Jewellery Detective: The Retro Era
Welcome!
I thought we would start these blogs with perhaps my favourite era for style and design, The Retro Era. It was a fantastic period circa 1940s that encompasses so many historical influences and very unique styles that you only see in this period.
Historical influences mainly came from the emergence of World War II. We saw this affect the supply of white metal for jewellery, particularly platinum. Platinum was a favourite in in the Art deco period and its requisition for the war made is scarce and in a lot of places prohibited. Due to this change we saw the heavy switch to rose gold and yellow gold for a lot of jewellers.
Not only was the supply of metal affected but so was the supply of gemstones. A lot of mines closed due to lack of workers and the trade routes were significantly affected. This affected the supply of diamonds and alot of gemstones, forcing jewellers to use larger more affordable gemstones over diamonds. This saw the popularity of large aquamarines and citrines rise alot with smaller diamonds and rubies then used as accent stones. You even often saw old cut diamonds being reset or reused due to lack of supply. The price of gold also meant the jewellers had to use their ingenuity to make the rings look substantial whilst using less gold than normal this gave rise to the ribbon or volute style they used.
Perhaps the most notable style to emerge was the 'tank style' this style took the architectural design seen in the late 1930s and the boxy and flowing design of the world war tanks as inspiration for a completely new style. Often open worked galleries with swirling ribbons of gold and high heavy paneling were featured. Their popularity has really peak in the last few years and they are being given the spot light they deserve!
With so many interesting influences you can see why this era is a favourite of mine. I have included a few examples from my personal collection and some from the shop if your looking to own a piece of incredible history!
Some of the features of Retro Jewellery to note
- Round Illusion set diamond in white gold with yellow gold band
- Rose and yellow gold used (no platinum)
- Synthetic gemstones, small diamonds
- Ludo bracelets, ribbons and volutes and extravagant shoulder details
- Tank link bracelets and Tank Rings
- Rubies became the accent stone.
Of course a few things to remember when era dating pieces as a jewellery detective
- There are revivals in each era
- Today I am sharing clues to assist you but they don't mean a conclusion.
- There is always overlap no style stops and start it evolves and sometimes slowly
- Original designers often start a style 10 years before it reaches the masses.
- Youth culture vs establishment in each era (old hat and new what is fashionable for different age groups)
- Nothing happens in a vacuum culture, fashion, famous ppl political sentiments affect each other and of course jewellery
Thank you for taking the time to read my first blog, I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any feedback or questions please let me know.
Sarah
The Secret Compartment