Can war change the way we wear jewelry?

Albertina Journal

Issue 02

World War I changed the world of jewelry, fashion, and the design language of the 20th century

There are moments in history when the world changes in a matter of weeks—and only years later do we realize that this was the moment everything began anew.

In the first issue, we asked whether jewelry could tell the story of humanity—the answer begins in one summer.

Summer 1914

Europe enjoyed unprecedented prosperity. Fashion houses presented new collections, ballrooms were illuminated by thousands of chandeliers, and the great jewelry houses competed with one another in creating the most exquisite, elegant, and innovative works ever seen.

Until that morning in the summer of 1914, no one had imagined that the war would change not only borders and empires but also the way humans created, wore, and viewed jewelry. The dresses, the jewels, and the world they knew were about to change forever.

The pre-war world was the Golden Age of elegance

The reign of King Edward VII in England and the decade preceding World War I were characterized by economic prosperity, a belief in progress and science, and a feeling that the future could only get better.

Only after World War I ended did Europeans begin to look back with longing at the years that preceded it and give them the name: La Belle Époque - The Beautiful Era.

The name Belle Époque was known to almost no one during the war. Only after World War I, out of a yearning for a lost world, did people begin to refer to the years before 1914 this way. Often, history gives eras their names in retrospect.

The great jewelry houses of Paris, London, and New York designed most of their jewelry in platinum—the noble metal that allowed for incredibly delicate yet durable work. Diamonds and natural pearls were combined into jewelry creations that looked like lace, floral bouquets, laurel leaves, twisting ribbons, bows, and garlands. Jewelry was not just an accessory of luxury; it expressed a world that believed progress would make the future even more beautiful.

On June 28, 1914, everything changed

A murder on the streets of Sarajevo changed everything. The assassination of the Austro-Hungarian heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, initially seemed like a local event, but within a few weeks, all of Europe was swept into a war the likes of which it had never known.

No one knew that this war would change not only borders and empires—it would change everyday life and influence every aspect of existence. It would change fashion and the way jewelry was worn.

No one imagined that a war that seemed short and local at its start would become one of the greatest turning points in human history.

When the world changes, jewelry changes too

Wars change much more than maps. Wars change the economy, family life, technology, and lifestyle habits; they change every field of life.

The jewelry world changes. Factories that produced jewelry are mobilized for the war effort, and raw materials—including platinum—become rare.

In the windows of jewelry shops, more and more pieces made of yellow and rose gold began to appear. Jewelry made of platinum was almost never seen—not because it had lost its prestige, but on the contrary, precisely because it was a metal of strategic value. A large portion of it was diverted to the military industry, and jewelry houses were forced to find new solutions—and thus, some of the most important innovations of the 20th century were born.

How did jewelry change?

The change did not happen overnight, but as the war dragged on, the raw materials and the design language changed. The soft and airy elegance of the Edwardian era began to give way to more restrained and simple designs.

Many women went out to work outside the home, and jewelry, like fashion, was adapted to this new daily life. The quality of craftsmanship also changed. In the absence of platinum, many jewelers emphasized delicate engravings, carved textures, and complex handiwork that gave jewelry beauty, even when set with semi-precious stones. Gradually, straighter and more geometric lines began to appear.

The change is also evident when we look at the pieces themselves. The difficult economic situation and the shortage of precious metals and stones led to the creation of more modest and delicate jewelry. Jewelers gradually returned to producing 9-karat, 10-karat, 12-karat, and 14-karat gold jewelry. The dimensions of the jewelry were smaller, and they carried an intimate nature. Instead of magnificent necklaces and pendants, there appeared heart-shaped pendants and oval lockets that opened to hold an engraving, a small gemstone, or a picture or lock of hair inside. Delicate and thin rings were set with colorful, often synthetic, gemstones that were available and inexpensive. Large diamonds almost disappeared, replaced by small, rose-cut diamonds that gave the jewelry a soft and subtle sparkle.

The jewelry expressed beauty, but did not seek to flaunt wealth. It expressed longing, memory, hope, and a desire to keep what was dearest close.

