Jewel-Catch of the Season!

May 6, 2012 | No Comments

This year the spring/summer-season has several unique things to offer in ‘Jewellery-country’ & I made a refreshing collection for you! Of course I must start with London; The Diamond Jubilee exhibition ‘My Best Diamonds’at Buckingham Palace marking the Queen’s Elisabeth II 60th year as reigning monarch. As well a direct link to the beautiful Royal Collection right now & my book recommendation that everyone will like:”The Crown Jewels”, by Anna Keay (ISBN 978-0-500-2898202), which is available in hardcover and paperback (GBP 14.95). Directly followed-up by an introduction to the Olympic Games chains for this year, held in London.
And someone (sorry I forgot your name) told me the Jewellery Week 2012, held in London from 11 until 17 june, is very nice to go to because of diversity. I’ve never been there, but seems great to me. Have a good time!As well as the major exhibition ‘Rooms of Dreams: Wendy Ramshaw’, at Somerset House, until 24th June 2012.
Further Ted Noten’s Summer School 2012 again! This will be held in Amsterdam. Hereby the ability to apply directly.The  Gemeente Museum,  The Hague, has on show the beautiful exhibition  ‘Gold from Java & Silver from Batavia’ it will continue until 4th of November 2012.Personally I was enormously surprised by the quality with which the jewels are manufactured, they are so tiny & so detailed! It’s more than impressive, amazingly beautiful. I found it also amazing to see (and hear) that of some pieces it is unknown how they were worn. The exhibition is accompanied by two publications: Divine Gold:Jewellery from Java, Indonesia, by Pauline Lunsingh Scheurleer (ISBN 978-90-400-0360-8, Wbooks, €24.95) and ‘Silver from Batavia; religios and everyday silver objects from the time of the Dutch East India’ by Titus M. Eliëns (WBooks, €27.95)

Funny, colourful and nice made costume jewellery by Ayala Bar!

Solidaridad has started  Solidaridad’s gold campaign. The Dutch fairtrade fair is titled ‘Nederland verdient Goed Goud’, translated:’The Netherlands deserves Good Gold’. Also Zita Jansen will participate this campaign with a small collection.First Fairtrade & Fairmined gold jewellery in The Netherlands, Monday 7th May, 15.00 – 18.30  /  restaurant Stork  / Amsterdam-Nort

PS: My personal latest ‘trouvaille’ this morning

‘Paul Flato, Jeweler to the Stars’, by Elizabeth Irvine Bray

April 18, 2012 | No Comments

Influenced by the Red Carpet walk at the recent Grammy Awards, I was determined to read the book “Paul Flato, Jeweler to the Stars’. Because it reads like a novel to me I have to share it with you.

Wow! What a collection, What a life! What a book! Elizabeth Irvine Bray succeeded in creating a book that sucks you in from the first pages into the life of this enigmatic artist, Paul Flato.

He was the most famous American jeweller of his era, with many famous Hollywood actress and others among his clientele. But his life was not only fame and glory. As Elizabeth quotes, “Flato also endured extreme hardship. He faced prison time, financial ruin, failed marriages and personal disappointment. His highs and lows, successes and failures, create a story that resonates with anyone”.

The book contains an enormous amount of beautiful gouache sketches of eccentric jewels with wonderful photos of the marvelous jewels, pictures of famous Hollywood actresses wearing his pieces and good photos of the hallmarks he used.

Together with the immense content, described in great detail and including historical facts and many quotes, the identity of Paul Flato becomes clearly visible. In short, it is a portrait of a charming, socially fluid and remarkable business man (understanding very well the value of branding and surrounding himself only by highly-skilled people), designer, autodidact pearl and gemstone specialist, who came from a good family and loved to travel all over the world.  With a true love for adventure, experiencing local cultures and using folk art and other inspirations, he translated his experiences into new jewellery designs. He had a life filled with good fortune and unfortunately also bad luck.

Flato’s jewellery was featured in many movies, among others his first film, “Holiday”, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant.  Looking at all the images, the most remarkable thing for me about his collection is that it does not consists only of highly elegant expressive show-off jewels set with the most beautiful gemstones, but also many intimately designed jewels. Clearly, all his pieces were made with outstanding craftsmanship. His Los Angeles period was his most impressive professional phase, but his Mexican period produced beautiful jewellery, as well.If you would like to see more jewels of Flato, visit at the online database of V& A , the Victoria &Albert Museum, London. Remember to type his name again in the search box and other jewels of Flato will be returned in the result.

This book is by far the most exciting jewellery book I ever read (ISBN 9-781851-496242, $85), one that will not even touch on your nightstand before it’s finished!

