With the start of the 17th century Renaissance jewelry evolved gradually into a new style. Soft, flowing dresses with low necklines became the gowns of preference and new jewelry was created to go with the new fashion. Europe was divided by religious conflicts in the 2nd half of the 17th century, and many protestant craftsmen had to flee their Catholic countries of birth and seek asylum in the protestant states. The French court became the new leading fashion trendsetter. International trade flourished which allowed a middle class of merchants and craftsmen to rise and increase their wealth considerably. This allowed the bourgeoisie to start buying the kind of jewelry, which had been reserved for nobles before.
The last years of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th saw a gradual change of appearance in jewelry. The use of arabesque motifs, symmetry and a different type of gemstone setting caused these changes. Figure work eventually fell from fashion and the emphasis on bright colors created with enamel slowly made place for the brilliance of gemstones on gold. Gemstone setting was now focused on highlighting and enhancing the gem, more advanced cutting designs also allowed for a much greater diversity of available shapes.
From the end of the second decade of the 17th century jewelry designs started to become more and more naturalistic. This tendency started in France but soon spread over Europe through printed designs. The intensification of the trade with the near East had brought flowers to Europe, which had never been seen before, and exotic flowers became very popular. Flora, fashionable in embroidery since the end of the 16th century, was now adopted by jewelry designers. From the 1650's on engraving in metal was another, and later preferred, way of depicting flowers.
In the second half of the 17th century gem mountings became more delicate and the designs moved away from cluster settings to naturalism and ribbon bows. The bow is one of the most prevalent features of Baroque jewelry. Its origin is in the ribbon that was used to secure a jewel to a robe and turned into a popular motif itself. Made of precious metal and decorated with gemstones, pearls and enamel, the bow brooch or pendant is seen on many portraits and designs. By the end of the 17th century asymmetrical bouquets or individual flowers prevailed and the use of enamel diminished.
The dresses with low necklines was most commonly complemented by the wearing of sets of pearl jewelry. The Persian Gulf was the premier supplier of the extremely popular pearl in those days. Diamonds were extremely popular as well during the Baroque period. Their availability had greatly increased as a result of intensified trading with India by the Portuguese, British and Dutch trading companies who reached the country by sea. The Baroque brilliants were predominantly square to cushion shaped, with short bezel facets. Of the colored stones ruby, emerald and topaz were among the highest prized species. High quality imitation jewelry with strass was being produced on a large scale in order to meet the increased demand of the growing bourgeoisie.
Parures (a full set of matching jewelry designed to be worn together) of pearl jewelry, often containing a short necklace, drop earrings, a string for the hair and dress clasps for the bodice, sleeves and waist, are encountered in a great many of the portraits from the Baroque period. The earrings often were simple drop shaped pearls suspended from a golden earring but, by the 1650's, more elaborate earrings started to be worn. A new development was the watch, in the 17th century it became an ornament by itself. Just about every possible technique including gems on enameled fields, engraving, and embossing was unleashed to turn watch cases into the most astonishing jewelry items of their day.
Information used in this article is courtesy of The Antique Jewelry University
