That '70s Showstopper

The list of regrettable fashion statements from the 1970s is legion—leisure suits and ankle-breaking platform shoes spring to mind—but the era’s jewelry is a different story. Sculptural and dramatic, at times whimsical or Pop Art–inflected, the designs are now getting a favorable second look.

The reasons for the Me Decade’s ascent are plentiful. While the antique diamonds of European royals or top Art Deco finery may grab headlines for their glittery provenances and the multimillion-dollar prices they command, the exuberance and (relative) accessibility of pieces created 40 or 50 years ago make them appealing targets for nascent collectors. They’re also a heck of a lot easier to work into an everyday wardrobe than a rivière or a tiara.

Then there’s the zeitgeist, which seems to be on the side of the 1970s. Recent releases of phone book-sized tomes on leading jewelry designers of the period, including Aldo Cipullo and which started streaming just months after she died in March. (Peretti was the fashion designer’s friend and muse.) A current exhibition at the Cincinnati Art Museum, which features famous names (Boucheron, Cartier, Bulgari) alongside smaller-scale makers, is further evidence of the resurgent interest.