If Jewels Could Talk


Book Description

A treasure trove of forgotten stories about jewels throughout history by internationally renowned jewellery expert, Carol Woolton. If Jewels Could Talk: Links Through Time delves into the history, cultural significance and eclectic trivia of jewellery. As a jewellery historian, jewellery editor at British Vogue and now podcast host, Carol Woolton is uniquely qualified to take us on a whistlestop tour through history via seven items of jewellery: hoops, rings, beads, charms, brooches, cuffs and head ornaments. Weaving in examples from cultures around the world, Carol will uncover fascinating stories about Viking silver torques, Imperial jade in China, sixteenth-century Posy rings, organic gems, snake motifs, Roman cameo carving, Hindu wedding jewellery, Etruscan gold, Ancient Greek coins, piercings, Wedding pigs in China, tiaras and anklets - to name but a few. A beautiful and illuminating gift for any jewellery lover, If Jewels Could Talk shines a light on all that glitters and more.




If These Jewels Could Talk


Book Description

Throughout the 20th century, jewellery revealed the behind-the-scenes stories and the plot twists and turns in the real lives of celebrities that will always be larger than life. Some of the world's most fabulous jewels not only illustrated power and status in society but these magical gems held tremendous sentimental value as they were linked to the most significant moments and memories of Hollywood royalty, international aristocracy and international icons of style. If These Jewels Could Talk offers a glimpse into the jewellery boxes of these celebrities - the personal tastes, heartfelt anecdotes and the true tales of the women who wore and collected the pieces. During the early- to mid-20th century, a majority of screen actresses requested to wear their own favourite pieces in films. This offered a peek into some the great jewellers of the time who were designing for women who could choose anything. Actresses such as Merle Oberon, Paulette Goddard, Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor as well as icons such as Jackie Kennedy and The Duchess of Windsor created signature styles for which they became known and which influenced generations of women, becoming part of our collective consciousness. The 20s through the 50s were a time when the renowned jewellery houses were also celebrities in their own right. They mixed with the socialites and royalty they bejewelled. In films, jewellery clearly developed and defined a character's personality - as it did in real life - whether it be a rags-to-riches story or those that figured into the plot: for example, a Cartier bracelet in Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat, or a Harry Winston necklace in Notorious. Whether on or off screen, worn by the famed and the legendary, and designed by the most revered houses of the day, all of these jewels take us on a narrative journey that provide fascinating insight into the intriguing worlds of early Hollywood and nobility from the 1920s through today.




Delta Jewels


Book Description

Inspired by memories of her beloved grandmother, photographer and author Alysia Burton Steele -- picture editor on a Pulitzer Prize-winning team -- combines heart-wrenching narrative with poignant photographs of more than 50 female church elders in the Mississippi Delta. These ordinary women lived extraordinary lives under the harshest conditions of the Jim Crow era and during the courageous changes of the Civil Rights Movement. With the help of local pastors, Steele recorded these living witnesses to history and folk ways, and shares the significance of being a Black woman -- child, daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother in Mississippi -- a Jewel of the Delta. From the stand Mrs. Tennie Self took for her marriage to be acknowledged in the phone book, to the life-threatening sacrifice required to vote for the first time, these 50 inspiring portraits are the faces of love and triumph that will teach readers faith and courage in difficult times.




Vogue The Jewellery


Book Description

Destined to become must-have visual sourcebooks for all those who love fashion, the Vogue Portfolio series continues with Vogue: The Jewellery by Vogue's jewellery editor, Carol Woolton. From couture to costume jewellery, the brilliant pieces featured on the pages of British Vogue for almost a century have encapsulated the fashion zeitgeist of each new age for which they were created. Adorning princesses and rock chicks alike, the jewels shown here reveal a dazzling array of styles and moods - from fairy-tale romance to Jazz-age glamour, sculptural modernism to timeless elegance. On every page sumptuous jewellery is the star of the show, nourishing dreams in us all. In Vogue: The Jewellery Carol Woolton has curated a collection of more than 300 fabulous images and grouped them into five thematic chapters: Show-stoppers, Rock Chick, Minimalist, Exotic and Classical. From fantastical diamond-encrusted tiaras and intricate jet chokers to sculptural silver cuffs and the purity of a simple string of pearls, the book provides an evocative celebration of a century of magical jewellery, while also showcasing the work of British Vogue's very best photographers including Norman Parkinson, Mario Testino, Anthony Denney, David Bailey, Arthur Elgort, Corinne Day, Cecil Beaton, Bruce Weber and Tim Walker.




