Shape

Chapter One: Six Elements of Design

DESIGN ELEMENT 1: SHAPE

Circles, Ovals

Circles and ovals are the most common shapes in costume jewelry designs. A full circle is a complete shape with full and comfortable harmony. There is no beginning, no end, and no angles. Circles are soft to the eye and give the impression of femininity. An oval is an elongated circle and evokes the same comfortable harmony.

Figure 1: This early 1940s 2 ¼” Coro Sterling circular pin was made by stamping the design of a bird eating berries out of a sheet of sterling. Right: The 1 ¾ X 2 ¼” 1941 *Norseland* by Coro Sterling oval-shaped pin is design patent number 127747.

The Coro jewelry shown in Figure 1 illustrates jewelry designs based on circular and oval shapes. These early examples of Coro jewelry are stamped out of sheets of metal.

Left: Simple stamped design Right: stamped design with the addition of a stamped back.

Stamped jewelry is made by pressing a hollowed-out metal form called a “die” into thin metal sheets creating a pattern with enough relief so that the design stands out from the flat metal sheet.

Figure 2: 1948 1 ¾” Coro horn pin design patent number 150620. It is a variation on a circular shape. Right: Early 1950s pavé rhinestone horse racing pin with a circular horseshoe shaped signed *Coro* in script.

The Coro jewelry designs in Figure 2 are circular shapes with added details. The overall shape of the horn pin is a broken circle. It is a stamped design embellished by prong set pearls and colorful stones. A back piece is riveted to the front to hide the settings. This design also features gold tone plating and a swinging chain. These details help to establish this as a faithful replica of a horn.

The attractive horse pin is a cast design. The rhinestone encrusted horse head is framed by an open circle resembling a horseshoe shape. The addition of the riding crop and black enameling adds interest to the design. The motif of this design is to depict the sport of horse racing and the details reinforce this idea.

Casting is an ancient process of melting metal and pouring it into molds.

Figure 3: 1956 Coro “Love Birds Bracelet” with 1 ½” charm illustrating a unique use of intertwining circles.

The Coro lovebirds charm bracelet shown in Figure 3 features one large circular charm. The two lovebirds are decorated with rhinestones and a pink heart. However, it is the clever perch design that adds the most visual interest to the bracelet. The perch is comprised of two intertwining circles encasing the cuddling lovebirds. These circles reinforce the theme of intertwining love and togetherness as well as add dimension to the design.

When evaluating jewelry by design, the more dimension, detail, and expensive construction included in a design, the more collectible the jewelry.

To further explore this idea, consider the Coro necklace, the Capri set, and the Jomaz set shown in Figures 4, 5, and 6. All these designs feature circular and oval shapes. However, they differ widely in the way these shapes are incorporated into the design, the quality of the construction and plating, and the quality of the details.

Each circular link of the Coro necklace shown in Figure 4 features a high relief, stamped flower element decorated with enameled leaves and red beads. The construction involved identical stamped links attached together.

The complex design of the Capri set shown in Figure 5 consists of a circle (a faux vintage coin) inside a circle of colorful stones. Note the eye-catching contrast between the old coin motif and the new looking, sparkling stones. The gold tone plating is antiqued to enhance the vintage coin motif. This design is more complex than the Coro necklace in Figure 4. It required two sizes of coin elements inserted into cast frames complete with settings for multi-shaped stones all with antiqued gold tone plating.

The Jomaz set shown in Figure 6 is a great example of how a skilled designer utilizes one well-made and well-designed component (the top-quality, oval moonstones surrounded by clear rhinestones) to produce an elegant design. The left moonstone flower is set on a curving stem decorated with baguette rhinestones. The bloom on the right is set at a slight angle to add interest to the design and a curving rhinestone leaf is added to anchor the design. This piece is finished with thick rhodium plating. The elegant design, expensive plating, high-quality moonstones, and elaborate use of crystal rhinestones are all indications of quality. The Coro necklace, Capri set, and the Jomaz set all feature oval or round shapes. However, the Jomaz set is the most collectible and the most valuable due to the elegant design coupled with the expensive use of materials.

Triangle, Diamond, Pyramid

Triangle and diamond shapes add boldness and strength to a design. For example, the two Art Deco style necklaces in Figure 7 are by Kenneth J. Lane. Both Art Deco style pendants are flat and feature triangular shapes in the design.

Art Deco is a design style that began in the 1920s and 1930s and features strong geometric shapes, precise lines, and bold colors.

Figure 7: Art Deco style 1970s Kenneth J. Lane pendants with defined geometric shapes. Left: 3” X 1 ¾” pendant with rectangular and triangular shapes Right: Kenneth Lane 2 ½” X 1 ¾” black and turquoise pendant with stacked circular and triangular shapes.

In the first example, rhinestones frame the opaque center rectangle. The stacking of cream enameled rectangles on the four sides gives the illusion of depth. These elements all frame the two center triangles. The top triangle is slightly smaller than the bottom triangle and directs the “eye” to the larger, center triangle. The larger center triangle is the point of central focus in this design.

The point of central focus in a design is the area where the artist wants to draw the “eye”.

