Plucked as though from oil paintings hanging in a museum, these pieces were created with vintage cameos, intaglios, and scarabs sourced in France, as well as vibrant hand-cut glass stones from Germany.
jewelry from antiquity to aristocracy
inspired by the world's great museums
This collection began as a musing on the houses of history and art that drew our founder, Paula, through their doors from the time she was less than twenty years old. The Louvre and Musée d'Orsay, Victoria & Albert, The New York Met—all of these have become favorite haunts over the last few decades, inspiring endless creations, some of which you'll find here.
Artful and eclectic, with an air of eccentricity, these jewelry pieces were envisioned from sculptures and oil paintings, period dramas and ancient artworks captured in carnelian and bronze. Rare golden treasures trapped behind glass only to gleam in endless temptation have been replicated in our jewelry, then given a unique twist thanks to our jeweler's ingenuity and Paula's eye for design.
jewelry like a stained glass window
Our initial collection began with the Aristocrate jewelry trio, cast from a handful of vintage charms and coins Paula had brought back from the brocantes of France and markets of Germany.
Musing on the timeless displays of crown jewels laid over velvet, and oil paintings vivid with color, she reimagined these metal jewelry charms as tiny pieces of art woven between vibrant, hand-cut glass stones found in Germany—as colorful and diverse as the stained glass windows dotting both countries and every major city in Europe.
Radiant and distinctive, the aristocrate pieces were strung together with fifteen charms, coins, cameos, and intaglios—a delicate yet powerful collection purposefully mismatched to catch the light from every angle.
Woven into a framework of genuine Carnelian and Taiwan jade, freshwater pearl and Czech black diamond crystal pavé, each piece of the trinity promised protection, strength, creativity: intention laced with beauty and charm.
lady with doves | inspired by sculpture
a classic cameo
Cream-colored and classic, this German glass cameo depicts a tranquil lady and her three doves, offering a message of serenity and devotion to the wearer.
The art of intaglio itself will be outlined in another blog, but here we see the subtle beauty of this ancient practice in a gently sloping design.
Imagine a lady of Ancient Greece, wrapped in layers of soft linen pinned over one shoulder with a heavy brooch. It's a motif seen in Victorian paintings often enough, but better yet in statues and sculptures left behind.
PAIRED WITH HISTORY
In thinking of the inspiration behind this jewelry, we couldn't help styling the pendant necklace with a piece of our original home in Savannah: a French blue-painted bit of iron from the historical building in which Fallen Aristocrat was born.
If ever you're curious to see the collection in full and in person, The Paris Market just may need to take precedent on your travel itinerary.
religious emblems & portals of glass
In our museum jewelry collection, we have several designs cast from antique religious charms, prayer tokens, coins, and pieces that might have rested at the ends of rosaries or other such chains.
Below is the Petite Saint Charm, cast with an image of Saint Mary on one side wearing a crown with the infant Christ curled up on her lap, and a fully-grown Jesus Christ on the other half with a sacred heart burning beneath his hand.
But beyond these, our own imagined museum holds a Looking Glass Locket and Vintage Monocle Charm, meant to encourage your eyes to glance beyond the known and into the world of knowledge, reason, art, and lore.
materials of the ancient world
We would be remiss to lay out a jewelry collection of pieces inspired by paintings and statues without turning your eyes to the materials themselves: Carnelian, Lapis Lazuli, and more.
Each cabochon and carefully-carved design had to start with some prima materia at hand.
Carnelian Pendant Charm
Carnelian is among the most ancient of gemstones, the earliest samples of its use in jewelry dating back to the Bronze Age.
Unearthed in civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Egypt, and the Indus valley, geologists theorize that the first-ever usage of carnelian actually began in Bengal, India when miners discovered that placing the brownish, raw gemstone in the sun for several days would transform it into a vibrant, fiery red.
This genuine carnelian cabochon has been known to encourage creativity, courage and positive energy since the age of antiquity. Fashioned into a pendant, it may be worn at the end of a singular chain or among a collection of charms at your wrist.
earrings pulled from paintings
Portraits are a window to the past. They reveal what luxury meant in the 18th century, what materials were available and how they might be fastened onto golden thread.
Musing on a few particular favorite portraits such as the Girl with the Pearl Earring and the Hall of Beauties gallery in Munich, Germany, we created these two pieces: the Portrait Pearl Earrings and the Moss Green Drop Earrings.
Portrait Pearl Earrings
Inspired by the delicate, oblong pearl drop earrings found in oil paintings across Italy and France, these earrings begin as a brilliant green stone stud that drops into a freshwater pearl encased in gold. Romantic, soft, and sensual—worthy of a museum.
Moss Green Drop Earrings
Inspired by the quietly romantic, brass-drop earrings and mossy shades of green found in oil paintings across Europe.
These earrings feature the same green charm as our Aristocrate pieces hold, but with a delicate golden drop hanging from below.
About Fallen Aristocrat
Fallen Aristocrat is a jewelry line inspired by travel, history, and imperfect things that tell a story. Handmade in the United States, the jewelry is cast in brass and luxuriously plated in antiqued gold for a storied look of time.
Designer Paula Danyluk, owner of the renowned Paris Market in Savannah, Georgia, has long been drawn to things with a past. Musing on her own personal collection of vintage charms and French coins, she set out to create a new generation of heirloom jewelry by creating pieces that feel at once extravagant and everyday, modern with a vintage appeal.
Our debut collection of Fallen Aristocrat is named the First Empire and features four series: Bonaparte, Romonov, Museum, and Lover’s Eye—but we've added on others since. Explore them in our collections at the top of the site!
Fine Art Photography set in France is by Jamie Beck, featuring model Louise Pascal wearing our Aristocrate line in the opening and closing images, as well as the Carnelian piece at center.
Modern Photography set in NYC is by Kyla Rys, featuring our Lady with Doves pieces, as well as the new Portrait Pearl Earrings.