In the 1980’s, genius designer Cleto Munari had a truly brilliant idea. He commissioned a number of well-known architects of the time to design jewelry for his company. What resulted were some daring, gloriously geometric, ultra-modern designs and a very interesting-looking book, now out of print.

A world-renowned designer in his own right, he has crafted everything from furniture to clothing to abstract paintings, and his works are in the permanent collections of MOMA, The Met, and many other museums besides. But one of the things for which he is best known is his impish instigation of crossover arts:

“It is most interesting to me to have a poet design a table, a painter design a credenza, and an architect design a spoon.”

I am completely hypnotized by these designs. In true eighties style, they show strong echoes of the twenties with a little atomic fifties thrown in. I hope you find them as fascinating as I do.