How the Moon Landing Changed Jewelry History

The Apollo 11 astronauts-whose historic mission celebrates its 50th anniversary this week-left several things behind in addition to their footprints: a space module, medals of remembrance, a disc with messages of hope from leaders of 73 countries, several scoops and measuring devices, and 96 bags of human waste SPUTNIK & FRIENDSCartier continued to mark this territory as they returned to celestial topics with their "Sputnik" brooches in the 1960s-arguably the most well known evidence of the Space Age's influence on the jewelry world-and with the creation of the Lunar Module replicas to commemorate the 1969 moon landing Literal adaptations of space shapes are a key indication of how the era inspired jewelers, but the moon landing and the images that followed also shifted how jewelers worked with materials.

Ilias Lalaounis's Apollo earrings, commissioned by Ari Onassis for his wife Jackie after the moon landing, consist of an orbit-like sphere of hand hammered gold, also clearly meant to look and feel lunar-like TO INFINITY AND BEYONDThe sun, moon, and stars emerged as one of the most popular motifs of late 1950s through early 1970s jewelry, clearly inspired by the Space Age and the celebration of the successful moon landing of July 20, 1969 At the recent Las Vegas Jewelry Couture Show, the shapes and the textures the moon landing unleashed down on earth were still clearly visible.

If you need the enduring temptation of "Space by the numbers," consider that a pocket watch created by George Daniels to commemorate the moon landing sold at Sotheby's London this month for a record breaking $4.5 million. . Source