Recommended Jewelry Reading

 

Whether you are building your own jewelry library, or looking for a perfect gift for yourself or another jewelry enthusiast, I have a few suggestions of titles that would sparkle in any collection.

Bulgari From 1884 to 2009: 125 Years of Italian Jewels, by Amanda Triossi. An elegant book featuring over 300 color photographs of Bulgari jewelry. It is written by the curator of the Bulgari vintage collection, who is also author of several other well-known jewelry books and is a jewelry expert at Sotheby’s London.

Amazing Cartier: Jewelry Design Since 1937, by Nadine Coleno. With a focus on trend setting creations, this book features over 100 pieces of Cartier jewelry, archival drawings, and society photographs. The author is a well-known fashion writer, and has also written several other books.

Read My Pins: Stories From A Diplomat’s Jewel Box, by Madeleine Albright. The book features the brooch collection of the U.S. Secretary of State, both costume and fine, and accompanied an exhibit by the same name at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York. The book tells of international diplomacy and how the brooches were “tools” in many of the talks.

Brooches: Timeless Adornment, by Lori Ettlinger Gross. A beautiful addition to any jewelry book library.

Scottish Jewellry: A Victorian Passion, by Diana Scarisbrick. The author is a well-know jewelry historian, curator and author of several other jewelry books. If the subject is of interest, the book is sure to delight.

Cocktail (Rings) Anyone?

Big, chunky, colorful rings have always been a favorite of mine but more and more they are popping up on the pages of all of the top fashion magazines. Best of all, they are not just for evening any more. Many oversized rings have a very casual and playful appeal to them.

Perfect for day, oversized rings most often feature cabochon or fancy cut semi-precious stones alone or in a bold combination of colors, in gold mountings. Bulgari, whose signature look is easily recognized and often copied, popularized this look for day. Another great look for day is big cabochons of coral or turquoise; both work in simple or heavy gold mounting and are a stylish and economical way to incorporate color.

For evening, many of the rings we are seeing today recall the glamorous cocktail rings of the 1940s. Like the period example in the photograph, these rings often boldly feature a large emerald-cut, or square-cut center colored stone. Most often these are semi-precious stones such as a beautiful, golden tone citrine or an eye-catching pink tourmaline, grass green peridot or aquamarine. For evening these stones may be accented by diamonds or by diamonds together with another pop of color such as ruby. Don’t be afraid to wear these rings on your middle finger, which is where they often look best.

Bravo Bulgari

125 years after its inception, and still under the leadership of the Bulgari family, Bulgari jewels continue to awe and excite the jewelry lover.  While Bulgari remains a manufacturer of the wearable, signature lines that became so popular in the 1980s, the long tradition of beautiful, artistic designs set with colorful gemstones carries on into several of the collections that can be seen in the many Bulgari stores world wide today.

The Elisia and Allegra collections are rich in design and exquisite colored gemstones.  The jewelry in the Elisia collection is composed of pave-set diamond elliptical shapes accented with either cabochon or faceted oval colored sapphires and emeralds.  The basic elliptical element is repeated in many different combinations of colors and connected at various angles creating a very wide-ranging group of jewelry. Allegra is a very feminine and fun collection composed of many different colors and cut styles of gemstones.  The collection features pearls, amethyst, blue topaz, citrine, pink and green tourmaline and diamonds, set in fabulous contrasting positions.  Don’t be fooled, this is a very sophisticated design.  It takes a true lover of gemstones and someone who understands traditional design to recognize how out of the box this concept is…gorgeous!

Bulgari has also expanded into many various luxury goods.  The evening bags, however, are like jewels themselves.  The clutches, which feature vintage fabric, are embellished with beads of all shapes, sizes and colors, and the gold plated, enamel closures are really spectacular.

For more information and a Bulgari Boutique near you, visit www.Bulgari.com