Many of the pieces created in those years were not ballroom jewelry; they were personal pieces. Pendants, rings, and brooches worn daily, close to the heart, carrying more emotional meaning than material value.

It was not yet the Art Deco style, but even then, one could feel that the romantic world of flowers, ribbons, and garlands was giving way to a new language—a clean, modern, and self-confident language.

White Gold

Until the start of the war, platinum was the most sought-after, preferred, and prestigious metal for Edwardian-era jewelry. With the outbreak of the war, governments—led by the US government and European nations—banned the use of platinum for civilian purposes and confiscated all stocks from jewelry houses for the war effort.

Jewelry manufacturers desperately sought a replacement for platinum that would provide its white, luxurious look and be available. In 1912, the German jeweler Karl Richter patented an alloy combining gold, nickel, and palladium, creating white gold, but at the time, there was no demand for it, and jewelry makers preferred platinum.

In 1917, due to the ban on the use of platinum and the confiscation of all stocks, jewelry manufacturers returned to searching for a substitute that would provide the white and luxurious look of platinum. The Belais Brothers company from New York introduced the commercial formula for 18-karat white gold and began marketing it aggressively as the official substitute for platinum.

What was born out of necessity became, within a few years, one of the metals most identified with 20th-century luxury jewelry.

The second wave of white gold—which we will discuss in a separate chapter—repeated itself during World War II, when the US once again confiscated platinum entirely for military use. This move permanently established the status of white gold as an unassailable standard for engagement and wedding rings, a status it retains to this day.

The wristwatch—when a necessity becomes fashion

One of the most surprising effects of World War I was not a ring, a necklace, or a brooch—but the wristwatch.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, men wore pocket watches, while wristwatches were considered a feminine piece of jewelry.

In 1904, Louis Cartier designed the Cartier Santos watch for his friend, the Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, who wanted to read the time without taking his hands off the controls. The watch was a revolutionary and unusual idea—the war changed this. Until then, the wristwatch was considered a piece of jewelry for women. Within a few years, it became an essential tool for officers, pilots, and later for everyone.

Officers and soldiers could not pull a pocket watch from their coats or vests while under orders or fire, and they needed a watch that would be available at a glance. The wristwatch went from being an unusual gadget to an essential work tool. The soldiers who returned home in 1918 did not return to pocket watches; they continued to wear the wristwatch in their daily lives. Thus, an item born of military necessity became one of the symbols of 20th-century masculine elegance. A few years later, Louis Cartier introduced the Cartier Tank watch—a timepiece inspired by the silhouette of World War I tanks, which became one of the most iconic watches in the history of design. Even today, more than a hundred years later, almost everyone who looks at the watch on their wrist carries with them, without knowing it, a legacy born in the trenches of World War I.

Many of the innovations we use daily were born from the needs of the war. The wristwatch is one of them. Within a few years, it went from being a piece of feminine jewelry to an essential work accessory, and for that reason, it is one of the most common personal items in the world.

The end of the war—1918—the beginning of a new world

When the cannons fell silent in November 1918, Europe certainly celebrated the peace, but it was no longer the same Europe, and the jewelry was no longer the same jewelry.

Europe mourned a whole generation, but from the destruction and chaos, a fierce desire was born to start anew.

Women did not return to their old places. They emerged from the war more independent, opinionated, and self-confident. They worked, earned money, made decisions, and sought to express their personalities—including through the jewelry they wore. The new world demanded a new language—a language that jewelry also began to speak.

Technology advanced, the pace of life changed, and the world of jewelry changed with them.

Platinum gradually returned to the jewelers' workbench. Slowly, the winding organic lines, laurel wreaths, flowers, and rich ornaments that characterized the Belle Époque were replaced by straight lines and clean, functional geometry. The designs became more restrained and precise.

A modern, new world, still without a name—but the seeds had already been sown, and from the ruins, one of the most important design styles of the 20th century was to be born—Art Deco.

In the next issue, we will discover how, out of the shortage, pain, and hope, a new design language was born—Art Deco.

We will follow the flowers, the geometric lines, and the new materials, and see how the war became an engine for unprecedented creativity.

Read about this in the next issue of Albertina Journal.