René Jules Lalique

Lalique's primary jewelry design motif was the natural world. He was influenced not just by the natural world of the French countryside, but also Japanese natural world art motifs as well. And he incorporated into his jewelry many materials not widely used in his time for high end jewelry including glass, horn, pearls, semi-precious stones, enamel, and ivory. He only used the typical valuable gemstones of the period for what they brought to the piece artistically and not for their value as gems. Therefore his Lalique jewelry creations were not just holders for high value stones, they were artwork in their own right, creating a worldwide interest and a huge demand.