It is always a special feeling when you wear something that belonged to your mum, whether it is a piece of jewelry or an outfit.
Why is it that we love things from a bygone era? What is it about them that captures our sentiment? A cherished piece of antique furniture, a vintage handbag, a classic old car, or a first-edition novel, all take special places in our hearts.
It is the same with jewelry as well. Preloved pieces, estate jewelry, or even repurposed jewelry are coveted for a number of reasons. Sentiment, unparalleled craftsmanship, and unique design, all contribute to the allure of vintage jewelry.
While vintage jewelry is quite rare and expensive, you can easily get your hands on vintage-inspired pieces. Vintage-inspired jewelry is crafted in modern times but draws design inspiration from past eras.
What Qualifies as Vintage-Inspired Jewelry?
Whether you are an old soul and always gravitate towards older designs and styles, or you are a modern woman who loves being unique, there is a vintage-inspired piece of jewelry to match your individuality and budget.
When you are considering buying and owning a piece of vintage-inspired jewelry, it helps to know what style or design you are investing in. The terms ‘antique’ and ‘vintage’ are used interchangeably. However, they refer to different timelines.
Antique jewelry is any jewelry that dates back more than 100 years. Anything that was created at least 20 years ago is generally considered vintage jewelry. And, vintage-inspired jewelry refers to modern pieces, crafted to include design elements from the past.
Why Choose Vintage-Inspired Jewelry
There is a certain romanticism attached to vintage-inspired jewelry. The fact that you own jewelry inspired by history makes the piece even more special.
Understanding the era, which the piece draws inspiration from is very important when buying vintage-inspired jewelry.
This category of jewelry is not bought on a whim and does not fall into the bracket of trending jewelry. It is an acquired taste and requires you to have an understanding of your own personal style to be able to enjoy wearing vintage-inspired jewelry.
Take a look at the various eras that dictated how jewelry looked and felt through the years…
The Victorian Era (the 1850s—1900s)
This is the period when symbols of love and romance were commonly used in jewelry. Bows, ribbons, garlands, and knots were some other common motifs seen in the jewelry from this period.
Colorful gemstones like emerald, topaz, amethyst, and turquoise were used along with more somber-colored ornamentations like black onyx, black enamel, and jet (a fossilized form of coal).
If you are someone who likes keepsake lockets, brooches with heart symbols, flower and bird motifs, and jewelry with knot designs, you must look for pieces inspired by the Victorian Era.
The Edwardian Era (the 1900s—1910s)
During this era, there was a significant upswing in women’s fashion. The jewelry designed during this time had to match the flamboyance of the fashion styles women were flaunting. Milgrain and filigree work was seen frequently in the jewelry from this period.
Milgrain or million-grains is a classic jewelry technique in which tiny metal beads are used to create borders around stones. Filigree work is where fine wires of metal form designs that look like lacework.
If you are someone who loves regal-looking bling like tiaras, look no further than pieces inspired by the Edwardian Era.
Long pearl rope necklaces, long earrings, and jewelry with laurels, wreaths, bows, and garlands of flowers, were all prevalent motifs during this period. White stones set on white precious metals were considered a symbol of class during this period.
The Art Nouveau Era (1890s—1920s)
This period saw a lot of fluid, free-flowing designs, pale-colored gemstones, and translucent enamel work. A lot of the artists from this period took inspiration from Japanese art and the natural world.
Some recurrent themes from the Art Nouveau era jewelry are orchids, irises, lilies, butterflies, fairies, and dragonflies. Since the tendency was towards soft, romantic jewelry, the choice of gemstones reflected the same sentiment.
Citrine, amethysts, pearls, opal, moonstone, amber, and peridot were popular picks.
Continental styles were predominant and the craftsmen used various techniques of enameling to embellish the jewelry from this era. Art Nouveau jewelers placed importance on the setting of the gemstones and a lot of the jewelry had clear backs.
This allowed maximum light to enter through the back which gave the jewel a soft, luminescent glow.
The Art Deco Era (1915—1935)
The roaring twenties saw the jazz culture flourish along with the flappers and the speakeasies. The economy boomed and styles and fashion flourished and became bolder, casting aside the soft romanticism of the Edwardian Era.
Futuristic forms and geometric designs, and symmetrical and architectural aesthetics dominated the jewelry from this period.
You can see a lot of Chinese, Egyptian, and African influences in these designs as the mood leaned towards bold, contrasting colors and straight lines, which were equally flamboyant and frivolous.
You will see a lot of saturated colors in shades of blue, green, and red, with sapphire, emerald, and ruby taking center stage with platinum.
These pieces were mostly in dangling styles and set in white precious metal, had filigree work or enamel, recurrent geometric motifs, and colored, saturated, opaque stones.
The Retro Modern Era (the 1930s—1990s)
For lack of distinguishing terms, the period between 1930 and 1990 is classified as the Retro Era. Cocktail jewelry was born during this time when the world faced two crises, the Great Depression and World War II.
It is fair to expect the jewelry of this time to be understated and minimalist, however, the opposite was true. The jewelry from this era was meant to cheer people up, and hence it was bold, exciting, and eye-catching as ever, perhaps even hopeful towards a happier future.
Necklaces that converted to bracelets, clip brooches, hair pins, jewelry suites with matching earrings, bracelets, and necklaces became popular. The snake chain or the pipe chain was ubiquitous during this time.
Since there was a scarcity of platinum and gold, gold alloys and palladium became popular along with larger-than-life imitation jewelry.