My Charmed Life


Book Description

When Beth Bernstein’s mother unexpectedly passed away, Beth’s life was forever changed, as she knew that she’d lost not only her best friend, but also a big part of herself. In this heartwarming and moving memoir, Beth learns how to link together the platinum memories of the jewelry handed down to her by the woman who taught her how to love, overcome obstacles, and (most important) accessorize. As a young girl, Beth learned that not all engagements came with a ring. The unconventional engagement watch Beth’s father gave her mother, her mom’s postdivorce transformation from wearing Jackie O pearls to donning love beads--each piece of jewelry represents an intimate memory, a reminder to rise above life’s challenges and enjoy its triumphs. And there are also Beth’s own experiences with rocky romances, of the too many engagement rings she fell in love with and the too few men who could commit. She tells the story of these relationships with sparkles of hilarity and glimmers of hope, conjuring up lost keepsakes and fiery moments--until she realizes that the brightest gems are the ones you give yourself, and finds freedom she never thought possible.




Jewelry: How Much Is Too Much?


Book Description

Almost everyone would agree that there's some point where enough jewelry is enough. Well, what is that point? In this book, Doug Batchelor challenges you to find out for yourself what God's Word says on this fascinating subject.




Never Broken


Book Description

“Jewel is a truth-teller…this is a book that lingers in your heart.” – Brené Brown *The New York Times bestseller* New York Times bestselling poet and multi-platinum singer-songwriter Jewel explores her unconventional upbringing and extraordinary life in an inspirational memoir that covers her childhood to fame, marriage, and motherhood. When Jewel’s first album, Pieces of You, topped the charts in 1995, her emotional voice and vulnerable performance were groundbreaking. Drawing comparisons to Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell, a singer-songwriter of her kind had not emerged in decades. Now, with more than thirty million albums sold worldwide, Jewel tells the story of her life, and the lessons learned from her experience and her music. Living on a homestead in Alaska, Jewel learned to yodel at age five, and joined her parents’ entertainment act, working in hotels, honky-tonks, and biker bars. Behind a strong-willed family life with an emphasis on music and artistic talent, however, there was also instability, abuse, and trauma. At age fifteen, she moved out and tasked herself with a mission: to see if she could avoid being the kind of statistic that her past indicated for her future. Soon after, she was accepted to the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, and there she began writing her own songs as a means of expressing herself and documenting her journey to find happiness. Jewel was eighteen and homeless in San Diego when a radio DJ aired a bootleg version of one of her songs and it was requested into the top-ten countdown, something unheard-of for an unsigned artist. By the time she was twenty-one, her debut had gone multiplatinum. There is much more to Jewel’s story, though, one complicated by family legacies, by crippling fear and insecurity, and by the extraordinary circumstances in which she managed to flourish and find happiness despite these obstacles. Along her road of self-discovery, learning to redirect her fate, Jewel has become an iconic singer and songwriter. In Never Broken she reflects on how she survived, and how writing songs, poetry, and prose has saved her life many times over. She writes lyrically about the natural wonders of Alaska, about pain and loss, about the healing power of motherhood, and about discovering her own identity years after the entire world had discovered the beauty of her songs.




The Cartiers


Book Description

“A dynamic group biography studded with design history and high-society dash . . . [This] elegantly wrought narrative bears the Cartier hallmark.”—The Economist The “astounding” (André Leon Talley) story of the family behind the Cartier empire and the three brothers who turned their grandfather’s humble Parisian jewelry store into a global luxury icon—as told by a great-granddaughter with exclusive access to long-lost family archives “Ms. Cartier Brickell has done her grandfather proud.”—The Wall Street Journal The Cartiers is the revealing tale of a jewelry dynasty—four generations, from revolutionary France to the 1970s. At its heart are the three Cartier brothers whose motto was “Never copy, only create” and who made their family firm internationally famous in the early days of the twentieth century, thanks to their unique and complementary talents: Louis, the visionary designer who created the first men’s wristwatch to help an aviator friend tell the time without taking his hands off the controls of his flying machine; Pierre, the master dealmaker who bought the New York headquarters on Fifth Avenue for a double-stranded natural pearl necklace; and Jacques, the globe-trotting gemstone expert whose travels to India gave Cartier access to the world’s best rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, inspiring the celebrated Tutti Frutti jewelry. Francesca Cartier Brickell, whose great-grandfather was the youngest of the brothers, has traveled the world researching her family’s history, tracking down those connected with her ancestors and discovering long-lost pieces of the puzzle along the way. Now she reveals never-before-told dramas, romances, intrigues, betrayals, and more. The Cartiers also offers a behind-the-scenes look at the firm’s most iconic jewelry—the notoriously cursed Hope Diamond, the Romanov emeralds, the classic panther pieces—and the long line of stars from the worlds of fashion, film, and royalty who wore them, from Indian maharajas and Russian grand duchesses to Wallis Simpson, Coco Chanel, and Elizabeth Taylor. Published in the two-hundredth anniversary year of the birth of the dynasty’s founder, Louis-François Cartier, this book is a magnificent, definitive, epic social history shown through the deeply personal lens of one legendary family.




