Fashion is cyclical. We know this seems somewhat clichéd, but it’s true. Styles that were popular decades ago often make a comeback – with a modern twist. The same goes for jewellery, although in a slightly different way. A timeless jewellery style never really goes out of fashion. We’ve seen everything from Art Deco rings to ornate Victorian brooches reimagined in today’s looks, and when done right, vintage glamour feels effortlessly modern.
In many ways, vintage jewellery shares something with the golden age of casinos – think velvet-draped roulette tables, elegant cocktail dresses and glittering chandeliers. It’s that same sense of drama, indulgence and timeless style. Casinos from the 1920s to the 1950s weren’t just gambling hubs, they were social theatres where fashion and fortune mingled.
Learning how to play roulette wasn’t just about placing bets – it was a rite of passage into a glamorous, fast-paced world where elegance met entertainment. Today, the casino industry has evolved into a massive global enterprise, blending digital gaming with classic table traditions, but that old-world charm still inspires everything from luxury fashion to jewellery design. You don’t need to spin the wheel to embrace that timeless glamour – whether you’re going full-on 1920s flapper or channelling old-Hollywood elegance, there are jewellery styles to suit every budget.
Victorian glamour
From about the 1830s, jewellery started to become a bit more intricate. This is, perhaps, down to far cheaper access to stunning gemstones, pearls and enamel. It probably helped that Queen Victoria also had a habit of adorning herself with beautiful jewellery pieces, so the rich wanted to fit in.
It was around this time that we started to see some of the most beautiful brooches and lockets appearing. While there were a few gold-laden pieces to be found in the Victorian period, the prohibitive cost meant that it wasn’t really for everybody. However, you could expect to see a lot of jewellery featuring stones like black onyx. Mourning jewellery was especially popular around this time, since Queen Victoria spent a lot of her time mourning her dead husband.
Art Nouveau and Art Deco
In the 1910s, there was a hard shift towards jewellery that was a bit more unique. The Art Nouveau style couldn’t be further removed from Victorian-period jewellery if you tried.
Two styles were competing here. You had Art Nouveau, which relied heavily on natural patterns. You would have seen a lot of pieces of jewellery that featured animals, flowers and plants around this time. Insects were especially popular.
Art Deco was different. It was about geometric shapes and modernity. The world was changing, after all. This is where you would have found the most extravagant pieces, and only the world’s richest would have been able to afford them.
Casinos of the time, many designed with rich Art Deco interiors, became the backdrop for high society. Dressed to impress, wealthy patrons would gather around the tables, learning roulette rules as they sipped cocktails and flaunted extravagant jewellery. These pieces weren’t just accessories – they were symbols of status, success and sophistication.
Today, you don’t need to break the bank or hit the jackpot at a roulette table to embrace this look. Floral pattern jewellery, and jewellery that has geometric shapes and rather strong colours take inspiration from this period.
The 1930s
The 1930s and 1940s were when we would have seen one of the largest shifts in jewellery usage in the UK and overseas. A lot of this is thanks to a tremendous marketing campaign in which the De Beers company convinced everybody that diamonds were a great thing to use. Nowadays, you can’t escape them.
There would have been a lot of precious metals used around this period. This includes silver, platinum and gold. However, the designs were much more simplistic than what we had seen in previous eras.
Heading into the 1940s, jewellery pieces changed significantly. The world was gripped by war. People ditched their opulent pieces in favour of something simpler, partly due to money issues, and partly because they wanted to show that they stood in solidarity with everybody else.
1950s and 1960s
This was the era of Hollywood glam, hippies and counterculture. This was one of the first periods where people started to express themselves in terms of jewellery. It wasn’t something to show how much you fit in or to flaunt your wealth – jewellery could be a characterisation of who you were as a person.
There was a lot of opulent jewellery around this time. Diamonds were very much in, and they were bigger and better than ever. Large, layered necklaces were very much in vogue for those on the richer side of things, as were bib necklaces. However, this was also the era where we started to see charm bracelets, and more unique, colourful pieces of jewellery entered the mix.
1970s to 1980s
In the previous decades, metal jewellery pieces were very much in fashion. They still were as we headed into the 1970s, but we also started to see jewellery pieces that escaped the norm. Natural jewellery was very much a thing here (and is now). We are talking wood, beads, feathers etc. You don’t get it quite so much nowadays, but you will certainly see a few jewellery pieces that have been inspired by this period.
We were also starting to see jewellery that drew attention to the wearer. Bright colours, over-the-top pieces etc. Men also tended to wear a lot more jewellery around this time, particularly larger pieces that would have been kitted out with all sorts of stones. You also started to see punk jewellery, including chains and spikes.
Earrings also started to get much larger.
1990s to 2000s
And, as we said, fashion is cyclical. The previous decades in the world of jewellery had been marked by opulence, but now the fashion was starting to become much more minimalist again. Sophisticated jewellery.
Smaller necklaces and stud earrings were in. We also saw a lot of personalised jewellery around this time.
At the time of writing, we haven’t ventured far from this jewellery style. Of course, you do have a hefty number of vintage pieces to lean on if you’re looking for something different. So, don’t feel like you need to meet the norm when it comes to jewellery. This is a period of free expression. Do what you please.
