By the book

A trio of new tomes illuminates the worlds of jewelry, gem and watch aficionados.

By Phyllis Schiller

Gems
Under the scientific supervision
of François Farges
(Flammarion, September 2020) This volume is a companion to an exhibition that opened in September at France’s Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN). A collaboration with Van Cleef & Arpels, the Paris exhibit — which runs through June 14, 2021 — merges scientific information, iconic jewelry and objets d’art. Gems represents them all beautifully.

“Natural history enlightens us on the origins of the things that fill us with wonder,” reads the preface by Bruno David, president of the MNHN, Paris. This is the premise of the exhibition, which brings together “the minerals of the earth and jewelry” and offers a glimpse beyond the surface beauty of an emerald necklace or a pair of diamond earrings, he says.

With fascinating close-up photography and in-depth factual information, the book covers both the Earth’s natural creations and the techniques that have led to the finished pieces on display. It features contributions from an “international team of mineralogists, scientists and specialists in natural history and in the history of jewelry” under the direction of François Farges, a professor of mineralogy at the MNHN. Gems is also, therefore, a reference book that will attract readers with both a scientific and an aesthetic interest in raw crystals, cut stones and jewelry.

Seven main principles govern the formation of these stones, according to Gems: pressure, temperature, fluids, water, oxygen, life and metamorphism. The book goes on to explore them with illuminating photos and text.

In their mineral form, the book says, gemstones tell the story of the Earth’s history, revealing tales of all the upheavals that are part of the planet’s evolution. And in jewel form, “they speak to us of the civilizations that prized them, of distant lands explored by intrepid travelers, and even of our own ancestors, who had their own perception of these treasures.” Gemstones move “from the workshop of our planet to the jeweler’s studios,” where the artist’s techniques enhance their stories.

The final chapter focuses on Le Rocher aux merveilles (Rock of Wonders), a piece Van Cleef & Arpels created especially for the exhibition. A fitting combination of raw, polished and faceted stones, the work is an eye-catching 13.5-pound block of ancient lapis lazuli that sits on a base of partially polished quartz from Brazil, according to the book. It took two years to complete and includes 10 detachable jewelry pieces that can be worn.

Jewels That Made History:
100 Stones, Myths, and Legends
By Stellene Volandes
(Rizzoli New York, October 2020)Cartier panthers, bejeweled serpents, diamonds and diadems and more, oh my! Coco Chanel, Wallis Simpson, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, Madeleine Albright’s brooches — these are just some of the people and topics covered in Jewels That Made History: 100 Stones, Myths, and Legends by jewelry expert Stellene Volandes.

In the intro to the book, Volandes — who is editor in chief of Town & Country magazine and editorial director of Elle Décor — gives readers notice not to expect a “history of jewelry,” or of the world, for that matter. What they should expect, she says, is a “highly opinionated chronicle of select moments where these forces collide.”

She wrote the volume as an invitation to readers to fall “deeply in love with jewelry,” as she herself did, and to look beyond the sparkle of the individual gems to the stories they have to tell. The stories in the book form a lavishly illustrated timeline that stretches from “the beginning” — i.e., the Paleolithic era — through 2019.

Jewels That Made History begins with a brief recap of ancient civilizations because, as the author says, “in the beginning, there were jewels,” and “if there are people, there will be jewelry.” The last entry in the book recounts the modern-day heist of historical treasures at the Green Vault in Dresden, Germany, on November 25, 2019. The fabled Dresden Green Diamond was saved from that robbery, as it had been lent out to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for an exhibition.

Maintaining a tone light enough to keep the interest of culture mavens but fact-filled enough to please both history buffs and true jewelry lovers, Volandes presents the past with a modern touch; she describes Britain’s Queen Victoria, for instance, as “the original influencer.” She also adroitly mixes tales of jewels from across the centuries, ranging from Queen Elizabeth I’s pearls to Princess Diana’s engagement ring and the tiaras worn by next-generation royal brides Meghan Markle and Princess Eugenie. Lore and legends of classic jewelry, from named diamonds to the landmark auction of actress Elizabeth Taylor’s collection at Christie’s, all find their places in this selective history.

There’s even a global list of “Great Jewelry Collections of the World,” which includes some of the author’s favorite places to go “in search of historic jewels.” But the most important takeaway Volandes would like her readers to gain is “a call to take jewelry out of the safe, glass vitrine or velvet box, and place it on the grand stage of history.”

Article from the Rapaport Magazine - November 2020. To subscribe click here.

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Tags: Phyllis Schiller