The Atomic Age in Jewelry

It's not a surprise to learn that jewelry fashions often reflect what's going on in society.  We are all familiar with Goth jewelry, fantasy jewelry, love beads and ethnic jewelry that reflects certain tastes.  But I think one of the most interesting and unusual jewelry styles came about in the late 1940's and 1950's reflecting our interest in space.

The atomic bomb has been developed - and unfortunately used.  Atomic testing was common in the deserts of the Southwest and news of them filled the broadcasts.  And the United States and the USSR had joined in the space race to see who would be the first to put a satellite in orbit.

Jewelry reflected this interest in space and the atomic bomb. Small brooches and scatter pins were popular items at that time.  Many of them were decorated with rhinestones and depicted a sort of mini-explosion as seen from the top. These brooches often had several tiers, giving them a slightly mushroom look.

Variations of stars, comets and other space bodies were  also often used used as design elements reflecting our interest in the space race.  Sometimes all the elements would even be combined.

Even the hula hoop reflect the interest in space.  There we all were, orbiting the hoop around our bodies, entering contests to see who could do it the longest.  One of my most vivid memories is  standing in the back yard, gyrating and staring at the sky wondering if I could actually see Sputnik.