Definition: in jewelry, an elaborate, colorful style popular in the second half of the 19th century that set out to imitate 15-17th century jewelry motifs and styles, reflecting the renewal of interest in Renaissance artists and craftsmen such as Hans Holbein and Benvenuto Cellini; characteristics include extensive use of enameling, jeweled and scrolled frames of bright gold, openwork designs of quatrefoils or trefoils, dangling chains, baroque pearls or cameos, especially in the center of the piece, and detailed figures - like small-scale sculptures - depicting mythological creatures, cupids, or animals; these figures were carved on both sides, creating a three-dimensional scene (see photo, More Images)
Associated with these designers: Castellani, Guiliano, Fouquet, Louis and Jules Wiese
Example: Some scholars believe Renaissance Revival jewelry was originally made as deliberate counterfeits of 15th-, 16th- and 17th-century pieces, to fool the growing number of Victorian aristocrats interested in collecting Renaissance gems.