One Hundred Years of Art Deco: How It Invented the Jewelry We Still Love Today

The year 2025 witnesses the centenary of the Art Deco movement, an extremely important cultural phenomenon that regularly surfaces in our lives even today. This impactful cultural movement has been developing since the onset of the 1910s, but then the Great War broke out. Rapid technological and social advancements occurring in its aftermath pushed the trend forward with incredible force. 

That’s why Art Deco is so impactful and far-reaching: it combines the desire for luxury from the past and strife for clarity, structure, and technological sleekness of the future. It’s modern, futuristic, and timeless all at once, and so it satisfies the appetite for the new and bold while having deep historical roots. 

It will take a whole book to explain it in detail, and in this guide, we'll tackle only the key points you need to know to incorporate this high-octane glamor and style into your engagement ring. And maybe, your grandkids will sport this piece of jewelry as a treasured heirloom for the glorious bicentenary of Art Deco. 

Key Facts About Art Deco Movement

Why the year 2025, to begin with? Because it marks the centenary of The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts that took place in Paris in 1925. This huge exhibition gathered the best samples of architecture, furniture, designs, and jewelry showcasing the new aesthetics that would be known as Art Deco (shortened from the French ‘Arts Decoratifs’). Designers and architects who attended the event started imitating and reproducing the samples they'd seen, plus they added their own touch to their creations, thus letting the movement develop and branch out further. 

Art Deco did not appear out of nowhere, though. It relied on a wide range of earlier traditions and artistic movements, from the Egyptian revival and culture of the Far East to Cubism, Constructivism, and Futurism. Yet the Arts Decoratifs managed to fuse a variety of styles and philosophies into something new, contemporary, and totally unique. 

The new age introduced speedy cars, efficiency, entertainment like movies and varieties, and sports on a scale never imagined before. The designs of clothing, jewelry, furniture and even architecture reflected this radical shift. The design became streamlined, geometric, and functional, in addition to luxury and decorativeness. 

Hear Art Deco? Imagine symmetry and columns pointing to the sky, geometrical compositions of many elements, hexagons and octagons, clean strong lines and straight angles melting into elegant curves - all peppered by gold, sparkle, busy patterns, and diamonds that were getting more and more fashionable. 

Art Deco design is simple in shape - unlike the Edwardian fashion for garlands, sprawling branches, flowers, and bows - and rich in decorative elements, like precious stones and mural-like patterns. 

A flapper dress - a simple column covered in opulent embroidery of rhinestones and sequins that sparkle with every move of risque dances. Architecture - the sky-scraping Empire State Building and the Rockefeller Center with its impressive Radio City Music Hall.

Jewelry? A classic Art Deco ring or a bracelet is compact and functional, fit for a lady who drives a car and plays golf professionally, but it’s also packed with rows and rows of sparkling diamonds going in curves and domes around a central colored gem. 

Yet functional does not mean plain or boring. Rather, simplicity and functionality of shape become a canvas for mind-boggling ornamentation and decadence, all packed into one piece.

Popular Art Deco Ring Styles and Features

How to fit the wealth of features and signature looks of Art Deco into such a small object as a ring or a bracelet? Creatively, as the example of leading jewelry houses of that time shows. Cartier, Boucheron, and Van Cleef and Arpels were not afraid to experiment, departing from branching garlands and bows of the Belle Epoque and rushing towards clean geometric shapes and contrasts set into platinum. 

Some of the most iconic jewelry designs that we wear and reimagine today reach back to the stylistic discoveries of the 1920s. It’s high time we revive the classics to create a masterpiece for your engagement day!

Colors

The preceding Edwardian fashion favored subdued delicate colors, from pearls and opals to old-cut diamonds set into patinated silver. 

Art Deco was not afraid to be bold and loud, sometimes even tribal or Oriental, so it launched a firework of colored gems into the signature trend that would become known as Tutti Frutti. 

• The color palette is clean and limited to a few colors, but their application is limitless. Magically green emeralds, deep-red rubies , richly colored sapphires are the main colors to choose for the signature look. 

• In addition to classic colors, the elegant combination of opaque coral, black onyx, and sparkling diamonds was introduced into the high jewelry realm. This set of colors is easily recognizable, and sometimes it is reduced to a black and white combination. Onyx plus diamonds or zirconia equal a stunning and unique Art Deco ring. Feel fancier? Go for black diamonds and colorless diamonds paired together and set in gold.

• Don’t like coral or rubies? Try turquoise and diamonds instead. Opaque blue works equally well and creates this unusual and fresh effect. 

• Another classic Art Deco combination is green, black, and white, or green and white. An emerald paired with diamonds makes an impression that is hard to forget. 

• Love blue but not too dark blue? Aquamarine color is your best friend. It gained wide popularity during Art Deco because its amazing tint and clarity translated beautifully into emerald and baguette cuts, giving the vibe of freshness and coolness. 

And let’s not forget about diamonds - as the movement matured, the all-diamond designs became all the rage, their complex geometrical and architectural nature only winning from uniform coloring.

Stone Cuts 

Emerald and baguette cuts are iconic Art Deco stone shapes that got the attention and ultimate fame during this era. Rectangular, slender, and geometric, they were perfect for complex patterns and designs made of stones snugly nested together. Emerald cut is more robust, with trimmed corners and a wider table, while a baguette is just it - a long, narrow shape interesting to stand alone and perfect for supporting a central stone in a multistone composition. 

Marquise is something of a long soft oval with sharply defined tips. It’s a kind of an elegant boat that makes a stone look larger than it actually is. Marquise cut is excellent for solitaires, three-stone rings and halo rings that look both contemporary and timeless. 

