Coveted: Art and Innovation in High Jewelry

Journalist Grant celebrates high jewelry in this gorgeously photographed if overwhelming survey. She defines high jewelry as pieces made with “innovative materials and radical design with the most important stones.” Each of the five chapters consists of a lengthy essay describing jewelry designers who share a common theme coupled with images of their work. In the “East Meets West” chapter, Grant showcases artists who have fused Western art with Eastern cultures, such as Pierre Cartier, who created a necklace for Britain’s Queen Alexandra using Indian pearls, rubies, and emeralds; and Feng Ji, who applies the European technique of pointillism to her designs that draw from Chinese watercolors. “Inspired by Nature” introduces designers who have created naturalistic designs, among them Russian artist Ilgiz Fazulzyanov, who created a stunning ring in the shape of an artichoke. The photos are beautiful, but there’s often too much text on one page to realistically digest, and the layout can be confusing (in several instances, the descriptive text is on a different page than the image of the jewelry being described); as a result, this book can be a challenge for even the most eager readers. Nonetheless, this is a worthy compendium that will satisfy art lovers and jewelry enthusiasts alike. (Nov.)