Art Nouveau (French for “New Art”) constitutes a period of artistic history between 1890 and 1910. A truly unique blossoming of ideas, Art Nouveau spread like wildfire through Europe and into the wider world, including the Americas and China.

Art Nouveau is characterized by curves, ornamentation, rich colors, and a deep reverence for the beauty of nature. It isn’t strange to see a piece of Art Nouveau jewelry studded with enameled flowers and jeweled dragonflies, as the trend toward exuberant nature veneration informed every aspect of the new art.

While Art Nouveau evolved into Art Deco and later into various schools of Postmodernism, the brief 20-year span of artistic rapture embodied in Art Nouveau has continued to fascinate women for over a century.

The interesting thing about the diversity of modern jewelry design is that Modern brides-to-be who appreciate the essentially feminine nature of Art Nouveau style have more options nowadays than at any time in the last century to wear Art Nouveau-inspired bridal pieces.

If what you’ve read excites you, we’d like to showcase a variety of different looks that have taken their inspiration from the brilliance of the Art Nouveau era!

Color

One of the most elegant ways of expressing Art Nouveau excellence is, as we mentioned, by way of color. Colored jewels were a major element of the period’s aesthetic charm, and as such, a method of channeling the same naturalistic grace in wedding bands is to choose from those that feature gems other than diamonds.

The most common options are pink and blue sapphires, since those two stones are not unheard-of in contemporary looks. However, you’ll also be able to find yellow diamonds, rubies, and emeralds that may also channel flowery appeal.

If you’re hesitant to have colored jewels in your wedding band, you may prefer them in your engagement ring. If that’s the case, the options are further expanded, and you’ll find that many designers utilize a treasure trove of colored gems in their rings–keep your eyes peeled for pink diamonds, shades of purple (such as tanzanite), and soft greens to really conjure the era.

Nature

Nature was the primary inspiration for Art Nouveau designers, and fortunately for contemporary brides, this theme hasn’t disappeared from the toolbox of modern wedding band designers. While you’re unlikely to see many of the common Nouveau themes at your local jewelry store, such as dragonflies and odalisques, many of the generation’s features are still subjects of bridal art.

One of the most remarkable looks that you’ll find among modern designs is the “trellis” look, where parallel hoops of metal (usually white gold) are used to support “vines” of a differently colored metal. These looping vines and leaves frequently hold rose gold flowers, pink diamonds, and so on.

Alternatively, it’s not difficult to find engagement ring pairings that embrace nature. Some designers sculpt the halos of diamond rings to look like petals or leaves, making these pieces truly embrace nature.

Decoration

One of the big trends of the Art Nouveau era was the idea of ars gratia artis–which means “art for the sake of art”. Without any didactic or functional expectations, designers were freed to create whimsical, bold, and purely decorative looks.

If you’re looking to channel the decorative spirit of the Art Nouveau period at your wedding, an ideal touch may be to decorate yourself with fashion jewelry. Your hands will be full with rings and flowers, which isn’t the best place to have some purely decorative elements. But if you’re looking to really try something cool, you can turn to vintage jewelry–try out dainty jeweled tiaras, or pin some remarkable enameled brooches to your dress.

Alternatively, if you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for, you may be able to stop by a trustworthy jeweler that’s an expert in custom jewelry design to work with them. If you bring in some ideas of themes from the era, it’s more than likely that you can get something in platinum and opal; something whimsically 1910s, to add to your wedding procession.

We Want to Hear From You!

We love discussing the various eras of jewelry art and how they can add to the beauty of modern women. If you’ve got an idea or a suggestion about a particular era, just let us know! Premiere Jewelry Designs is always up for hitting the history books for our readers!