See also wearable art.

Art jewelry is created with a variety of materials, not just precious metals and gems. In the late 19th century, René Lalique revolutionized jewelry design through his emphasis on imagination and technical virtuosity over precious materials and the imitation of past styles. Additionally, he experimented with industrial techniques, plastic and glass.^[1] Art jewelry 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 jewelry is mostly bought by collectors and museums.

URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_jewelry

The other definition of Art Jewelry is my definition:  Art Jewelry is created with a variety of materials from any source the artist deemed useable and emphasizes the creative use of the imagination and technical skills to create a three demensional object that can be worn  a number of ways.