When You Give a Duke a Diamond


Book Description

He had had a perfectly orderly life...until she came along William, the sixth Duke of Pelham, enjoys his punctual. securely structured life. Orderly and predictable—that's the way he likes it. But he's in the public eye, and the scandal sheets will make up anything to sell papers. When the gossips link him to Juliette, one of the most beautiful and celebrated courtesans in London, chaos doesn't begin to describe what happens next. Juliette is nicknamed the Duchess of Dalliance, and has the cream of the nobility at her beck and call. It's seriously disruptive to have the duke who's the biggest catch on the Marriage Mart scaring her other suitors away. Then she discovers William's darkest secret and decides what he needs in his life is the kind of excitement only she can provide. The first in a sparkling Regency romance trilogy from acclaimed author Shana Galen following a glittering trio of celebrated courtesans whose fortunes depend on the ton believing the rumors about their mysterious lives. Celebrate the 80th birthday of Regency Romance with great books from Sourcebooks Casablanca! Jewels of a Ton Trilogy: When You Give a Duke a Diamond (Book 1) If You Give a Rake a Ruby (Book 2) Sapphires Are an Earl's Best Friend (Book 3) Praise for Shana Galen: "BRILLIANT AND SEXY! Once you start a Shana Galen book, you won't put it down until you reach the end." —Sophie Jordan, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked in Your Arms "Her engaging characters and strong plotline enhance the spirited dialogue and sense of adventure." —RT Book Reviews




Georgian Jewellery 1714-1830


Book Description

Georgian Jewellery is a celebration of the style and excellence of the eighteenth century, and of the ingenuity that produced such a wealth of fabulous jewellery. Heavy academic tomes have already been written about the period, but this book examines it in a more colourful and accessible way. The book aims to show that Georgian jewellery is not only the stuff of museums and safe boxes, but that it can be worn as elegantly and fashionably today as it was 200 years ago. Much disparate information about the jewellery has been gathered together and the period is brought alive by portraits and character sketches of famous Georgians in their finery, fashion tips, gossip, and some rather outrageous cartoons of the time, as well as fascinating recently discovered facts. With information on how to identify, buy and repair pieces, this sumptuously illustrated volume contains the largest single catalogue of 18th Century jewellery. AUTHORS: Ginny Redington Dawes, a life-long collector of antique jewellery, has written two previous books on the subject - The Bakelite Jewellery Book and Victorian Jewellery. Staff writer for MGM Screengems Music, she is also a successful composer; she wrote the book, music and lyrics for the off-Broadway show The Talk of the Town and has won a CLEO award for music for advertising. Olivia Collings became fascinated by the seventeenth century alchemist and jeweller Christopher Pinchbeck at an early age and bought her first piece of antique jewellery aged seven. She trained in an exclusive Bond Street antique jewellery shop before starting her own business in 1975 and has continued learning about and dealing in Georgian jewellery ever since. She is now an independent jewellery consultant. SELLING POINTS: * A thoroughly researched look at the jewellery of the time, offering good basic knowledge for the beginner and new facts for the expert * New and/or little-known facts about the techniques, styles and materials of the age * The only book solely on the Georgian period, and the largest ever catalogue of the diverse range of eighteenth century jewellery * Interesting portraits of characters of the period and their influence on the jewels of the time, with some contemporary gossip, outrageous cartoons and period fashion tips * Emphasis on jewellery that has been on the open market in recent years, rather than just unobtainable museum pieces 295 colour, 7 b/w images




Recent Books