L’École celebrates Art Deco’s 100th anniversary

On the occasion of the centenary of the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in Paris, L’École, School of Jewelry Arts presents a rich program promoting the Art Deco movement in jewellery through all of its activities.

The ‘Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes’ (International Exhibition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts) held in Paris, 28 April 1925 – 25 October 1925 celebrated the decorative arts. With over 15 million visitors it marked the heydays of the Art Deco style. This movement in the arts and architecture originated in the 1920s and developed into a major style in western Europe and the United States during the 1930s.

Born as a reaction to the sculptural and organic shapes of Art Nouveau, Art Deco hailed a return to a classic order in architecture, decoration and furniture, inspired by geometry and stylised motifs and the symmetry of the Viennese Secession.

In 2025 L’École, School of Jewelry Arts celebrates the centenary of the 1925 exhibition with a new course cycle, online and in-person conversations and book selection.

The ‘Paris 1925: Following the Trail of Art Deco Jewelry’ courses and ‘The Pearl, Queen of Art Deco’ talk will be held in Paris, throughout the year – see the exact dates here.

Located on the first floor of the Hôtel Mercy-Argenteau, the library at L’École houses over six thousand works on gemology, the history of jewelry, art history and savoir-faire. The librarians selected works from the Art Deco period and these are available for perusal on site or you can buy books in the school’s very first bookshop, L’Escarboucle.

For those who can’t make to Paris, a new podcast episode, ‘Art Deco, Towards a New World’ and an online talk will be available in March.