All the History of Jewelry and Gemstones You’ve Always Wondered About

At the entrance to the jewelry galleries of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London is a portrait of Frances Anne, Marchioness of Londonderry. The ornate dress she wears caused a sensation in 1830s London, embroidered with some of the dazzling gemstones from her jewelry collection, including rare turquoise, and a collection of Siberian amethysts, a yellow diamond and a pink topaz which were given to her by her lover. Russian Tsar Alexander I. The real jewels are displayed inside the gallery.

My guide, Helen Molesworth, the museum’s senior jewelry curator, gemologist, and jewelry historian, has lots of stories like this, and she’s collected as many as possible in her new book. Preciouslaunched in the United States earlier this month. It is a compendium of knowledge about gemstones from a historical perspective, a distillation of 25 years spent traveling the world in search of gemstones, “connecting stories, people, science and archaeology. The history of precious stones is the history of humanity,” she told me.

From the 7th century Anglo-Saxon sword of Redwold – whose handle set with garnet tells us that this Saxon king was left-handed – to the La Peregrina pearl famous for having been lost in the back of a sofa at Windsor Castle and almost swallowed by Elizabeth Taylor’s The Hound — the book details the role that gemstones have played in our collective culture. Their appeal is broad and deep.

Throughout history, people have assigned different meanings to them for millennia. Sapphires, for example, are often associated with royalty or the heavens, according to Molesworth. Rubies have been mentioned in the Bible – although these stones are now thought to have been garnets or spinels instead – and often symbolize blood. Our interpretations of nature’s treasures have changed as human knowledge has grown and expanded.

Molesworth studied classics and archaeology, and much can be learned from the way gemstones are named in Latin and Greek. The name “garnet,” for example, comes from how the ancient Greeks described red, shiny stones. It’s one of her favorite stones, and as a child she bought them with her pocket money: “They were highly prized gemstones worn by royalty, but they were mass cut by hand.” Victorian era. They fell out of favor in the late Roman Empire when trade routes changed. » More recently, new deposits of different colors have been discovered in Africa, as well as tsavorites in East Africa; Molesworth and his mother, both born in Kenya, wear tsavorite bracelets.

Jewelry is as much a repository of emotion as it is a means of expression. “Historically, gemstones used in jewelry signified membership in a certain tribe – much like the marks we wear today,” she says. “The democratization of gemstones and jewelry began in the 20th century and we can now choose what we like and what suits us. The variety of stones we have today gives people so many choices. Molesworth recommends buying the best you can afford, from the most popular stones.

For Molesworth, the way we wear jewelry and some of its famous collectors is also telling. Often operated by men and worn by the likes of Coco Chanel (pearls), Marilyn Monroe (diamonds) and Elizabeth Taylor (everything, but making it to the highest quality possible), the integration of women into the production process in countries like Botswana and Colombia. it’s “like claiming a part of history with a female perspective.” She remembers the Duchess of Windsor, “who wore her jewelry like armor”, her strong tangible character in a jewelry collection rich in the work of designers like Suzanne Belperron.

When working with Princess Margaret’s personal collection, she was “stunned” by the clarity with which it told her life story. “From the gifts she received as a child from her grandmother, to regal pieces like the Poltsmore tiara, this collection didn’t have the same meaning as other collections, created to say something about the one who wears it. The fact that Princess Margaret included a second-hand tiara shows that she wanted to make her own choices and not live in her sister’s shadow.

For Helen, part of the appeal is sharing her knowledge. I certainly gained a much deeper appreciation for the treasures on display in the gallery because of the generosity with which she shared her time and expertise. “I love being able to stand in front of a crowd of people whose eyes light up when I tell them about my passion,” she says of her recent UK book tour. And for jewelry fans everywhere, this contagious passion is just as tangible in her new book.

Precious, the history and mystery of precious stones through time, by Helen Molesworthis on sale now.