Jewelry

History & Technique from the Egyptians to the Present
By Guido Gregorietti
Chartwell Books, Inc
1979 ISBN 089009-231-1

Chartwell Books writes:

A jewel has many meanings. It is a work of art, an ornament denoting rank, a statement of dress, a treasure, a sign of power, an investment, an ethnic clue, an ostentation.

One of the most famous and dependable Parisian jewelers, whose base is in Place Vendome, makes it a professional rule never to reveal the identity of his customers. One exception was made, however, when the firm was put in charge of preparing the ceremonial crown for the Empress of Iran. It would have been difficult to keep it anonymous: 1469 diamonds, 36 rubies, as many emeralds and 105 pearls were mounted on the crown in Teheran, after a year’s work.

Why jewels are never enough to satisfy is a problem for anthropologists and psychologists to explain. A bouquet of 6000 diamonds was shown at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London; perhaps satisfying enough? Between 1884 and 1917 the Tsar of Russia presented members of his family with fifty Easter eggs with surprises in them, created by the famous Faberge in enamel and precious stones.

If we pause to think of the quantity of jewels worked into gold dug up at Troy, in Mesopotamia, in Egypt and Peru, we see the ancients could compete favorably with modern craftsmen. Also—and a curious thing to have to admit with today’s technology—the ancients had techniques which no one since has known how to repeat.

The history of jewelry, too, has a certain amount of unknown meaning. It even sometimes has a superstitious aura of occult magic.

Guido Gregorietti’s narrative of the fabulous history of jewelry places it in context in the history of art, while interweaving many aspects of the evolution of culture.

About the author
Guido Gregorietti is the author of the Jewelry entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica, and was called upon to take part in judging the 1977 Diamond Award in New York.