Jewelry styles that defy any trend

The chunky gold chains of the eighties. Nineties choker necklaces. Nameplates of the early aughts. If you can pinpoint a specific jewelry trend for any given decade, chances are you’ve lived it—or more likely, relived it. Because everything that was old becomes new again, at one point or another. But for many of these jewelry trends, we see passing fads getting new life, to be enjoyed by new generations for a short time before retreating back to join the ranks of the “remember those?” fashions. But there’s one style of jewelry that is different: vintage.

Technically classified as anything 50 years or older, the vintage styles most commonly sought after hark from the Victorian, Art Nouveau, Edwardian, and Art Deco eras—or, from the mid-to-late 1800’s through the 1930’s.

For shoppers wanting to pop the question this holiday season, look to romantic engagement rings kissed with vintage style: Victorian-inspired, with its floral motifs, bezel-set stones, and engraving; Edwardian, with its lacy filigree, clustered, and multi-stone settings; and Art Deco (a fan favorite), with its sleek, angled settings, taking on a slightly less feminine but equally breathtaking style. There is a wealth of options present no matter what the timeframe, to fit the demands of any bride, from those with an eye for detail and the ultra-feminine, to others with a flair for less conventional, shapely pieces. You may find, as you research and browse every kind of engagement ring look imaginable, that a number of trends have come and gone (and come again), but rest assured, you won’t find that happening with vintage style pieces. Hey, they’ve been beloved since the 1800’s—why stop now?

Speaking of the holiday season: there’s just something about this time of year that invokes vintage style, isn’t there? Perhaps it’s the long list of soirees that calls for flapper fashions, or the celebratory feeling in the air that inspires layers of long pearls and swingy, sparkly earrings. Whatever the reason, styles of the times gone by are fabulously fit for not only holiday gifts, but self-gifts, too (because of course you need new jewels for that office holiday party). Look to Prohibition-era fashions your most festive options: sparkling pins (to adorn the hair and clothes), geometric bracelets and rings, and jewel-toned pops of color. Delicately demure styles—like the lacy looks of the Edwardian era—will clinch the floaty feminine aesthetic encouraged by an ethereal gown worn to a winter’s ball. We’re talking light-as-air earrings and even choker necklaces (who said the nineties did it first?) that promise to steal the spotlight no matter where you go.

It’s hard (impossible, rather) to recall a time when jewels such as these were ever not popular: Vintage jewelry falls under the category of sure-bet pieces that shoppers can feel confident about purchasing, even at higher price points. Romance is written into their design—a sentiment that can be felt with one glance, even more so with a lifetime of wear. From the brides slipping on the perfect ring that symbolizes the start of a new adventure to the fun and fancy free woman getting accessorized to dance all night, there really is something for everyone.