René Lalique 1860 -1945 French jeweler René Lalique revolutionized jewelery design, preferring vividly colored gemstones over the more traditional precious stones. Motifs such as nymphs and flowers were typical of Lalique's Art Nouveau work, and his clients included the actress Sarah Bernhardt. In 1898 he began working with glass, which gradually replaced jewelery as the focus of his talent. His glassware came to embody the flamboyant 1920s Art Deco style.

René Lalique (1860 -1945) a French jeweler, Lalique was trained in Paris and London, and in 1885 took over the workshop of the Parisian jeweler Jules d'Estape. He embarked on a career that revolutionized jewelery design, preferring vividly colored gemstones over the more traditional precious stones. Motifs such as nymphs and flowers were typical of Lalique's Art Nouveau work, and his clients included the actress Sarah Bernhardt. In 1898 he began working with glass, which gradually replaced jewelery as the focus of his talent. His glassware came to embody the flamboyant 1920?s Art Deco style. In the 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris he exhibited his "Tourbillon" or "Whirlwind" vases, in which he clearly embraced the highly geometric style of the Jazz Age.