Echoes of Elegance: The Art Déco Jewellery Between Heritage and Contemporary Revival

An Everlasting Aesthetic

Held during the May 2025 edition of GemGenève, the roundtable “Echoes of Elegance: Art Deco Jewellery Between Heritage and Contemporary Revival” brought together a distinguished panel of voices from the jewellery world to explore the enduring allure of Art Deco. Chaired by jewellery business consultant Donatella Zappieri, the discussion included renowned jewellery historian Amanda Triossi, dealer and collector Alexandre Torroni, designer Alice Villa (of Milanese maison Villa Milano), and Paris-based designer Valérie Danenberg.

Together, they engaged in a lively discussion about the many facets of Art Deco — its origins, its global impact, its distinctive aesthetics, and the subtle yet persistent revolution it sparks in today’s jewellery scene. One hundred years after the 1925 Paris Exhibition that established its name and visual identity, Art Deco remains far from a relic of the past. It is a vibrant style that goes beyond nostalgia to inspire new generations of designers, collectors, and wearers alike.

Art Deco’s Signature Language

Jewellery historian Amanda Triossi began the discussion with a bold challenge: how to sum up Art Deco in just a few words? Her answer was: linearity, geometry, colour, stylisation, and eclecticism. From the Egyptian Revival following the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb to the emergence of new diamond cuts like baguettes and trapezoids, Art Deco absorbed influences from around the world and transformed them into strikingly modern forms. “Technology helps design,” Triossi noted — a reminder that this was a movement of both surface and substance.

She also drew attention to the way jewellery aligned with evolving social dynamics. The iconic long pendant earrings, for instance, filled the new space between short, bobbed hair and bare necks, echoing women’s newfound freedom in the postwar era. Jewellery became a way to express modernity, femininity, and movement — a luxurious complement to the “joie de vivre” of the 1920s. As Zappieri underlined, women’s changing roles during and after World War I shaped both style and function. Art Deco was not merely a decorative trend; it was a language of liberation.

Masters of Form: From Alfredo Ravasco to Contemporary Craft

Dealer Alexandre Torroni introduced the audience to the extraordinary work of Milanese jeweller Alfredo Ravasco — a name that may be less familiar to the general public but deeply admired among connoisseurs. Ravasco’s pieces are sculptural marvels, often built on vivid stone bases such as lapis lazuli, malachite, or chalcedony. These foundations offered both visual strength and textural contrast, allowing carved animals, precious gems, and metallic forms to rise with almost architectural clarity. “He created three-dimensional pieces that are rare and deeply collectible,” Torroni explained, noting how many remain in private Italian or European collections today.

This intersection between French Art Deco influence and Milanese craftsmanship also informs the vision of Alice Villa, creative director of the family-run Villa Milano brand. As a fifth-generation designer, she mines the company’s rich archive for inspiration, balancing history with innovation. “The past is one of the main sources for me,” she shared. “It’s like writing something new on lined paper.”

Her recent designs play with signature Deco elements — austere lines, geometric balance, and the use of hard stones like moonstone and onyx — but with clever updates such as detachable beads that transform necklaces for multiple uses. Her commitment to timeless elegance, restrained luxury, and adaptability speaks to the modern consumer who values both heritage and function.

“Milan is always in a hurry,” Villa observed. “Our clients want jewellery that adapts — efficient, elegant, understated. We even mount big diamonds in copper rings sometimes — because style, not status, is what matters.” Her take evokes a cultural philosophy in which jewellery is not about display, but about design intelligence and emotional depth.

On the other side of the Alps, Valérie Danenberg embodies a Franco-American sensibility rooted in the golden age of Art Deco. Raised by parents who opened an Art Deco gallery in Paris in the late 1970s, Danenberg spent 20 years immersed in the world of antique masterpieces by Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and her personal muse, Suzanne Belperron. From collector to designer, she found her voice by blending classic Deco motifs — symmetry, strong lines, and semi-precious materials — with contemporary wearability.

“I design jewellery for women,” she emphasised. “It has to move, to feel like a second skin.” Her workshop tests each finished piece by passing a silk scarf through it. “If it snags,” she said, “it’s not done.” Her “Victory” collection revives the archetypal 1930s engagement ring using calibre-cut rubies or sapphires, updated in octagonal or round shapes. Each piece is meticulously hand-finished using traditional techniques like milgrain beading — “slow jewellery,” as she calls it, lovingly crafted over weeks or even months.

New Gen Déco: Reinterpreting the Past, Designing the Future

Art Deco’s legacy isn’t confined to memory — it pulses vibrantly through today’s emerging talents. To celebrate the style’s centenary, Amanda Triossi invited her students at the IED (Istituto Europeo di Design) in Rome to take part in a special initiative: New Gen Déco. The brief? Create a contemporary piece of jewellery inspired by Art Deco principles.

The results were ingenious. A pair of titanium earrings, inspired by classical Indian dance, spin and shimmer with motion, their modern materials and pivoting structures echoing both performance and elegance. A fan-like brooch made of titanium, black enamel, sapphires, and coral captures the dramatic geometry of Deco while remaining entirely of the moment.

Other designs delighted the audience with their creativity and meaning: a double ring inspired by Mumbai’s Art Deco architecture; a platinum teapot ring with a hidden Chinese knot inside; a sleek gold cube pendant that opens to reveal an aquamarine, aptly named “Backstage.” Many of the pieces shared a common feature: movement, transformability, and surprise.

As Triossi observed, this was not part of the original brief — it simply emerged: “They all move, or reveal something hidden. Perhaps this is what contemporary Deco is becoming.”

These projects revealed not only technical skill but deep reflection on cultural identity, sustainability, and emotional resonance — all qualities deeply aligned with Art Deco’s core values. “If you don’t evolve,” Villa added, “the new generation will not understand you. They expect more. They push you to do better.”

The Enduring Allure

As the roundtable drew to a close, each speaker reflected on what keeps Art Deco so powerfully relevant.

For Amanda Triossi, it’s the line — “the straight line that changed jewellery forever.” For Valérie Danenberg, it’s timelessness: “Perfection never goes out of fashion.”

Alice Villa described Deco as an antidote to overstimulation — a way to rediscover beauty through balance and simplicity. Alexandre Torroni summed it up with a collector’s eye:
“In one second, you see it’s Art Deco. It’s instantly recognisable.”

The conversation revealed not just admiration for a past style but a commitment to carrying its values forward through craftsmanship, cultural exchange, sustainability, and storytelling. During the Q&A, a guest from Casablanca reminded the audience of Art Deco’s global reach:

“Casablanca is a major Art Deco centre. Our gold belts, our architecture, our jewellery — all tell a story of Art Deco through our own culture.”

Whether through iconic earrings of the 1920s or a modern student’s titanium ring, Art Deco continues to speak. Not in whispers, but in elegant, confident lines — constantly reinterpreted, never obsolete.

Speakers: Donatella Zappieri, Amanda Triossi, Alexandre Torroni, Alice Villa and Valérie Danenberg