Paris was liberated from Nazi occupation 80 years ago this year. Surprising and beautiful jewellery made to celebrate this continues to send a message of jubilation.
Tennis has been popular since the late 19th century. Brooches, tie-pins and bracelets inspired by the game are the perfect choice for players and fans.
A round up of some of the jewellery shown at London’s Collect craft fair, 2024
The ‘Memories are made of this’ exhibition at London’s Sarah Myerscough Gallery, features the work of 15 contemporary jewellers, reflecting on memory, love and loss and how this can be expressed through jewellery.
Understanding symbolism in jewellery is a key skill. The moon can represent the Virgin Mary, goddesses Diana and Artemis or be a fashionable jewel for the body or hair. In the 1960s, jewellery was inspired by the Space Race.
Skulls are often found in jewellery, but what do they mean? In Renaissance and early modern art, they symbolised death and eternal judgment. By the nineteenth century, they had become fashionable party pieces.
To understand jewellery, we have to appreciate its symbolism. Delicate butterflies, colourful and fragile, fly onto brooches, pins, necklaces and bracelets. The butterfly in jewellery is a symbol of love, death and the resurrection.
Jewellery is a visual art – it’s made to be looked at and it sometimes carries a message. The language of jewellery is full of symbolism, images which were once widely understood but now often forgotten.