To love jewelry is to love history, geology, gossip, royal intrigue, aesthetics, craftsmanship, and about a dozen other subjects. Here's your ultimate guide to reading about our favorite subject.
Some collect jewelry. Others collect jewelry books. And the very lucky collect both. I have been thinking a lot about the ultimate jewelry library as I examine my own shelves. As in all fields there are seminal works, prized for their research and in the case of jewelry, their beauty as well. Some are focused on a specific material (the out of print Pearl book, for example) and some chronicle one great collection (Liz Taylor's My Love Affair with Jewelry), others tell the story of a legendary jewelry house like Cartier or Bulgari. As I begin to fill the gaps in my own jewelry library I turned to one of my trusted jewelry Mafia members for some advice. “ I used to think I spent too much on my books,” says Sotheby's Frank Everett. “Now I’m glad I did. They’re entertaining, and I’m referring to them daily as I work from home!”
"This was my first jewelry book, and what a place to start. The worlds most important stones, most important collection and most important provenance. I have read it cover to cover many times. I gave it as a gift to my boss in 1993 who left it on a shelf for years unopened, so I took it home. She is still a dear friend, and if she reads this and wants it back I am happy to return it."