The black and turquoise necklace on the right is a masterclass on how to overlap shapes to create a dramatic design. Lane does this using positive (solid) and negative (open) space. Visually positive space is stronger than negative space, so the solid circle is a stronger element than the open triangle and draws the eye to the center of the design. This use of positive and negative space, coupled with boldly contrasting colors, dramatically moves the “eye” to the center triangle and the point of central focus.

Figure 8: Art Deco style 1951 Trifari 15 1/2″ necklace and 2 1/2″ fur clip Des. Pat. numbers 164815, 164816.

The diamond shape is the star of the Trifari necklace and fur clip design shown in Figure 8. This well-known Trifari design features invisibly set, diamond-shaped rhinestones in a diamond-shaped frame. Set in this way, the individual stones appear to the “eye” as one element and are the point of central focus in this design. This is a strong, distinctive design that is easily recognizable as a Trifari creation.

A fur clip refers to a style of clasp with a spring mechanism and two long prongs popular in the 1920s through the 1940s. A dress clip has shorter prongs.

“Invisibly set stones” refers to stones set close together with no visible prongs, cups, or channels holding them in place.

Figure 9: 1960s era Selro/Selini set. The 8” bracelet is signed Selro but the 1 ¼” earrings are signed Selini.

The Selini bracelet and earrings set in Figure 9 is a well-known Selini design and an excellent example of how an artist combines a simple shape, the triangle, with interesting details to create a memorable eye-catching design. In this design the triangles are partially buried by the decorative stones and flowers. The individual triangles in each link direct the “eye” to the two floral elements decorating the point of each triangle.

Author’s Note: Jewelry marked Selini was made by Selro Corp. a company founded by Paul Selenger in the late 1940s. It is not unusual to find sets with both Selro and Selini signatures.

Figure 10: 1960s this 2 ¼” Vendôme pin and ¾” clip earrings with pyramid-shaped beads dangling from a diamond-shaped frame.

A talented designer sometimes unifies a design by repeating the overall shape in the design details. For example, the designer of the Vendôme set in Figure 10 expertly celebrates the diamond and pyramid (3-D triangle) shapes throughout the design. The design begins with a diamond-shaped frame. This frame is constructed with a pyramid-shaped grid. Then high-end pyramid-shaped beads are suspended from each grid. Finally, two triangles form the diamond-shaped base. The strong geometry of the overall diamond shape is mitigated by the soft movement of the beads.

Square, Rectangle, Cube

From the simplest design to the most complex; square, rectangular and cube shapes are popular in jewelry design. These shapes provide a strong structure and a comforting feeling of being grounded and solid.

Figure 11: 1955 Coro “Moonray” 16” necklace and 1” clip earrings feature square pink plastic stones.

The pink Coro necklace and earrings set shown in Figure 11 is an uncomplicated design produced in many different colors. The design begins with square, pink Lucite stones sometimes referred to as “Chicklet” stones due to their resemblance to Chicklet gum. These pretty pieces are set in gold tone frames arranged in a repeating link design. There are no embellishments other than the frame.

Author’s Note: Mid-century Plastic Jewelry by Susan Maxine Klein includes an interesting and informative chapter on this style of Coro jewelry. She writes:

“Moonray” actually refers to the type of plastic used in the jewelry’s manufacture…”Moonray” was a Lucite and styrene mixture…”
Klein, Susan Maxine. Mid-Century Plastic Jewelry. Atglen, Pa: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2005. p. 25.

The links in a repeating link necklace or bracelet are identical all the way around.

Figure 12: Each link of this 1955 Hollycraft 7 ¼” bracelet consists of square, domed-shaped, dimensional links.

Another example of how designers utilize the square shape is the Hollycraft link bracelet shown in Figure 12. Each link in this design is a square that is curved to add dimension to the design. Curving the links also adds wearable comfort to the bracelet. A line of rectangular baguette-shaped rhinestones stretches across the top of each link unifying the design and drawing the “eye” around the wrist. This design was also made in multi-color pastel rhinestones.

Figure 13: 1960s Hobé 16”, five-strand, pearl and Colorado topaz bead necklace with matching 7 ¼” bracelet.

The symmetrical necklace and bracelet shown in Figure 13 is signed Hobé. This design features five rows of pearl and bicone beads strung in a rectangular pattern, alternating between rectangles of pearls and rectangles of dark topaz beads. This type of stringing requires careful planning. The number and size of each bead must be selected so the pattern stays pure when suspended from the clasp. Each strand was strung on chain rather than string that could stretch and alter the pattern. The square clasp, decorated with dark topaz stones framed by baguette stones, continues the geometric design. the contrasting fall colors with the bright white pearls accentuate the sharpness of the geometric design.

Figure 14: 1960s era 25” Vendôme necklace with glass cube beads.

The Vendôme necklace shown in Figure 14 features cube-shaped beads strung diagonally. The beads graduate in size from small to large drawing the “eye” to the bottom center cube. Cleverly, the cubes are strung with tube-shaped beads of the same color, so when worn, the cube beads seem to float around the neck.

Author’s Note: The next section discusses the use of LINE in jewelry design. Each section builds on the information in the previous section. The complexity builds. When reading about LINE also look for shape in the overall appearance of a piece, in the details, and in the way LINE works with SHAPE in the design process.

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