Visual Weight

DESIGN ELEMENT 5: VISUAL WEIGHT

In jewelry design, visual weight refers to the strength of a design element to attract the attention of the jewelry “eye”. One of the easiest ways to do this is to use an eye-catching color. For example, the Weiss pin in Figure 81 features bright fuchsia stones. They draw the attention of the “eye” because they have a stronger visual weight than the clear stones.

Figure 81: 2 ½” X 1 ½” Weiss pin advertised in 1957 as “Skyline” featuring fuchsia rhinestones. This was a popular design for Weiss and was produced in several different colors.

A designer sometimes includes an over-sized component with a strong visual weight in a design to draw the “eye’s attention.

The butterfly in Figure 82 is a DeLizza and Elster design. The large black stone on each wing is an oversized component compared to the size of the other stones in the design. The black color has a strong visual weight and is a powerful contrast to the white background.

Figure 82: The wings of this late 1960s 2 ¼” DeLizza and Elster butterfly pin feature contrasting black and white stones. The black stones visually dominate the design of the wings. The 1 ½” clip earrings repeat the contrasting black and white colors. The use of large stones to decorate butterfly wings is a recognizable trait of many DeLizza and Elster butterfly designs.

Schiaparelli is well-known for surrealist, unconventional fashions. The apple pin in Figure 83 is an unconventional depiction of an apple and an interesting study in the use of visual weight in a design.

Figure 83: Schiaparelli oval apple pin featuring yellow stones with high visual weights

Yellow is a strong primary color that immediately draws the “eye’s” attention, so the yellow cabochon stones have the strongest visual weight in the piece. The powerful yellow stones direct the “eye” to curve around the right side of the design establishing the oval apple shape. The matte yellow color contrasts with the sparkling blue aurora borealis stones. This contrast gives depth and dimension to the design and further emphasizes the shape of the apple.

Figure 84: 1960s era Jomaz pin abstract snake design

The Jomaz pin in Figure 84 is a more complex use of visual weight in a design. The motif of this design is a stylized snake. The graduating concentric circles of metal depict the coils of a snake. The large faux opal stone on the right is the snake’s head. The cluster of smaller faux opal stones on the left are the snake’s eggs. The component with the strongest visual weight is the swirl of gold tone metal. The shiny gold tone coils attract the “eye” and direct the “eye” to follow the “S” shape. Despite the size difference, the large stone on the right and the cluster of small stones on the left have similar visual weights. When both sides of a design have the same or similar visual weights, the design is balanced and comfortable for the “eye”.

A well-balanced design is the goal of most jewelry designers. Visual weight is an important tool in achieving balance, especially in complex designs. The next section, Design Element 6: Balance further defines the importance of balance in a design and the role visual weight plays in achieving balance.

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