"Bijoux: The Origins and Impact of Jewelry" @ The Bruce Museum
Platinum, yellow sapphire and diamond bracelet mounted with 5 cushion cut Ceylon yellow sapphires, approximately 60.53 carats, 10 keystone cut yellow sapphires, approximately 8.61 carats and 75 round brilliant cut diamonds approximately 5.90 carats – signed OHB Designed by Oscar Heyman & Brothers. Courtesy Betteridge Jewelers on behalf of private collector. Photo © Betteridge Jewelers
Jewelry: It is the universal means to transmit personal information—marital status, wealth, heritage, and aesthetics. An artifact of world history, jewelry is evidence that the Earth, human culture, and technology have evolved.
The known history of personal adornment extends thousands of years. Humans have adorned themselves with everything from shark’s teeth to diamonds to tattoos. Exotically rare or hard to get items are the most coveted: until now.
In this “Age of Sustainability,” jewelry artists are experimenting with both new and long forgotten materials and techniques. This trend is pushing the envelope in jewelry design and has set the stage for a renewed appreciation for the intimacy between art and science.
Bijoux: The Origins and Impact of Jewelry investigates the wide range of materials used to make jewelry, from bones and fossils to diamonds and CZs. Bijoux explores the ingenuity of artists to create adornment from a host of materials, from the common to the sublime. It delves into the genesis of these natural materials and explores the economic and environmental impact of our universal attraction to sparkle. Bijoux is a celebration of human nature and our ability to adapt.
Ku Hai Winter Necklace. Black, raw, and mogul-cut diamond, dendrite agate, gold. Designed by JiGisha Chawla Adlakha. Courtesy of Paarijat: House of Indus Raj Nagar, Ghaziabad, India
Malachite and Azurite. Bisbee, Arizona Gift of the Ralph Chait Galleries, Bruce Museum Collection 91.19.02
Opal. Lightening Ridge, Australia. Marc P. Weill Fine Mineral Collection. Photo ©2011 FMI-Elliott
Tourmaline (Elbaite) . Jonas Mine, Brazil. Marc P. Weill Fine Mineral Collection. Photo ©2011 FMI-Elliott