Buying a jewelry book as a gift could be considered an economical move. It would cost far less than an actual bauble, yet be filled with more jewels than anyone could ever own.
And books on jewelry “offer a beautiful gateway into art, history and culture,” Melanie Grant, an author and the executive director of the Responsible Jewellery Council, wrote in a text message. “Even if the recipient isn’t a jewelry enthusiast, they’ll gain insights into the power and economics of precious materials that have shaped the world.”
Here are six new volumes that might make your holiday shopping list.
A Museum in Book Form
“Divine Jewels: The Pursuit of Beauty” by Kazumi Arikawa
Flammarion, $115
Kazumi Arikawa, who once told The New York Times that his mission was “to create the Louvre Museum of jewelry in Japan,” has published a book offering a glimpse into his expansive collection of more than 800 pieces. Rarities such as the cameo that Napoleon took to his exile on the island of St. Helena and the intaglio ring with a likeness of Frederick III, a 15th-century emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, are among the highlights.
“I wanted to share with everyone the shaking of my heart and soul that I experience when I encounter beauty,” Mr. Arikawa said in a recent video interview. “I am guided by beauty, beauty is the most important factor when I choose a piece of jewelry for my collection, and I wanted to share the essence of beauty.”
Her Love of Color
“Solange: Jewellery for Chromantics” by Solange Azagury-Partridge and Ruth Peltason
Rizzoli, $95
Known for her Hotlips rings in saturated enamel colors, Solange Azagury-Partridge is marking nearly 35 years in jewelry with the release of her first book. “It felt like the right time to gather into one place much of what I’ve done so far,” Ms. Azagury-Partridge said in a recent phone interview from her studio in London.
Juxtaposing images of her jewels with striking photographs, the book creates a visual narrative of recurring design themes that are used as chapter titles, such as Celestial, Kinetic and Devotional.
There is also a chapter titled Chromantics — her playful blend of “chromatic” and “romantics” — which highlights her love of color. “I adore color, whether in the spaces I live and work in or the jewelry I design,” she said.
Green holds special meaning for her, and has its own chapter, Viridian: “I’m obsessed with green — maybe it’s something about how powerful it feels to be in nature, surrounded by greenery. There’s something deeply therapeutic and healing about it.”
Jewelry Photography
“Chaumet. Photographers’ Gaze” by Carol Woolton, Sylvie Lécallier and Flora Triebel
Citadelles & Mazenod (U.S. publication scheduled Nov. 27), $85
Chaumet is strongly associated with Empress Josephine and her early 19th-century era, but a new book explores the house’s modern visual identity, with images taken by the likes of Guy Bourdin, Peter Lindbergh and Paolo Roversi.
“Joseph Chaumet was a genuine pioneer,” Charles Leung, Chaumet’s chief executive, wrote in an email about one of the house’s leaders, “and in the late 1880s set up a photo studio at Chaumet, allowing the maison to undertake scientific research and systematically photograph the pieces leaving our workshop.”
“The maison has pursued its special relationship with photography for over a century, and it seemed essential to share it with the public,” he added.
The Mother of All Diamonds
“Diamonds of Golconda” by Capucine Juncker
Skira (U.S. publication scheduled Dec. 31), $55
Golconda is the name of an Indian region where some of the world’s most famous diamonds were discovered, including the 105.6-carat Koh-i-Noor, now part of the British Crown Jewels, and the Sancy, a 55.23-carat gem held at the Louvre in Paris.
As a jewelry author, Capucine Juncker often came across diamonds from that region but, she said in a recent interview, there often were “gaps and inaccuracies in their recorded history” so she decided to write a book to set the record straight.
Ms. Juncker’s volume examines the mines’ geography, the significance of diamonds in Indian culture and the history of their rise to prominence in the West. “After diamonds were discovered in Brazil in the early 1700s,” she said, “some royal courts refused to buy them, as they still preferred the more prized diamonds from Golconda, so traders made Brazilian diamonds transit through India before selling them to Europe.”
Pearls of Innovation
“Tasaki: Balance” by Tasaki and Maria Doulton with contributions from Thakoon Panichgul and Prabal Gurung
Rizzoli, $85
The title of the new book on the Japanese pearl specialist Tasaki refers to the 2010 collection of pearls elegantly balanced on golden bars that was designed by Thakoon Panichgul, the brand’s creative director.
Released as the brand marks its 70th anniversary, “this book captures our evolution from a family-run pearl farm to a global luxury brand, celebrating both our heritage and innovations along the way,” Yoshikazu Yamada, the brand’s vice president and chief marketing officer, wrote in an email.
The Stories Gems Tell
“If Jewels Could Talk” by Carol Woolton
Simon & Schuster, $14.99
After a three-decade career as a magazine jewelry editor, first at Tatler and then at British Vogue, the jewelry historian and author Carol Woolton began a podcast called “If Jewels Could Talk.” Created as a space to discuss jewelry’s cultural significance with experts, the show led Ms. Woolton to identify seven types of jewelry, including hoops, rings and brooches, that transcend time, finding popularity in different eras and civilizations. Those seven types of jewelry then became the subjects of her new book.
In a phone interview, Ms. Woolton said that Queen Puabi’s golden hoop earrings, found in the Royal Cemetery at Ur in modern-day Iraq, would still look “just as fresh as any that anyone would wear today.”
After all, she said, “we wear jewelry because we are humans, and I know that some may find it frivolous or elitist, but jewelry adornment predates anything we have ever done as humans.”
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