Author: Stellene Volandes
Publisher: Rizzoli Publications
ISBN: 0847868540
Category : Design
Languages : en
Pages : 226
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Book Description
The history of the world--triumphs and tragedies, breakthroughs and breakups--through the iconic jewels that have inspired and influenced since the dawn of time. From ancient treasures to royal weddings, great heists to the red carpet, this book is a stunning, surprising, and glittering tour of historic turning points and gem-driven drama, delving into the passions and predilections of some of the world's most interesting and extraordinary people. Starting in the era of Cleopatra and continuing through to contemporary jewelry statements by Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, and Meghan Markle, Stellene Volandes tells the stories of how shiny stones and precious metals have determined empires, inspired expeditions and great crime, and been the communicator of status and ruin since ancient times. Each moment is placed in historic and relevant context, with Volandes drawing engaging parallels between Napoleon's gift to Marie Louise at the birth of their son and the modern push present or the insouciant story behind the brooch Jackie Kennedy famously wore to a 1962 State Dinner with the Shah of Iran. Illustrated with a mix of archival images and gorgeous photography of the jewels, this book is a beautiful, informative, and essential read for history lovers, fashion, celebrity, and pop-culture followers, as well as passionate jewel hounds.
Author: Victoria Finlay
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0345466950
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 506
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Book Description
Throughout history, precious stones have inspired passions and poetry, quests and curses, sacred writings and unsacred actions. In this scintillating book, journalist Victoria Finlay embarks on her own globe-circling search for the real stories behind some of the gems we prize most. Blending adventure travel, geology, exciting new research, and her own irresistible charm, Finlay has fashioned a treasure hunt for some of the most valuable, glamorous, and mysterious substances on earth. With the same intense curiosity and narrative flair she displayed in her widely-praised book Color, Finlay journeys from the underground opal churches of outback Australia to the once pearl-rich rivers of Scotland; from the peridot mines on an Apache reservation in Arizona to the remote ruby mines in the mountains of northern Burma. She risks confronting scorpions to crawl through Cleopatra’s long-deserted emerald mines, tries her hand at gem cutting in the dusty Sri Lankan city where Marco Polo bartered for sapphires, and investigates a rumor that fifty years ago most of the world’s amber was mined by prisoners in a Soviet gulag. Jewels is a unique and often exhilarating voyage through history, across cultures, deep into the earth’s mantle, and up to the glittering heights of fame, power, and wealth. From the fabled curse of the Hope Diamond, to the disturbing truths about how pearls are cultured, to the peasants who were once executed for carrying amber to the centuries-old quest by magicians and scientists to make a perfect diamond, Jewels tells dazzling stories with a wonderment and brilliance truly worthy of its subjects.
Author: Caroline Childers
Publisher: Rizzoli Publications
ISBN: 084786538X
Category : Design
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
This book offers a unique way of exploring the world of vintage jewelry for experts, newcomers, and anyone with an interest in the topic. Every piece of jewelry tells a story, and none more so than the exquisite pieces in this book, which have passed through several notable owners before arriving at Joseph Saidian & Sons, an antique jeweler’s shop nestled in the Manhattan Art and Antiques Center. Each chapter is centered around a particular piece of jewelry and the way in which it is emblematic: a previous owner, an exemplary design or dominant material. From an array of historic pieces from Van Cleef & Arpels to a discussion of Indian royalty and its relationship with jewelry to pages filled with exquisite pearl jewelry, this book satisfies both the casual fan and the devotee with full-color photographs and informative themed chapters. The eclectic choice of jewels and objets makes this a book unlike any other, with myriad entry points to larger discussions on broader themes and trends that the pieces figure into. This publication features beautiful full-color photographs of jewelry from various historical eras up to the present day, with a wide range of materials and styles. Each piece offers a different entry point for discussing the history of jewelry and various design elements, techniques, materials, and societal implications.
