A central ground of common sense and classical design was firmly maintained by Peter Carl Fabergé and the House of Fabergé, which designed many of the jewels at the turn of the century and continued popular among the Edwardians. The great World’s Fair in Paris in 1900 showed a fresh interest in design, and the use of such materials as translucent enamel, ivory, and horn. The influence of the Orient showed in these materials; it was also evident in larger and more colorful earrings and the multiplicity of bracelets. Hair styles played their part in the shaping of jewelry. The pompadour in front, with chignon, increased the output of tortoise-shell combs, often studded with diamonds, and of _fourches_, large two-pronged hairpins similarly adorned. After 1914, the vogue of bobbed hair shifted production from combs to diamond slides. At the same time, the exposed ears made ear ornaments de rigueur. As many persons objected to having their ear lobes pierced for earrings, the earclip became popular; today it is almost universal in feminine fashion. About this time, too, short sleeves led to an increased use of bracelets, often worn several on one arm. Especially popular has been the bangle bracelet, a band of gold from which are suspended coins, figures of men and animals, and other tokens and mementos. Sometimes golden disks are engraved with sentimental designs or sayings; sometimes the words are humorous, the figures grotesque. Platinum and more recently palladium have been increasingly used as basic metals for the new jewelry, along with the now less frequent silver and the constant gold. Spurred by René Lalique, the impetus of modern art has been felt in jewelry design. Cubic, non-representational, and other modes of abstract form have helped shape the modern bracelet, earclip, watch, and the case for powder, cigarettes, lighter, or the watch. While some jewels thus manifest the modern modes, others draw freely on the beauty of the past, as stimulus to the creation of fresh patterns of beauty for our day. CHAPTER 2 _What the Stones Are_ _What the Stones Are_