I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I cracked open the JCK archives from the early 1970s in search of beautiful cover designs.

The covers from the 1960s missed the mark more often than not, and the cultural aesthetic of the 1970s didn’t give me a lot of hope that our covers would exceed those from the previous decade.

I could not have been more wrong.

The covers I found were colorful and striking, both in terms of the jewelry designs that were showcased and the models that were rocking them.

Some fun facts about the time span of this JCK cover collection:

• 1970: The Beatles break up.
• 1971: Walt Disney World opens in Florida.
• 1972: The Boston Marathon allows female runners for the first time.
• 1973: George Steinbrenner buys the New York Yankees from CBS for $10 million.
• 1974:  Richard Nixon resigns from the Presidency because of the Watergate scandal.

Here are the top 10 covers from 1970-74:

JCK October 1970

 

JCK June 1971

 

JCK August 1971

 

JCK October 1971

 

JCK March 1972

 

JCK April 1972

 

JCK May 1972

 

JCK October 1973

 

JCK October 1974

 

JCK November 1974

Also check out:

• JCK Magazine: A 140-Year History in Covers
• The 10 Best JCK Covers: 1965–69
• The 10 Best JCK Covers: 1960–64
• The 10 Best JCK Covers: 1956–59
• The 10 Best JCK Covers: 1951–55

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