Last year, the art deco movement turned a hundred years old, with festivities carried out globally from Mumbai to Miami. One year on, the party hasn’t died out yet, and we can expect to see some gorgeous jewelry design inspired by the art movement in the New York-based jeweler Prounis’s upcoming collection, Moderne.
With this bold and striking collection, founder of the eponymous label, Jean Prounis, combines complex stone settings with evocative geometrical forms to produce delicate yet precise statement pieces that are versatile for a variety of occasions.
The visual language of the collection is inspired by Prounis’s grandparents’ New York City nightclub from the 1930s. Versailles was a destination for those with modernist sensibilities and a taste for the era’s storied nightlife. Through this collection, Prounis conjures up the image of an evening spent at the venue with silhouettes borrowed from the form of a lapel or the curve of a hemline.
A brand usually focused on ancient Greco-Roman designs staying true to the jewelry designer’s heritage, this collection is proof of the brand’s versatility when it comes to historical time periods. A particular favorite is the Chalcedony and Frosted Rock Crystal Jabot Pin made of sumptuous frosted rock crystal set in the label’s signature buttery solid 22 carat gold. Architectural pieces boast of jade, onyx, and diamonds, just as appropriate for an evening soiree or a solo coffee at the park.
A number of events are also scheduled around the launch of Moderne in the brand’s birthplace, New York City. Participants are invited to a pochoir workshop, to learn this sophisticated French stencil technique. A hand-coloring method once used for prints and book illustrations conjures up the artisanal visual story of the Moderne collection. In addition to this delightful workshop is a screening of the 1930s film Madam Satan which stirs up the spectacular image of the Jazz Age. Lastly, an event with the Art Deco Society of New York at the City Bank Farmers Trust building will discuss the movement’s art, architecture, and jewelry with the Society’s executive directors Dr. Matthew Postal and Ellyn Villar.
An exciting new design aesthetic for the brand, the Moderne collection only confirms Prounis’s multifaceted talent for working with a variety of materials to create enduring wearable objects that are worthy of being passed down to the generations to come.
