Revival Jewelry

Jewelry that was specifically created to evoke a particular period in history is known as revival jewelry. The modern fashion world revives popular jewelry styles and eras to suit the tastes of the times. Common themes in revival jewelry include Egyptian, Native American, Celtic, Victorian, Edwardian, art deco, and art nouveau.

For instance, the rediscovery of Native American crafts in the US coincided with the ‘hippie’ counter-culture of the 1960s. Thus all through the early 1970s, silver and turquoise jewelry and Native American motifs like the squash blossom were all the rage. Revival jewelry also includes reinterpretation of the Byzantine style in fine jewelry design.

Gothic revival style jewelry incorporates a structural look to the design. For instance, jewelry motifs were inspired by Gothic cathedrals and included gargoyles, pointed arches and trefoil images. Griffins, dragons, and chimeras became interchangeable stylistic images of the time and myriad variations appeared on jewelry items like stickpins or watch fobs for men and on bracelets, earrings, pendants, or brooches for women.