At the end of World War II, designer Christian Dior blew away the fashion world with his lavish and feminine “New Look”. Dior focused on colors, floral motifs and volume, in sharp contrast to the austerity of wartime fashion. Joan Crawford is often identified with this style, with her nipped waist accentuating her shoulders and long, feminine skirts. Echoing this change in fashion was the introduction of Retro jewelry, which replaced the geometric patterns of the Art Deco movement with curvy, open, asymmetrical pieces. In fact, Retro was in many ways the anti-Deco, and represented a changing mindset as nations emerged from the Great Depression and war. Whereas Art Deco was predominantly made of platinum and diamonds, giving it a sleek, industrial look; Retro jewelry consisted of colorful pieces with more naturalistic themes symbolizing life and hope. Rubies and diamonds were the colors
du jour, and gold replaced platinum, after the latter become scarce during wartime rationing.
This 18kt gold flower brooch is a perfect example of Retro jewelry. Like the
stunning retro ring we featured previously, it is made of rose gold with rubies and diamonds. Although it is just two inches in height and 1.5 inches wide, this piece is quite animated and full. Each petal of the flower is manipulated to make the piece more 3-dimensional. All of these elements make this a classic 1940’s Retro piece.
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