Art & Photography Books:

Precious

The History and Mystery of Gems Across Time
Click to share your rating 0 ratings (0.0/5.0 average) Thanks for your vote!

Format:

Hardback
$58.99
RRP:
$59.99 save 2%
Releases

Pre-order to reserve stock from our first shipment. Your credit card will not be charged until your order is ready to ship.

Available for pre-order now

Buy Now, Pay Later with:

Afterpay is available on orders $100 to $2000 Learn more

Pre-order Price Guarantee

If you pre-order an item and the price drops before the release date, you'll pay the lowest price. This happens automatically when you pre-order and pay by credit card.

If paying by PayPal, Afterpay, Zip or internet banking, and the price drops after you have paid, you can ask for the difference to be refunded.

If Mighty Ape's price changes before release, you'll pay the lowest price.

Availability

This product will be released on

Delivering to:

It should arrive:

  • 30 May - 6 Jun using International Courier

Description

Renowned jewellery historian and gemmologist, Helen Molesworth traces the journey of gems, showing how their remarkable stories are a sparkling new way of exploring the history of humanity. 'A gem of a book' - Tracy Borman When Helen Molesworth joined the gem and jewellery industry she began her own love affair with one of humanity's oldest and richest fascinations. For as long as people have known about gemstones they have treasured them. Born of violent geological events and the chance meetings of minerals, their stories are an extraordinary journey through time, and are significant to the human narrative in as many ways as they boast sparkling facets. Selecting ten of nature's most dazzling jewels, Helen Molesworth makes journeys across the world to trace stones from their discovery to the moment a glimmering cut and polished masterpiece is traded, and then fought over, adorns emperors and kings, falls out of favour, and then raises eye-watering sums in another age. Touching on history and politics, archaeology and engineering, geography and geology, chemistry and physics, psychology and romance, fine art and high finance, her book is rich with great stories and has something for everyone.

Author Biography:

Helen's career has spanned the global gem and jewellery industry, from roles with leading auction and jewellery houses to academic posts. For ten years she was a jewellery specialist for Sotheby's and Christie's in London and Geneva, where she handled sales of global importance including the private jewellery collection of HRH The Princess Margaret in 2006. As a gemmologist and jewellery historian, she has since held roles as Professeur d'Histoire du Bijou at the Geneva University of Art and Design, Managing Director at the House of G belin, and most recently as the Senior Jewellery Curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Precious is her first book for general readers.
Release date Australia
May 23rd, 2024
Pages
336
Audiences
  • General (US: Trade)
  • Tertiary Education (US: College)
Illustrations
16pp colour photos + maps of gem sources and gem motifs
Dimensions
160x242x30
ISBN-13
9780857529091
Product ID
36400188

Customer previews

Nobody has previewed this product yet. You could be the first!

Write a Preview

Help & options

Filed under...