This transparent Art Deco staple is bringing a cool, retro look to contemporary fine-jewelry collections.
Rock crystal is becoming prevalent among designers of late, joining the broadening list of stones and minerals considered worthy of inclusion in fine jewelry. Meanwhile, the brands that have long embraced this gem continue to innovate and create new collections that place it front and center.
Rock crystal’s inherently modern appearance was one of the reasons it became a favorite for the monochrome Art Deco jewelry of Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Boivin. Suzanne Belperron made rock crystal part of her distinctive, voluminous design signature, making the most of a material that allowed for extraordinary lapidary feats. This versatility makes it well suited to the more surreal designs with which high-jewelry houses have been experimenting: Cartier, Boucheron, Chaumet and Chanel have all created collections featuring crystal in the past 12 months.
Links to the past
David Webb has a storied history with rock crystal, and the brand’s Twilight collection continues this narrative. Reverence for a grand retro style has resulted in large chunks of fluted, carved and contoured rock crystal permeating the David Webb pantheon, while many of its sautoirs and bracelets incorporate the clear quartz stone as links.
Influenced by the Parisian Belle Époque and Venetian architecture, Swiss jeweler Nadia Morgenthaler employs rock crystal in faceted drops that echo the dramatic aesthetic of chandeliers. Combined with her delicate color palettes, these create an air of undeniable romance, with soft pink pearls, morganites and spinels sitting alongside diamonds and rock crystal in blackened gold.
The chameleon of gems
New York-based Temple St. Clair shares that her “rock crystal amulet is one of the first jewels that I ever created, and has become my most iconic piece…. The transparent yet luminous quality of the rock crystal is chameleon-like, becoming essentially an extension of its owner.”
Italian jeweler Vhernier would agree; its Trasparenza technique, which it developed in-house during the late 1980s, is based on the optical illusion rock crystal can achieve. Highly polished, transparent rock crystal is placed atop a spectrum of precious stones, where it acts as either a magnifying glass or a fun-house mirror, depending on whether it’s carved in a simple dome or faceted. The superimposed stone brings out the play of colors and textures in the gems underneath it.
Timeless fashion
Emerging jewelry talent Loren Teetelli of California-based Loren Nicole describes herself as having “a deep relationship with rock crystal.” The designer exclusively uses her own alloy of 22-karat yellow gold in her jewels, and the combination of this rich metal with the bright effervescence of rock crystal creates a dramatic effect. As an avid practitioner of ancient techniques, Teetelli is also drawn to the material because it features in some of the earliest examples of jewelry making.
The timeless appeal of rock crystal and the opportunities it presents give this gem serious staying power in jewelry design, from personal, subtle talismans to epically proportioned sculptures.
Main image: Loren Nicole carved Hellenic bangle with rock crystal and 22-karat gold.
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