European Jewelry: Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries

(via 5000 Years of Gems and Jewelry) Frances Rogers and Alice Beard writes:

1. Rococo

Long after the death of Louis XIV the ‘Grand Monarque style’ continued to influence the world of fashion, spreading into many other lands besides France.

Now there had been certain rules of proportion and composition of design drawn up by the purists of the Renaissance; nevertheless, when the jeweler broke a few of these mandates and introduced a carefree twirl of golden ribbons or a forbidden scallop there was undoubted charm in the result. But as time went on the propensity to ignore all fundamental rules of design increased, in some instances, to the point of absurdity. Scrolls, curlicues, ill-proportioned masses and gimcrack detail invaded many fields of art and craft besides that of jewelry. This fantastic style of design is known as rococo, and it lasted well into the eighteenth century, with reverberations in the nineteenth century.

Since the new method of faceting diamonds had centered interest in this gem, quantities of diamonds had reached England; these and other large stones were mounted by the goldsmith in rococo settings, while the artist in fine metalwork played only second fiddle.

Reversing the fable of the ugly duckling, the once charming fledgling known as rococo, grew into a lumpish and ungainly maturity during the next half century.

European Jewelry: Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries (continued)