“The gem and jewellery industry has seen great change, development, and most recently, upheaval. Markets have experienced both growth and fluctuation on a massive scale and sale results have remained hot discussion points. Yet so often pricing is only ever discussed without a larger context. Much of our price and value knowledge comes from recent, …
Read more “The Gemstone Market: A Historical Perspective”
The talk will provide an overview of jewels depicted in Italian portraits during the 1400 and 1500. Portraits of this period provide an invaluable record of jewellery of the time as little of it has survived, they illustrate the fashionable types of ornaments that range from lavish gem-encrusted hairnets to bejewelled furs known as zibellini. …
Read more “Jewels in Italian Renaissance Paintings “
Flipping through fashion magazines, let’s see how jewellery has been presented, worn and styled decades after decades, from 1900 to 2000. A complete timeline on the evolution of jewellery designs, fashion and styles, from the opulent Belle Epoque to the flashy 1990s.
“De l’épouse d’Henry VIII, exécutée en 1536 à ses représentations contemporaines, en passant par l’opéra de Donizetti, la figure d’Anne Boleyn a traversé les âges et gagné le statut d’icône.Comment l’image de celle dont on n’a que des représentations posthumes – le fameux portrait au « collier initiale » – nous parle du rapport de …
Read more “Anna Bolena : Réécrire la Renaissance”
In 1925, the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts was held in Paris, welcoming 21 countries and 15,000 exhibitors. This major event revived luxury industries and established a style that would later be called “Art Deco”, in homage to this exhibition. If Paris was the place of development of this trend, its inspirations …
Read more “Understanding Art Deco Jewels”
En 1925, se tient à Paris l’Exposition internationale des Arts décoratifs et industriels modernes, accueillant 21 pays et 15 000 exposants. Cet événement majeur va relancer les industries du luxe et asseoir un style que l’on nommera plus tard « Art déco », en hommage à cette exposition. Si Paris a été le lieu de …
Read more “A la découverte des bijoux Art Déco”
This talk will introduce Marina B striking jewels, undoubtedly among the most iconic designs of the 1980s designed by Marina Bulgari Spaccarelli – a member of the Bulgari family and one of the most outstanding 20th century female high jewellery designer. The genesis of Marina B designs, her innovations and her legacy will be explored …
Read more “Marina B”
In this talk, jewelry historian Vivienne Becker tells the life story of Aldo Cipullo, most famous as the creator of the iconic Cartier Love bracelet and the Juste un Clou Nail. She explains the background to her new book on Cipullo, her research, discoveries and her work with Aldo’s brother, Renato Cipullo. She charts the …
Read more “Cipullo – Making Jewelry Modern”
This talk is informative but at the same time it is an entertaining presentation which will introduce the audience to the stylistic development of the necklace.The lecture will touch upon the origin in the Western world of the necklace and then focus on more recent times. This overview will enable the audience not only to …
Read more “The Necklace, from Antiquity to the Present”
As we settle into the 2020s, 100 years after the original Modern Movement, there are signs of a new modernist approach to jewellery design; graphic compositions of form, line, colour and texture, often made possible by new high-tech materials and techniques. In this talk, jewellery historian Vivienne Becker, curator of the Designer Vivarium, traces the …
Read more “New Modernism – 1920s-2020s The Modernist Movement in Jewels”
If Man has used stones as elements of adornment since the dawn of time, he has also always tried to tame and to possess them intimately. Engraving, stone carving is a strong act to leave an imprint, to transmit a message, to master part of the power of Nature. The glyptician exercises the art of …
Read more “The Glyptic Arts “
Si l’Homme a utilisé des pierres comme éléments de parure depuis la nuit des temps, il a aussi toujours essayé de les apprivoiser, de les dompter, de les posséder intimement. La gravure, la sculpture sur pierres est un acte fort pour laisser une empreinte, transmettre un message, maitriser une partie de la puissance de la …
Read more “L’Art de la Glyptique”