Line

DESIGN ELEMENT 2: LINE

In a few strokes of the pen, a skilled artist can form an image the human “eye” recognizes. A series of triangles become mountains. A circle in the sky is a sun. Jewelry designers create beauty recognizable to the human “eye,” in a small space. The skilled use of line is essential to accomplish this and an essential component of most jewelry designs.

For the purposes of this book, there are three basic ways a designer utilizes lines in a design: to guide the “eye” to the point of central focus, to add contrast to a design, and to establish the general shape of the design. The following examples illustrate each of these techniques.

Figure 15: 1960s Alice Caviness 3” brooch and matching 1 ½” clip earrings featuring high-end, square-shaped Rivoli stones.

The Alice Caviness set in Figure 15 illustrates how a designer uses straight lines to guide the eye to the point of central focus. In this design the point of central focus is the center, square shaped, Rivoli rhinestone. Lines of marquis-shaped stones direct the “eye” to the center stone where beautiful, detailed elements surround this center stone enhancing its status as the point of central focus.

A Rivoli stone is a type of glass stone invented by Swarovski in the late 1950s or early 1960s. It has a pointed top and faceting all the way around. Most Rivoli stones are round, but some rare Rivoli stones are square. Both square and round Rivoli stones are available in many beautiful colors and hues.

Figure 16: Dating from the 1990s this 20” flower necklace by Kenneth J. Lane features five crystal flowers outlined by contrasting black enamel.

A popular tool in a designer’s repertoire is the curved line. In the hands of a talented designer its uses are endless. The Kenneth J. Lane necklace in Figure 16 uses contrasting black enamel to outline the curving shape of the floral components. The point of central focus in this design is the large double flower. By layering two flowers, outlined in contrasting black enamel, Lane draws the “eye” to this central component.

Figure 17: This 1960s era 3” seahorse pin by HAR illustrates the power of a curved line to define shape.

Sometimes a curved line defines the overall shape of the design. For example, the body of the HAR seahorse pin shown in Figure 17 is established by a simple curved line. The designer then adds interest to the curved shape with textured metal and colorful beads.

Figure 18: 1960s – 1970s era Kenneth Jay Lane 2 ½” X 2 ¼” butterfly pin made in two layers riveted together. The wings on both layers are outlined by gold tone metal in a zigzag pattern. As is often the case in well-made jewelry the crystal stones are set in silver tone metal to enhance the sparkle.

The Kenneth J. Lane butterfly pin in Figure 18 is an example of how a designer uses angled lines in jewelry design. A zigzag line of metal outlines the butterfly wings creating the illusion of fluttering wings.

COMPLEX DESIGN FEATURING SHAPE AND LINE

The examples previously shown for the use of shape and line in design were straightforward. The Original by Robért star pin shown in Figure 19 is more complex.

Figure 19: Original by Robért Filigree Star Pin/Pendant

The star shape is comprised of three 45-degree triangles without the bottom side, like a mountain peak. One triangle is straight, one triangle is angled to the left and one triangle is angled to the right. In addition to the three triangles, the center decoration in this example is comprised of three circles including a circular cup to hold the center stone, a circle of cups to hold the light sapphire stones, and a looping circle of wire.

Back view showing the complex layers of hand-soldered components.

The back view provides clues to the complex construction. First, a mold is pressed into a setting block comprised of a special material that holds the shape of the mold. Components including the cups to hold the stones, are placed into the correct, indented spaces and soldered into place. In this design the last component is a ridge of metal to add strength to the star design. After all the components are soldered, the frame is removed from the mold and the stones are set. In this case a hinged bale is added so the star can be worn as a pin or a pendant.

Left: Brass rail for strength Right: Hand-looped wire pattern

Finally, a highly skilled craftsperson outlines the design by hand with carefully placed loops of thin wire. This looping is referred to by collectors as filigree. The resulting star includes seven different layers of construction!

Filigree is an ancient art defined as thin wire twisted into a pattern.

Collectors recognize the specialized skill required to construct filigree jewelry especially the filigree designs signed Hobé and Original by Robért (Fashioncraft). Most of this filigree jewelry was made in the 1940s and 1950s but some may be newer.

The design of this star illustrates how an artist uses craftsmanship and detail to create a masterpiece, a “star” out of a star.

Author’s Note: Despite the complexity of this layered design, missing stones are easy to replace. Using a pair of pliers, and a gentle touch, the filigree wire lifts high enough to accommodate a replacement stone.

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