Art jewellery is created with a variety of materials not just precious metals and gems. Art jewellery should be compared to expressions of art in other media such as glass, wood, plastics and clay. Art jewelry however has not yet created such a large following and is a relatively small niche, where jewellery is mostly bought by collectors and museums.
Though many consider art jewellery still part of crafts as opposed to real “Arts” (with its appropriate art critics) things are changing considerably, in particular in Germany. In the 1960s and 1970s the German Government and the commercial jewellery industry decided to foster and heavily support modern jewellery designers, and thus creating a new marketplace. They focused in particular on combined contemporary design with their goldsmithing tradition and jewellery making. At present art jewellery is no longer a niche market and many designers are sold in regular jewellery stores.
An example of current trends in art jewellery is the use of modern synthetic materials such as polypropylene, nylon and acrylic. Art jewellery have developed techniques for using these materials to dramatic effect.