this monograph is the first in-depth study of the subject, drawing extensively on the Bengel pattern books from 1924 to 1936. The more than 20,000 drawings in color reproduced in them are invaluable sources for understanding designers and design practice.

A fascinating study of jewellery in this short-lived yet far-reaching period. Text in English and German.

Meticulous reproduction of rare portfolio (1925-30) contains over 700 dazzling designs and motifs for buckles, clips, belts, mirrors, pendants, cigarette cases, rings, chains, necklaces, watchbands, brooches, studs, and charms.