In this age, the coffee-table book is both a novelty and an anomaly. In a digital world, where consumers browse art and fashion on their computers, tablets and smartphones, it can be hard to find tomes that are captivating enough to splurge on.
A new book, titled Women Jewellery Designers, makes the cut. Its cover, an ornate, art-deco-inspired necklace resplendent with layers of diamonds and aquamarines, set against a minimal white background, makes it covetable from the outset – and its pages contain fascinating details about female jewellery designers from around the world.
Starting in the 20th century until the present day, readers can learn about key female figures from the fine-jewellery industry. Author Juliet Weir-de La Rochefoucauld reveals that prior to the two world wars, the industry, was in fact, dominated mostly by male designers – even though jewellery was almost solely worn by women. Olga Tritt, the Russian-born designer of the dazzling necklace on the cover, French jeweller Suzanne Belperron, and the imitable Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel are some of the early creatives who helped pave the way for female jewellery designers of the future.
The author brings a unique perspective to the topic. Weir-de La Rochefoucauld is the great-granddaughter of Thomas Weir, the founder of Dublin-based jeweller Weir & Sons, which was established in 1869, and is a fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain. She worked at Sotheby's & Co in London, and wrote a previous book entitled 21st-Century Jewellery Designers: An Inspired Style.
In her latest book, she explores the wearable works of notable designers such as Marina Bulgari, Paloma Picasso, Alma Pihl and Juliette Moutard, and also examines the roles of Jeanne Toussaint, who reigned as the artistic director of Cartier’s jewellery department for a decade, and Renée Puissant, the daughter of Van Cleef & Arpels founders Estelle and Alfred, who served as the maison’s artistic director in the early 1920s. Contemporary female jewellery designers such as Taiwan’s Cindy Chao, Turkey’s Aida Bergsen and Los Angeles-based Cynthia Bach are also featured within the illustrious hardcover.
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Read more:
[ An ace up your sleeve with cool cufflinks from Deakin & Francis ]
[ Artistic assault: a necklace shaped like the bullet of an AK-47 ]
[ Cindy Chao: the art of jewellery ]
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