Art Nouveau Jewelry

Art Nouveau is a major movement from the beginning of the 20th century. Art Nouveau began at the end of the 19th century, with its first beginnings in 1880-1890. It was the very famous René Lalique who would project this movement and its actors onto the international scene. All in curves and lines, Art Nouveau jewelry was inspired by nature, feminine forms, pagan tales and legends and the Middle Ages. The great novelty in Art Nouveau jewelry was also at the level of materials and technicality: we returned to ancestral and artisanal know-how, such as the art of stained glass which would inspire master enamelers. Jewelers used fewer valuable stones, they were mainly looking for a visual rendering. Large and long pearls, glass, lacquer, moonstones, little-used colored stones such as peridot.