Jewelry books to give for the holiday season Photo courtesy
Books & Exhibitions Gift Guide
Books to Give the Jewelry Lovers on Your List
Or self-gift them … ‘Tis the season
Jewelry books are almost as much fun to receive as a jewel. I said almost which still makes it pretty major. This year the lineup of publications come in all shapes and sizes from the epic tome about Chaumet to the little book Rings produced by the Victoria & Albert Museum. Find out more on the best jewelry books to give as gifts below.
Cover of ‘Chaumet: Parisian Jeweler Since 1780’ By Henri Loyrette, Flammarion
Chaumet: Parisian Jewelers Since 1780 is a real treasure. The publication, which is fully reviewed here, features loads of nineteenth and twentieth century masterworks in new photos.
Empress Josephine’s gold, pearl and malachite cameo parure attributed to Nitot and made around 1810. Photo by © Bruno Ehrs from © CHAUMET: Parisian Jeweler Since 1780 By Henri Loyrette, Flammarion
Photo courtesy
Spectacular: Gems and Jewelry from the Merriweather Post Collection may sound like a limited topic considering it is just the jewels from one woman, but it isn’t. Post was one of the greatest jewelry collectors of all time. If you are interested in twentieth century jewelry you will learn about the key designers, gems and style from this book. It is truly “spectacular.” Read the full review here.
Courtesy Thames & Hudson
Ruby is Joanna Hardy’s followup to Emerald. It is assembled in essentially the same format with background on the gem and lots of anecdotes covering celebrated jewels owned by luminaries. If you are looking to make an extravagant holiday statement give your loved-one Ruby and Emerald as a set.
From Ruby: Heart brooch, Verdura for Paul Flato, Rubies set in a gold heart, colored diamonds and calibré-cut sapphires in a ribbon with the phrase “Verbum carro” meaning “The word made flesh” or “A word to my dear one.” Courtesy of Verdura
Juliet Weir-de La Rochefoucauld’s Women Jeweler Designers covers twentieth century talents that worked behind-the-scenes or in esteemed establishments that have been largely forgotten such as Olga Tritt and Juliet Moutard. She rounds out the publication with designers working today including Victoire de Castellane, Alexandra Mor and Cynthia Bach. The empowering book’s release is perfectly time for the 2017 holiday season.
Photo Thames & Hudson | V & A
Rings by Rachel Church, a curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum is the stocking stuffer of books from this list. It is small (6.5 x 9.2 inches) but packed with lots of information not to mention 200 illustrations of rings dating from 1200 to a few current pieces including designs by Solange Azagury-Partridge.
From ‘Rings’ an enameled gold ring set with brilliant-cut diamonds and a plaque by Charles Lepec featuring the goddess Psyche. Paris, France, c. 1870. Bought by Harriet Bolckow, the wife of a Middlesbrough steel magnate, from the jeweler Robert Phillips. Lepec was awarded a gold medal for enameling at the 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle. Photo V & A
Photo Flammarion
There once was a time when jewelers only showed their most important pieces to private clients. Well, consider Françoise Chaille’s Resonances de Cartier: High Jewelry and Precious Objects an official end to that era. The publication covers the High Jewelry collection Cartier released just months ago. The book will be out in February. Pre-order it for the person on your list who is obsessed with the French jeweler’s style. It shows visuals of how they are reworking their icons now.
Related Stories:
Spectacular: The Merriweather Post Collection
The Chaumet Book Is A Real Treasure
David Yurman’s First Book Focuses on Cable
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