Let’s hope for a revival of Paul Flato jewels!

“The Tenth Sinkansas Symposium 2012, Topaz” Carlsbad, USA and Art & Antique fair “TEFAF” Maastricht, The Netherlands

March 22, 2012 | No Comments

The Tenth Sinkansas Symposium is on it’s way! And it look likes to me that it will become an absolute beauty …starting with coffee & donuts from 7.30 onwards! It’s clear you’ ve got to be an early bird…

The Tenth Annual Sinkankas Symposium convenes on  Saturday, April 21, with topaz being the featured gemstone for 2012.  Co-sponsored by the San Diego Mineral and Gem Society and GIA (Gemological Institute of America), the event’s venue will again be the Robert Mouawad Campus and GIA world headquarters in Carlsbad, California.

This year’s roster of contributors, each authorities in their respective disciplines, will be introduced by keynote speaker D. B. Hoover.  Known for his reference volume, “Topaz” (Butterworth–Heinemann, 1993), Dr. Hoover will speak on the “Historical Transmutations of Topaz,” examining ancient texts about the terms that he believes may have been applied to the mineral known today as topaz and speculating on its use as a gemstone in Classical antiquity. Presentations will be made by regular Sinkankas Symposium contributors John Koivula, George Rossman and William “Skip” Simmons.  GIA’s John Koivula will present a pictorial tour of “The Microworld of Topaz,” in which he discusses the internal features that attest to the gem host’s paragenesis and provide tell-tale evidence of treatment.  Dr. Rossman, McMillan Professor of Mineralogy at Caltech, Pasadena, will discuss color in natural and treated topaz, leading the audience on an odyssey into the gem’s atomic structure.  Dr. Simmons will travel from the University of New Orleans for a repeat appearance to present “Topaz Mineralogy” this year. Attendees can look forward to a reliably lucid and entertaining lecture, which has come to be known for its animated graphics and very animated speaker.

Distinguished Research Fellow at the GIA laboratory in Carlsbad, Dr. James E. Shigley returns to the Sinkankas Symposium for a second engagement, this time to discuss worldwide localities of gem topaz.  GIA’s director of gem identification services, Shane F. Mc Clure, will speak on “The Treatments of Topaz,” an important topic in the gem trade.  Local lapidary artist Meg Berry, a frequent Sinkankas Symposium presenter, will show step-by-step her process of carving topaz from gem rough to fashioned, polished carving in “Cutting Topaz.”  This year, Robert Weldon, Manager of Photography and Laboratory Publications at GIA, will present an historical narrative, “How Brazilian Bandeirantes Blazed Trails to Topaz – and other Gems,” illustrated with his beautiful photographic images.  Inimitable raconteur of minerals Bill Larson is slated to provide a pictorial tour of topaz specimens in a range of colors from localities around the world.

If you would like to read more about the speakers, their biographies and the abstracts of the lectures they will give, please take a look at the very well up-dated web-site (see direct link Sinkansas Symposium first paragraph). By this I give you also the direct link to the register form.

Exact information you need for now:

TEFAF
The other beautiful annual event I would like to highlight is the art & antique fair ‘TEFAF’, held in Maastricht (The Netherlands) until the end of this coming weekend (25th March2012).

My absolute jeweller treasure this year ‘Didier Ltd.‘ from London, stand number: showcase F. They have such an unique jewellery collection by post-war artists. Here on the photograph my personal absolute favorite, the hair comb of Alexander Calder.

Memento Mori and Mourning jewellery

February 29, 2012 | No Comments

Like several of the other subjects I once spoke about also this one is known since ancient times. Memento mori jewellery do exist since Roman times and revived in the late Middle Ages, but combined with Christian teaching on the need to live a good life.

These both sensitive subject are beautifully described in the book ‘Rings, Jewelry of Power, Love and Loyalty’, by Diana Scarbrick, wherein a complete chapter is devoted to ‘Memento mori and memorial rings’.

