.jpg)
Awards season is in full swing, and while, yes, it’s all about who wins what, let’s face it, it’s equally about the fashion and the jaw-dropping high jewellery seen on the red carpet. Ahead of the Oscars, coffee table tomes from the world’s most illustrious jewellery houses serve as a fabulous form of inspiration. Here, browse British Vogue’s pick of the best jewellery books to own now.
Divine Jewels: The Pursuit of Beauty
Tokyo-based Kazumi Arikawa is by all accounts a discreet and thoughtful figure. And yet, as founder of the Albion Art Jewellery Institute, he’s also at the helm of an organisation thought to possess one of the most important collections of jewellery in the world, with pieces dating from the Mesopotamian era through to the Art-Deco period. The Buddhist monk turned art dealer decided to follow his mother into the jewellery business after a trip to see the landmark jewellery collection at The V&A in the ’80s. The resulting collection is hundreds of pieces strong and includes 60 tiaras. As his organisation prepares to turn 40 in 2025, Arikawa is sharing the stories of 250 key pieces from his treasury in Divine Jewels, a 520-page tome which features breathtaking photography alongside contextualised stories about the fascinating pieces.
If Jewels Could Talk: Seven Secret Histories
Few people in the world know as much about jewellery as Carol Woolton, jewellery historian, podcast host and former British Vogue editor. What a treat, then, to get a glimpse into her world via her latest book, which takes the reader on a journey through history via seven pieces of jewellery that link people from around the world – hoops, rings, beads, charms, brooches, cuffs and head ornaments – and explores pieces ranging from Viking silver torques to Hindu wedding jewellery and 16th-century posy rings. “Whatever time of the earth’s history you were born onto this planet, whatever culture or civilisation you were born into, we all essentially wear the same things,” said Carol, discussing how jewellery remains one of humanity’s longest-running traditions. “While we remain social creatures, jewellery will always provide something for us to hold onto. This book is an acknowledgement of that need.”
Exceptional Watches
“Behind a watch there are often hidden stories. Stories of those who made it and those who wore it. From the watchmaker to the diver, from the astronaut to the collector, from father to son – from buyer to thief, even – a watch does not age. As it is handed on and, as it travels, from the Joux Valley in Switzerland to the saleroom, from the depths of the ocean to the moon, and from the pages of a catalogue to those of this book, a watch only gains in substance,” says Clément Mazarian, collector and author of a new book chronicling the stories of 90 era-defining watches. Featuring detailed photographs alongside technical illustrations, Exceptional Watches examines pieces as varied as mechanical watches and chronographs while uncovering the histories behind coveted models such as the Rolex Submariner and Jaeger-Lecoultre Reverso.
.jpg)
Precious: The History and Mystery of Gems Across Time
From the story of a fragile emerald watch lost for centuries under the floorboards of a London house to tales of Burmese warriors who embedded rubies into their skin before battle, The V&A’s Senior Jewellery Curator Helen Molesworth takes readers on a sumptuous and sweeping history of humanity’s love affair with jewels. What’s more, the book is furnished with 16 pages of detailed colour photography, which showcases particularly astonishing pieces in all their glory.
Chaumet: Photographer’s Gaze
This book celebrates Maison Chaumet’s archive through exquisite photographs by the likes of Peter Lindbergh, Guy Bourdin, Paolo Roversi and more. This is Chaumet’s first retrospective, and as such offers a unique glimpse into the house’s fascinating history, including previously unreleased autochromes (an early form of colour photography) from the early 20th century. The tantalising offering is made all the better by its stellar contributors – not only the aforementioned Carol Woolton but also Sylvie Lécallier, director of the photographic collection at Palais Galliera in Paris, and Flora Triebel, a curator specialising in 19th-century photography at Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
Tasaki: Balance
For 70 years, Tasaki has pushed the limits of what can be done with jewellery – a legacy that is both explored and celebrated in the first monograph from the brand. Established in Kobe, Osaka Bay, in the 1950s by Shunsaku Tasaki, the house has grown from a modest business run by a family of pearl farmers to become one of the leading fine jewellery houses in Japan. Today, it’s known for not only its exceptional Akoya pearls – many of which the house still grows and harvests, either in Japan or its farming operation in the Andaman Sea – but also its exacting ways with diamond cutting. Balance showcases the innovation Tasaki has become famous for and also examines many of the house’s trademark settings. With fashion designer Prabal Gurung now on board as creative director at the house, this book is perfect for Tasaki fans of old and serves as an introduction for its new and growing audience (Bella Hadid is a fan).
Solange: Jewellery for Chromantics
Beloved by everyone from fashion editors to celebrities (Beyoncé, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dua Lipa, Kate Moss and Julianne Moore are all fans), London-based jewellery designer Solange Azagury-Partridge’s work has transformed the at times stuffy high jewellery industry over the last 35 years. Witty, edgy and immaculately crafted, Jewellery for Chromantics – the craftswoman’s first book – is a fascinating celebration of the enchanted world she has created through her fantasy-filled pieces. A feel-good joy of a jewellery book.
Bvlgari Aeterna
Bvlgari’s 150-piece jewellery collection “Aeterna” is inspired by the spirit of reinvention and the house’s passion for Rome. The venerable authors of this book are certainly thought-provoking: Salvatore Settis, an Italian archaeologist and art historian, who has been director of the Getty Center and of the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Lucia Silvestri, creative director of jewellery at Bvlgari, Gislain Aucremanne, heritage curator at Bvlgari, and Aliza S Wong, director of the American Academy in Rome. Then there’s the European Space Agency’s Ersilia Vaudo, who holds a degree in astrophysics, and Julia Watson, designer, academic and leading expert of Lo-TEK nature-based technologies for climate-resilience. This book, they say, is a paean to the “radiant morning light of Rome” that “captures the spark” of the house’s imagination.
.jpg)
The World of David Morris: The London Jeweller
Sophisticated yet creative, London-based jeweller David Morris established his eponymous house in the capital in 1962, and it’s only gone from strength to strength in the years since. Morris forged a reputation for using extraordinary and thoughtful gemstones in innovative designs — a combination which captured the hearts (and opened the wallets) of jewellery connoisseurs the world over, from Elizabeth Taylor to Diana, Princess of Wales. Six decades on, the house (now helmed by his son Jeremy from an atelier on New Bond Street) remains one of the most revered in Britain, with the David Morris world explored in this gorgeous monograph.
Tiffany & Co.: The Landmark
The storied house’s Fifth Avenue flagship reopened in April 2023 after a four-year restoration by architect Peter Marino, who succeeded in his mission to put Tiffany & Co. firmly back on the map as one of the most significant landmarks in New York City. This book celebrates not only the store’s transformation but also its venerable history, exploring the golden thread that runs through Tiffany’s legacy, from its founder’s visionary retail concept to its iconic blue box.
.jpg)
