Intro to Arts & Crafts Movement Jewelry

Arts & Crafts jewelry was usually one-of-a-kind pieces. The movement started in England, where most pices were done in silver. Motifs were usually natural or abstract, using enamel and semi-precious stones to emphasize the style/shape of the piece instead of bling. Finishes were often dull as to not just "shine" but to contribute to the piece as a whole. It was different from the Art Nouveau work in that it had different motifs - definitely either more conventional ones or abstract pieces. Can be mistaken for it though.

English designers include:
C.R. Ashbee (considered a founder of the movement)
Birmingham guild of handicraft
Bernard Cuzner
CH Horner etc, etc

In the US, it was called The Arts and Crafts Revival and the jewelry tended much more to the abstract. Chicago was the major center for this movement. Perhaps the most famous of the groups was The Kalo Shop. There is a book on my wish list "The Chicago Metal Smiths" by Sharon Darling. It is a 1977 book but a great reference. They concentrated on non-precious metals like brass & copper for their pieces.

Unfortunately, many of the artists and workshops putting out this jewelry failed because the production was time-intensive and not suitable for mass production. Also, tastes were moving much more to the Deco style.The years are about 1880-1910. Some of the older jewelry (not the 1940s stuff) that we call "modernist" is Arts & Crafts.

If you search for work by the Kalo Shop, Jane Addams, The Chicago Arts and Crafts Society or Florence Koehler, you will find excellent examples of American A&C jewelry.

I have a couple of pieces I think are A & C but one is marked with an unreadable sig and the others aren't't marked -

Tags: Arts and Crafts Jewelry, Chicago metal Smiths, Kalo shop, antique jewelry, arts and crafts jewelry designers, arts and crafts revival

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Permalink Reply by MTippingAtelier-Admin on November 30, 2009 at 1:58pm

Thanks so much for this information!! I love the Arts and Crafts style, especially the English designers. I don't know much about the jewelry but lately I am really into the ceramic tiles of the period:)

Mary

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Permalink Reply by Acadian Crochet on December 11, 2009 at 10:14pm

Wow, really gorgeous stuff! Thanks for the beautiful pictures.

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Permalink Reply by Purple Daisy Jewelry on January 21, 2010 at 8:27am

Nice job, beautiful jewelry. WOuld love to hear more. This jewelry is still somewhat of a mystery to me and unless a piece is signed I am hesitant to attribute it as such. I need a book, too. So much to learn - don't think I can ever learn all of it!

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Permalink Reply by PaperHistory on January 24, 2010 at 11:43am

Dragonmum, I just recently ran across this site Chicago Silver while looking for some info on an American silver plate piece - didn't find what I needed, but the name "Kalo Shop" stuck in my mind ---- and then this comes up here!

(Obviously I'm a little behind the times, since this is almost 2 mos. old. We need a way for new articles like this to show up on the front page! unless they do already and this is just further proof that I should just take my time and pay more attention...)

Ooh! Here's another one: 1910 Metal

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Permalink Reply by V de B:Old and Modernist Jewelry on January 29, 2010 at 4:21pm

A great book on Arts & Crafts jewelry-- and by the way, it was produced in many countries--is Jewelry and Metalware in the Arts & Crafts Tradition by Elyse Zorn Karlin. It is published by Schiffer.

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Permalink Reply by Waalaa on February 13, 2010 at 4:53pm

Gorgeous pieces and wonderful information! I know very little about Arts and Crafts period and love to learn - thanks so much for all the info you provided - I need to look through my stash to see if I have any pieces!