To look at the pieces that ArtCarved puts on display immediately brings to mind the Art Deco period, appropriately enough for a brand that celebrates 167 years of excellence. Many of the designs that ArtCarved has put created for its vintage and classic collections are riffs on designs created by the bijoutiers-artistes and bijoutiers-joailliers that graced the workshops of Paris and Nancy; and also the brilliance of the Great Depression-era artists who designed airy works out of minimal resources. Experimenting during a period of time stretching from 1910 to 1940, Art Deco jewelers played with conventions of cut, stone, and geometry to design styles that remain timeless. With a generation of fiancées looking back to their grandmothers’ and great-grandmothers’ generations as inspiration for their contemporary style, ArtCarved’s art and engagement rings are both “vintage” and “absolutely modern”.

1.Velma

Compare ArtCarved’s “Velma” to a ring from 1930. While the piece below is primarily sapphire, and the accent diamonds are Baguette cut, there’s a kind of stylistic family similarity between the contemporary piece and the antique next to it. Moreover, ArtCarved offers its rings in platinum — and of course, platinum had its first real debut in the jewelry world during the Art Deco period, when the metal was selected for its combination of strength and beauty.

2. Rima

“Rima”, one of ArtCarved’s more celebrated styles of engagement ring found in the BARONS jewelry store, as well as on their website, consciously invokes the geometric style spearheaded by the artists of the Deco period. The piece on the right, a ring by Jean Després, emphasizes the design over the jewel, but takes the time to apply jewels to accent the flowing curves of the art. “Rima” has, unlike the Després ring, a central diamond, but the accent diamonds still manage to convey the motion and “water” quality found in the older piece.

 

3. Wihelmina

Artists in the Art Deco period took a great deal of their inspiration from architectural trends. The Deco-period ring below is obviously inspired by the skyscrapers that began to dominate the skylines of major cities of the U.S. and Europe between the 1910’s-30’s, reminding the viewer of tall buildings or the majestic perspective of a skyscraper seen from the sidewalk. The ArtCarved “Wihelmina”, on the other hand, expands horizontally, rather than vertically, and reminds the viewer of a plaza as seen from above, or a fountain like Rome’s famous Trevi Fountain.

 

4. Devyn

 

Beyond geometric stylization, the Art Deco period is also famous for continuing the Art Nouveau experimentation with color in jewelry. Though both diamond rings, the ArtCarved “Devyn” above, and the mid-period Art Deco below are both brilliantly accented with color that doesn’t steal focus from the whole, but would instead bring a flourish to the clothing choices of the person wearing them.

While the companies that made the original pieces during the Art Deco period are largely defunct or have turned to different projects, ArtCarved, which has been in business since that original era, continues to offer Deco-style glamour for brides-to-be looking for a kind of vintage accent that can be passed on to future generations as a family treasure. BARONS Jewelers, a retailer carrying the ArtCarved brand, offers not only the “Velma”, “Rima”, “Wihelmina”, and “Devyn”, but dozens of other engagement rings from other esteemed brands.

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