This stunning new book showcases fantastic costume jewelry from 53 top designers of the 20th century. Examples from Christian Dior, Miriam Haskell, Kenneth Jay Lane, Elsa Schiaparelli, Stanley Hagler, Trifari, Vendome, and may others are shown in profusion. 360 luscious color photographs display exquisite examples of each designers' best work. Masterpieces abound, including many rare examples. The authors illustrate ways to enjoy these pieces today, with candid photography of friends adorned for casual occasions. Delightful stories are shared of memories associated with their passion for jewelry over the years. This remarkable exhibition displays costume jewelry as absolutely beautiful works of art. Sit back with this eye candy, relax with the fairytale spirit it projects, and enjoy the romance. Let the passion roll!

An exquisite look into the art of fine jewelry making, through the eyes of famed designer Temple St. Clair A Southern girl with a nomadic spirit and a voracious appetite for history and culture, Temple St. Clair grew up spending summer vacations in Morocco and Bavaria, studied at an international boarding school in Switzerland, and went night diving in Honduras with the son of Jacques Cousteau. In her early twenties, St. Clair landed in Florence, where she completed a master's in Italian literature. In fact, she had no exposure to jewelry making until her visiting mother bought an ancient coin and asked St. Clair to commission a local goldsmith to make a piece of jewelry around it. Armed with the coin and a sketch, St. Clair entered the ancient Palazzo dell'Orafo of Florentine goldsmiths, where she first discovered the centuries-old art of fine Italian jewelry making. Inspired by the distinctive craftsmanship, St. Clair continued to work with artisans to bring her designs to life. A new world soon began to open up to her—a world that engaged her multicultural education, vast experiences, and rich curiosity; a world that awarded her with a new identity as "an amateur anthropologist, a hopeless hunter and gatherer, a bit of a wanderer, and a self-made jewelry historian who loves to dream and draw." With an artist's eye for detail and an unwavering esteem for the historic, St. Clair creates one-of-a-kind pieces that combine ancient influences with traditional craftsmanship and contemporary flair. In Alchemy, she takes readers on an idiosyncratic excursion into the intricate history and craft of jewelry making—from the ancient origins of talismans and charms, to the complicated pursuit of the perfect gemstone—all through the lens of her own fascinating experiences. The result is a mesmerizing and visually stunning book that will appeal to jewelry lovers, artistic dreamers, and anyone who suffers from wanderlust.

A lavishly illustrated celebration of some of the finest examples of vintage costume jewelry ranges from the Victorian era, through the sophisticated designs of art deco and geometrics, to the designer and artisanal jewelry of the present, accompanied by valuable suggestions on how to distinguish a quality piece and appreciate its craftsmanship.

The ultimate vintage costume jewellery collectors' guide, written by the ultimate collector.

Renaissance jewels are among the most alluring manifestations of an age that experienced the widening of horizons, from the Old World to the New. This volume overflows with luxurious imagery expressing the boundless creativity and spirit of the Age of the Renaissance. Yvonne Hackenbroch relates the tales of the jewels, the artists, and the patrons who commissioned them.

Inspired by memories of her beloved grandmother, photographer and author Alysia Burton Steele -- picture editor on a Pulitzer Prize-winning team -- combines heart-wrenching narrative with poignant photographs of more than 50 female church elders in the Mississippi Delta. These ordinary women lived extraordinary lives under the harshest conditions of the Jim Crow era and during the courageous changes of the Civil Rights Movement. With the help of local pastors, Steele recorded these living witnesses to history and folk ways, and shares the significance of being a Black woman -- child, daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother in Mississippi -- a Jewel of the Delta. From the stand Mrs. Tennie Self took for her marriage to be acknowledged in the phone book, to the life-threatening sacrifice required to vote for the first time, these 50 inspiring portraits are the faces of love and triumph that will teach readers faith and courage in difficult times.

Full of helpful ideas and tips as well as stunning photographs, A Passion for Jewelry is the complete illustrated guide on how to appreciate, collect, and care for all types of beautiful jewelry. Beginning with detailed exploration and history of different materials, including classics such as gold, silver, and amber and more unusual ones such as glass and cloth, the book covers everything you ever wanted to know about jewelry. The text explains how to recognize different stones and estimate their worth, where to purchase the most extraordinary jewelry, and the simple steps involved in starting your own collection. Also included is practical advice on how to clean, preserve, and store your jewelry and even a chapter on how to display your jewelry around your home. Completing this dazzling book are Yves Duronsoy’s atmospheric photographs that perfectly capture the essence of each piece of necklace, bracelet, and ring featured.

The Black Jewels Trilogy established Anne Bishop as an author whose “sublime skill...blend[s] the darkly macabre with spine-tingling emotional intensity”(SF Site). Now, the saga continues in this collection that includes four more adventures of Jaenelle and her kindred… Jaenelle is the most powerful Witch ever known, centuries of hopes and dreams made flesh at last. She has forged ties with three of the realm’s mightiest Blood warriors: Saetan, the High Lord of Hell, who trains Jaenelle in magic and adopts her as his daughter; Lucivar, the winged Eyrien warlord who becomes her protector; and the near-immortal Daemon, born to be Witch’s lover. Jaenelle has assumed her rightful place as Queen of the Darkness and restored order and peace to the realms, but at a terrible cost. Collected here are the beguiling stories about the origin of the mystical Jewels, the forbidden passion between Lucivar and a simple hearth witch, the clash between Saetan and a Priestess, and the choice Jaenelle must make, between her magic and happiness with Daemon...

The history of the world--triumphs and tragedies, breakthroughs and breakups--through the iconic jewels that have inspired and influenced since the dawn of time. From ancient treasures to royal weddings, great heists to the red carpet, this book is a stunning, surprising, and glittering tour of historic turning points and gem-driven drama, delving into the passions and predilections of some of the world's most interesting and extraordinary people. Starting in the era of Cleopatra and continuing through to contemporary jewelry statements by Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, and Meghan Markle, Stellene Volandes tells the stories of how shiny stones and precious metals have determined empires, inspired expeditions and great crime, and been the communicator of status and ruin since ancient times. Each moment is placed in historic and relevant context, with Volandes drawing engaging parallels between Napoleon's gift to Marie Louise at the birth of their son and the modern push present or the insouciant story behind the brooch Jackie Kennedy famously wore to a 1962 State Dinner with the Shah of Iran. Illustrated with a mix of archival images and gorgeous photography of the jewels, this book is a beautiful, informative, and essential read for history lovers, fashion, celebrity, and pop-culture followers, as well as passionate jewel hounds.

Romance, love and courtship are as universal as the precious jewels they inspire, objects which express deep affection for a loved one and eternal commitment. Wedding traditions have evolved over thousands of years and are based on blessing the couple with good luck and good wishes for unity, happiness and prosperity. The ring is the most personal of all jewels, its endless circular form symbolising the everlasting union of two people. The tradition of giving a betrothal or wedding ring as a promise of marriage goes back to ancient Rome and the ring was believed to have a direct link to the heart when worn on the ring finger of the left hand. It was not until the 15th century that diamond rings were primarily associated with marriage, but from the earliest times rubies or garnets were emblems of passionate love, diamonds or rock crystals symbolised virtue and constancy, sapphires denoted eternal love and emeralds desire and hope. Decorative motifs such as clasped hands, lovers' knots, crowned hearts, Cupid's arrows, flowers with hidden messages, snakes and butterflies were imaginatively used by jewellers to create magnificent jewels as symbols of romantic love.