The selling exhibit places its emphasis on accessible, wearable mid-century pieces—those that reflect a cultural shift toward jewelry that’s subtle enough for the office and elegant enough for an evening soiree. “These pieces mean a lot to the people who buy them, but they don’t look like [they’re worth] a tremendous amount of money,” he says. “You don’t look at them with a dollar sign. You look at them because they’re fun designs.”
Deceptively Modern Jewelry features enough gold to make King Midas smile: a Cartier Paris gold triangular bracelet and necklace, George L’Enfant bracelets and earrings fashioned from linked discs and ovals of gold, and a striking circa 1940s “gas pipe” bracelet, to cite just three. Schaffer explains that wartime restrictions placed gold off-limits to jewelers. Once the restrictions were lifted, designers re-embraced the metal with gusto. “They had almost, in essence, forgotten the use of gold,” Schaffer says. “It was like a new material. It exploded on the market and people took advantage of it.”