Art Deco Jewellery: McTear's Specialist Jewellery Auctions, Glasgow

The term ‘Art Deco’ came from L’Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes which was an exhibition held in Paris in 1925. The Art Deco style had begun to emerge in the previous decade but it was due to this exhibition that the style became acknowledged internationally and was able to become so popular and powerful in the design world. The strong lines and geometry of Art deco are superbly suited to jewellery design and manufacture in which stones are faceted with strong symmetry and to geometrically-defined rules. Moving away from the previous Art Nouveau style, one of sinuous and organic extravagant designs, Art Deco jewellery represents a ‘simplicity and severity’ of jewellery settings that set a stage for the gem stones to dominate. Unlike the Art Nouveau style and countless eras of design before, the beauty of Art Deco jewellery is in their ability to inspire awe, not with complexity of design, rather with their strong dominant lines and exaltation of gem stones. McTear's hold specialist jewellery auctions every five weeks, please contact us if you would like to discuss selling, sarah@mctears.co.uk 0141 810 2880.