This work, published on the 94th birthday of Diana Scarisbrick, honours her extraordinary career as the 'world's leading jewellery historian'. Twenty scholars, most of whom have known and benefited from Scarisbrick's vast knowledge over many decades, have contributed essays to this book. Liber Amicorum centres around the historian to which it is dedicated, Diana Scarisbrick. The work of the twenty contributors owes much to her own pioneering research in the feeled of jewellery history. The book opens with a brief biographical summary of Scarisbrick's life before exploring her assiduous work in the field of jewellery history. A subsequent bibliography of Scarisbrick's career work is provided which includes articles, interviews, and books published from 1970 to the present day, and serves as evidence of her eminence. The work as a whole functions as a 'small token of appreciation for all that she has contributed to the world of jewellery history'. The essays in this publication cover topics that range from Roman jewellery to the contemporary production of jewellery. Not constrained by a focus on one particular time period, these essays are indicative of the breadth of influence that Diana Scarisbrick's career has had. Contributions cover several different themes: amongst the objects discussed are gems, rings, chalices, bindings and crown jewels. The themes covered include jewel theft, methods of jewellery production, and the collections of individuals. Throughout each essay the insightful historical research of the contributors is beautifully supported by high quality illustrations. These bring the book to life, highlighting the splendour and fragility of some of the objects that are dicussed.

Tadema Gallery was founded in 1978 by Sonya and David Newell-Smith in London's famed Camden Passage in Islington. They were successful photo-journalists who ventured into the field of 20th century abstract art and the decorative arts of the 19th and 20th centuries. By 1982 they had discovered a passion for artist-designed jewellery and showed in the gallery an eclectic choice of jewels from significant designers of the Revivalist, Art Nouveau, Arts & Crafts, Jugendstil, Art Deco, and Modernist movements. With over 500 unique jewellery pieces from the 1860s to 1960s, the book reflects the 40-year history of the gallery and the superb eye of its inspirational founders.

The extraordinary life of Barbara Cartlidge (b. 1922 in Berlin) - influential gallerist, curator, jewellery artist and author - together with the history of her legendary Electrum Gallery, which she founded in 1971 with Ralph Turner in London, are documented for the first time in a single publication. Pioneers and colleagues as well as around seventy internationally renowned artists of the gallery all have their say and, in anecdotes and recollections, countless illustrations and hitherto unpublished images, tell of a strong and resolute woman and the significance of her gallery as a promoter and platform for the understanding of contemporary art jewellery. Particular attention is paid to the life of Barbara Cartlidge, who fled from Germany in 1938. For over fifty years she was a driving force in what she described as the 'the brotherhood of jewellers who make modern and thought-provoking jewellery all over the world'.

For years David Watkins has been a primal force to be reckoned with in contemporary jewellery design, a mover and shaker in this new international medium. This book is just what the retrospective aficionados of art jewellery have been waiting for. Watkins is the medals designer for the 2012 Olympics in London. This book represents the first retrospective in print on the fascinating work of the English artist in jewelry David Watkins, who started out as a jazz pianist and sculptor but has been designing jewelry since the 1960s. At the outset of his career, he designed miniature works of sculpture. Later he began producing outsize wearable objects. Watkins is increasingly preoccupied with the interrelationship of the body and jewelry; his pieces of jewelry are becoming autonomous art objects in their own right. David Watkins's versatility as a jewelry-designer is astonishing: the diverse materials he uses range from paper to acrylic, Neoprene and Colorcore to gold as well as a profusion of plastics. His aesthetic "idiom" encompasses stringent structuring as well as monochrome Minimalism and compositions improvised in stunning forms and vibrant colors. Watkins is equally comfortable working with traditional jewelry-making techniques and computer-aided design as used throughout the manufacturing sector. Drawing on a wealth of photographs, drawings and statements made by the artist himself, the book provides invaluable insights into the way David Watkins works.