These are the jewellery pieces which have defined a generation

From established jewellery houses, to up-and coming designers and avant-garde artists, a new book by Phaidon spotlights the stand-out jewellery from the last two centuries

A model wears brown bracelets and ammonite bangles
A model wears Monies copper bracelets, prehistoric ammonite bangle, and rings with rutilated quartz, garden quartz, and brown lip mother-of-pearl, 2013
(Image credit: Monies, est. Copenhagen, Denmark, 1973. Photography by Morten Bjarnhof. Image credit: Morten Bjarnhof & Monies)
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What makes a piece of jewellery iconic? It has to ‘influence, shift or make a considerable contribution to the evolution of jewellery,’ says editor Melanie Grant, who has been defining the criteria for the new Phiadon tome, The Jewelry Book. Over the last two centuries, the jewellery legends which have endured encompass striking design, considered craftsmanship and sharp innovation, a reflection of the unique status jewellery holds as an expression of freedom.

man wearing gold rings

Aurora Anthony wears the Johnny Nelson 4 Fingers of Def and Her Freedom four-finger rings, 2020.

(Image credit: Johnny Nelson. Image credit: Photo Danita Bethea / Johnny Nelson)

‘I felt it was important to include a variety of scale - including global brands, mid-sized and niche single artists,’ Grants adds on the artists, institutions, collectors and style icons who made the cut. ‘Also all cultures, art movements and eras, from the historical to the contemporary and also costume, fine, high and art jewellery. Within that, we pulled out seminal examples of creativity that flowed together in harmony when looking at the last 200 years of jewellery.’

woman wearing jewellery

Diana Vreeland wearing her signature warrior-style cuffs, 1982

(Image credit: Photograph by Priscilla Rattazzi. Image credit: Priscilla Rattazzi)

Jewellery in the book is both established – from heritage houses including Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier and Tiffany & Co – and contemporary; Joe Sheehan’s argillite chains and John Moore’s necklaces made from Morphit (clay mixed with recycled paper) are more modern additions. Artists who have dipped their toe into the jewellery world, including Louise Bourgeois and Salvador Dalí, are also included here. What unites them? ‘Greatness,’ says Grant.

black and diamond earrings

Sabba, est. Paris, France, 2014. Jet and diamond earrings in titanium and yellow gold, set with two marquise-cut diamonds weighing 2.35 and 1.69 carats, 2021

(Image credit: Courtesy FD Gallery, New York)

‘I hope jewellery experts discover new and unexpected people, ideas and moments in jewellery,’ she adds ‘For novices, students or hobbyists, I hope they will start their journey with us, by understanding the journeys of some of the most prolific instigators of jewellery over the past two centuries. For makers, collectors, designers, brand teams and the trade, I hope they see this as an important overview of a market constantly in flux. It's tough out there at the moment but it's important to remember that the entire course of jewellery is cyclical. Its depth of meaning owes much to its longevity and desirability as material culture.’

phaidon.com

woman wearing jewellery

Nikos Koulis. ME Collection one-of-a-kind necklace with 9.13 carats of pear-shaped white diamonds set in brushed yellow gold, 2024.

(Image credit: Photograph by Yiannis Bournias. Image credit: Courtesy Nikkos Koulis)

woman wearing jewellery

Hemmerle, est. Munich, Germany, 1893. One-of-a-kind bracelet in iron and white gold set with a diamond weighing more than 16 carats, 2023

(Image credit: hemmerle.com)
Hannah Silver

Hannah Silver is the Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor of Wallpaper*. Since joining in 2019, she has overseen offbeat art trends and conducted in-depth profiles, as well as writing and commissioning extensively across the worlds of culture and luxury. She enjoys travelling, visiting artists' studios and viewing exhibitions around the world, and has interviewed artists and designers including Maggi Hambling, William Kentridge, Jonathan Anderson, Chantal Joffe, Lubaina Himid, Tilda Swinton and Mickalene Thomas.

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