Author: Kirsty Manning
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062882031
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 311
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Book Description
From the author of The Song of the Jade Lily comes a thrilling story of a family secret that leads to a legendary treasure. Why would someone bury a bucket of precious jewels and gemstones and never return? Present Day. When respected American jewelry historian, Kate Kirby, receives a call about the Cheapside jewels, she knows she’s on the brink of the experience of a lifetime. But the trip to London forces Kate to explore secrets that have long been buried by her own family. Back in Boston, Kate has uncovered a series of sketches in her great-grandmother’s papers linking her suffragette great-grandmother Essie to the Cheapside collection. Could these sketches hold the key to Essie’s secret life in Edwardian London? In the summer of 1912, impoverished Irish immigrant Essie Murphy happens to be visiting her brother when a workman’s pickaxe strikes through the floor of an old tenement house in Cheapside, near St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The workmen uncover a stash of treasure—from Ottoman pendants to Elizabethan and Jacobean gems—and then the finds disappear again! Could these jewels—one in particular—change the fortunes of Essie and her sisters? Together with photographer Marcus Holt, Kate Kirby chases the history of the Cheapside gems and jewels, especially the story of a small diamond champlevé enamel ring. Soon, everything Kate believes about her family, gemology, and herself will be threatened. Based on a fascinating true story, The Lost Jewels is a riveting historical fiction novel that will captivate readers from the beginning to the unforgettable, surprising end.
Author: Ambrose Lansing
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 32
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Book Description
This picture book features images of Ancient Egyptian Jewelry covering works from Pre-dynastic shell necklaces to intricately designed gold earrings of the Roman period. A brief introductory essay discusses the history of jewelry and the evolution of Ancient Egyptian jewelry craftsmanship.
Author: Anna Keay
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780500289822
Category : Crown jewels
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
This text captures the magnificence of a collection of symbolic objects steeped in English history like no other: the crown jewels.
Author: Katherine Prior
Publisher: Mapin Publishing Pvt
ISBN:
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 216
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Book Description
With reference to India.
Author: Ernst Albrecht Heiniger
Publisher: Crescent
ISBN: 9780517181324
Category : Gems
Languages : en
Pages : 316
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Book Description
Describes how gemstones are made into jewelry, shows crown jewels, famous gems, and ancient jewelry, and discusses the history of jewelry making
Author: Umm Nura
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780986720802
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 88
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Book Description
The Jannah Jewels land in the ancient city of Timbuktu in Mali. Suddenly, they are caught in the middle of a mystery. Someone has stolen a priceless manuscript! While following clues, they find the Grand Mosque and discover the Treasure King. Who exactly is the Treasure King and can the Jannah Jewels restore the missing manuscript into a Golden Clock before time runs out?
Author: John Prados
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292762151
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 423
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Book Description
In December 1974, a front-page story in the New York Times revealed the explosive details of illegal domestic spying by the Central Intelligence Agency. This included political surveillance, eavesdropping, detention, and interrogation. The revelation of illegal activities over many years shocked the American public and led to investigations of the CIA by a presidential commission and committees in both houses of Congress, which found evidence of more abuse, even CIA plans for assassinations. Investigators and the public soon discovered that the CIA abuses were described in a top-secret document agency insiders dubbed the "Family Jewels." That document became ground zero for a political firestorm that lasted more than a year. The "Family Jewels" debacle ultimately brought about greater congressional oversight of the CIA, but excesses such as those uncovered in the 1970s continue to come to light. The Family Jewels probes the deepest secrets of the CIA and its attempts to avoid scrutiny. John Prados recounts the secret operations that constituted "Jewels" and investigators' pursuit of the truth, plus the strenuous efforts—by the agency, the executive branch, and even presidents—to evade accountability. Prados reveals how Vice President Richard Cheney played a leading role in intelligence abuses and demonstrates that every type of "Jewel" has been replicated since, especially during the post-9/11 war on terror. The Family Jewels masterfully illuminates why these abuses are endemic to spying, shows that proper relationships are vital to control of intelligence, and advocates a system for handling "Family Jewels" crises in a democratic society. With a new epilogue that discusses former CIA employee Edward Snowden's revelation of massive covert surveillance by the NSA, this powerful accounting of intelligence abuses committed by the CIA from the Cold War through the war on terror reveals why such abuses and attempts to conceal them are endemic to spying and proposes how a democratic nation can rein in its spymasters.