Cushion is a softened rectangular shape like a plump cushion that showcases the clarity and fire of a stone. This cut makes a diamond appear large and sparkling, and other stones like aquamarine or alexandrite become otherworldly beautiful when cut into a cushion. This cut has just the right amount of a vintagy vibe to be interesting without looking too historical.

Princess cut is a clean square (or a slightly elongated rectangular) with defined edges and corners. Its secret is the unique shape and arrangement of side facets that look like stars from above and descend towards a peak on the back side of the stone. It’s like an inverted pyramid, and the interesting and rich sparkle makes it a must for engagement ring collections and Art Deco-inspired jewels alike. 

Stone Choice 

Art Deco coincided with the peak of the Roaring Twenties for a reason. It was an explosion of ‘everything and everywhere’, the jewelry business included. Boldly colored gemstones like emeralds and sapphires and megawatt-sparkle diamonds were reserved for glamorous nights, while daily jewelry featured an array of newly rediscovered unique precious and semi-precious stones. Stone carving in Indian and Egyptian style was all the rage, and jade, coral and turquoise were especially suitable for it. 

Aquamarine, alexandrite, amethyst, and citrine enjoyed the surge in popularity, too. But in the Art Deco taste, traditional round and oval shapes were replaced with rectangular silhouettes and crisp lines and edges. 

So whether you prefer the classic Big 4 of gems or look for some unique stone, Art Deco can incorporate anything and make it look stunning and cool. 

Ring Styles

Halo. Halo style was on and off during previous eras, but it literally exploded during Art Deco. Arches and semi-arches crowning roofs and doorways were seen everywhere, like the tiered wedged ‘crown’ of the Empire State Building, the architectural symbol of Art Deco. That’s why halos became popular - they created this particular look, plus they were designed in curving and intersecting ways, like labyrinths leading to the central stone.

Semi-halo was popular for the same reason. It imitates the arched geometry of architecture and reflects the popular evening headwear for women. Think the Shalimar bottle top or the lady’s headdress from the Metropolis movie, that’s the epitome of this style. 

Rectangular designs. Geometry is another name for Art Deco, so the ring design that relies on geometrical shapes and solutions ticks the boxes. 

Three-stone rings. Art Deco reinvented the three-stone ring and turned it into a classic we know today. Previously, a three-stone ring meant a wide solid band with three stones of a similar size sunk into metal like into a casing. In line with the new trends, large rectangular or round stones became the focus, and two flanking stones played the supporting role, like trusses and arches supporting the vaulted ceiling. The ring became lighter, bolder, and distinctly architectural. 

Solitaire. Solitaires were always popular in this or that form, but it is the Art Deco style that placed importance on the defined shape and clarity of the stone. Solitaires we rock today are more Art Deco than any other ring shape, although we may not fully realize it. 

How To Incorporate Art Deco Elements Into Your Engagement Ring And Make It Truly Special

Now comes the most interesting - and tricky - part. How to incorporate all these trends and ideas into an engagement ring, a piece of jewelry that will stay on your finger hopefully forever? 

The answer is to make it comfortable and reflective of your taste. You can pick one feature of Art Deco that appeals to you and add it to a ring that feels comfortable on your hand. This approach is sustainable, versatile, and you can build a ring of your dreams on a very reasonable budget. Or simply explore our Art Deco collection and pick the one that feels right for you.

1. Start with solitaires. One rectangular stone on a slim band, but go for bold bright stones, like this emerald solitaire of rectangular shape. 

2. Next look at halo rings where the central stone is richly colored and the halo is made of colorless sparkling satellite stones. This sapphire halo ring ticks all the right boxes for being a perfect engagement piece and an epitome of Art Deco.

3. Choose emerald, marquise or baguette cut for solitaires - their geometry is Art Deco itself, and a simple minimalist white gold setting will be enough to create an impressive design with the historical vibe. 

4. Semi-halo, of course. The semicircular headdresses were a signature look of the time, and the classic Shalimar bottle cap is the best example of this unusual design. It’s an icon itself, so the recent trend of putting a halo only around the upper half of the stone is a clear nod to this styling. Pick a stone you like and set a half-halo on top of it - voila, you’ve created a historically rooted piece that looks modern and can accommodate a wedding band beneath it. A perfect combo for an engagement ring! 

5. Three-stone rings were also getting more popular. They are geometrical by design and let central stones stand out. Choose a rectangular cut or an oval cabochon centerstone and add the sidestones that do not overwhelm it. 

6. Unique stones. Absolutely. Jewelers experimented with everything, from diamonds to rock crystal and stainless steel. It’s from those times that a wealth of various colored stones became the fixtures of the jewelry playfield. Moonstone? Yes! Different varieties of quartz? Sure! Agate and jade, topaz , sunstone , coral, turquoise and what not. Pick any stone that appeals to you and it will fit the Art Deco style mold.

7. Black diamonds. The combination of black onyx, colorless diamonds, and some opaque colored stones is a signature invention of the 1920s. But if you want to move a step further and go bold and chic, look at the black diamonds paired with colorless stones. This pairing belongs to the cohort of timeless styles, and it can be dressed up for an occasion or worn as is when you go about your daily business. This combination is fresh and stylish enough to last for another couple of generations.

Conclusion 

As you see, incorporating Art Deco features into your engagement ring is not that hard, especially if you know where to begin and what to look for. Explore our dedicated Art Deco collection and find an engagement ring that will reflect the true and authentic you. 

And if you’re still unsure about what you want or how to achieve your vision, let our experienced jewelers at YourAsteria help you. From offering you interesting designs with historical references to making your ring inspiration into a real jewelry piece, they can do it all. 

Along with the passion for our craft and years of experience, we bring you ethical stones, affordable pricing, and the ultimate quality in every detail. 

Your engagement ring is special, so you deserve to have it crafted by artisans with dedication to your vision and appreciation of your romantic journey.