In Roman times subjects like skeletons, skulls, butterflies and most frequent Cupid-like figures holding a torch of life with the flame extinguished are the common symbols used in memento mori images of those days. Later on cross bones, rotated bezels and other symbols were added to memento mori jewellery. By the mid-17th century the memento mori ring had merged with the memorial ring marking the death of an individual, identifiable by the black enamel, initials and dates, and coat of arms, transforming them from exhortations to godly living into memorials of people. During the 18th century the ritual of mourning was scrupulously respected, it was a mark of homage paid to the institution on which society was founded, namely the family. The astonishing ‘Harley Memorial ring’, commemorating their son, is for me by far the most splendid example I’ve ever seen for showing the grief towards a beloved deceased’.
Like with so many other surprising details Diana Scarbrick tells about the white enamelled hoop, instead of black, meaning that the deceased was unmarried. As well as the fact the memento mori iconography was also used in wedding rings, intended to remind a prosperous couple of the vanity of the riches.
For me one of the most awe-inspiring memento mori ring designs is made by French Court jeweller Gilles L’Egaré in 1663: there are skulls round the sides of the bezel some with bat wings, others crowned with laurel, supported on a hoop decorated with all implements -spade, pick etc.- used by a grave digger. Personally I was very surprised that I could find this drawing (from Scarbricks book) at the online research collection database of the British Museum! Amazing, eight pages of this book, ‘Livre des ouvrages d’orfèvrerie, 1663′ are visible for free. This specific ring is one of the rings on the drawing above right in the database. Enjoy it! ..and don’t forget to enlarge the print image to see the details perfectly.

On my photo-stream you are able to view photos and drawings of the staggering plaited mourning hair jewels, like bracelets and brooches and pendant earrings.

The books I would like to recommend are:

‘Rings, jewelry of power, love and loyalty’, by Diana Scarbrick, €45, ISBN: 978-0-500-51364-4. I hope that my admiration for this book became clear in the above text. If not, then I have failed enormously. This book is unique and admirable!
An Introduction to ‘Sentimental Jewellery’ by Shirley Bury, for the Victoria & Albert Museum, ISBN 0-11-290417-3, GBP 5.-. This recommendation because it was my first acquaintance to this subject at the time I studied jewellery and having a Victorian mourning ring in front of me.

The ‘Illustrated Dictionary of symbols in Eastern and Western Art’, by James Hall is the English variant of the Durch “Hall’s Iconografisch handboek’ (Dutch version ISBN 90-74310-05-2). This recommendation because it’s simply indispensable for everyone who likes it to see more than just the picture.

‘Serpentina, Snake Jewellery from around the World’, until 26 February in Pforzheim

February 14, 2012 | No Comments

Until 26th February this month the exhibition ‘Serpentina, Snake Jewellery from around the World’ is on display at the Schmuckmuseum in Pforzheim (The Jewellery museum), Germany. Accompanying this exhibition there’s an extremely interesting beautiful book written by Fritz Falk, which I would like to discuss on my blog today.As you know I’m impressed by jewellery from the beginning of mankind up to the extraordinary contemporary ones nowadays, coming from all over the world. No wonder that I love this book. Fritz Falk, former director of the Schmuck museum Pforzheim, is the guest curator of this exhibition and the writer of this book. My goodness what a beautiful theme he has chosen and what an impressive result! It’s both awe inspiring and breath-taking! There is no other way for me to describe this book.It felt to me that Fritz Falk literally took me by the hand as I walked through this ‘Snake Landscape’! A walk which started in Egyptian times passing the Romans, the Greek, the Vikings and so on through the 18th and 19th century, with a pit-stop in the amazing Art Nouveau up to contemporary extraordinay snake jewellery. During this whole bird flight we passed by in Africa, Europe, Asia and North & South America with beautiful photos. Meanwhile telling in a fascinating way about the meaning of the snake in many civilisations and throughout all epochs of history, the influence of  religions on it, historical details, myths and legends, its designs and symbolic values. At least I have to admit that I never was aware of the so many (!) symbolic values the snake stands for. To give you a little impression; new life, rebirth, death and decay, loaded with both positive and negative connotations it appears equally as a creative and a destructive force, as a phallic symbol with the libido and uninhibited sexuality, a symbol of healing, evil, kindly and wise, cosmic energy, protection, blessings, royalty, as a symbol of trade and commerce, and don’t forget Asclepius (the professional symbol of physicians and pharmacists) and many more. I’ve enjoyed the several ‘jewellery side roads’ I’d never seen before. So, if you are in the neighbourhood of Pforzheim these days be sure to visit the exhibition! If you are not able to do so, like me, the next best thing to do is to purchase the book! I’m sure you will constantly open it until you’ve  finished the whole text and can dream of each and every image. To see jewellery from the perspective of  ‘the snake from those early days onwards’ was to me a true refreshing eye opener. (ISBN 978-3-89790-354-8).
The only disadvantage I noticed is that each left page is written in German and the right pages in English, but after a little while you get used to it…and in the end my German certainly improved!…as well as my English…Thanks to Pete, my ’chocolate-editor’, for explaining me in detail that a ‘Schmuck museum’ is completely impossible for all my American readers !

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Margriet Sopers, FGA

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