Interviewing over 70 designers, author Melanie Grant explores the artistic, emotional and historical value of high jewelry.

When you look at a Rothko painting, you don’t talk about how much the canvas costs. Art is the essence of the conversation. Why can’t it be the same with high jewelry? That’s what Melanie Grant asks in her first book, the thought-provoking Coveted: Art and Innovation in High Jewelry.

In this volume, which came out in the US last month, the luxury expert argues the case for considering jewelry as a fine art. And what an eloquent argument she makes through the 70-plus designers she profiles. They range from some of the most revered in the world — Cartier, Laurence Graff and Wallace Chan — to a new generation that includes Hannah Martin, John Moore and Nghi Nguyen. Grant chose jewelers whose work elicited a strong emotional response, as well as “people I feel have changed design. Without them, design would’ve been slightly different,” she says in a phone interview.

The author analyzes the styles that caught her attention through their conceptual approach, provenance of materials, quality of design, composition, and workmanship. The superb imagery and perceptive curation complement her vivid narration.

“I tried to go for a complete range, and sometimes I’ve got jewelry which is quite plain and wouldn’t be traditionally considered high jewelry. But I consider it to be something magnificent. And I’ve got some very over-the-top, stone-heavy jewelry. But I think the main thing is where it comes from. It has to change the frequency of that place,” she says.
She cites Viren Bhagat as a trailblazer in stone setting who has shifted the perception of Indian jewelry. German house Hemmerle, which dared to combine iron with large diamonds in its Spike earrings, is another example of disruption and mastery.

Hemmerle Earrings, 2016. 
Diamonds (5.47 and 5.02ct) in blackened iron and white gold, Private collection. Picture credit: Courtesy Hemmerle
Hemmerle earrings in blackened iron and white gold set with a 5.47-carat and 5.02-carat diamonds, 2016. Photo: Hemmerle.

Transformative powers
Coveted is a comprehensive study that took its author three years to research and write while juggling a demanding job at The Economist. Divided into five sections, the book first covers the modernist movement and how war and economics affected jewelry and its perception in society. It also delves into the influences that Eastern and Western cultures have had on each other. Next comes the question of how designers can balance the use of big gemstones with the purity of design. The fourth chapter is dedicated to jewelers who take inspiration from the natural world. The book closes with feminism, the rise of women’s power in society, and how that has manifested in jewelry.

The act of jewelry making changes the creator, the writer notes. A jewel also has the power to transform the wearer’s life, as Grant knows firsthand. Her glamorous grandmother was the first to inspire her interest in baubles. A decade ago, shortly after her grandmother passed away, Grant accompanied a friend to a jeweler’s house with no intention of purchasing anything, although she was already an avid antique silver-jewelry collector. She didn’t count on discovering a diamond ring she instantly desired.
“It was just the magnificence of it. It was all white diamonds. It was so powerful,” she relates. Grant — who is a stylist, editor, art director and filmmaker —recalls the ring’s designer telling her that her life “was never going to be the same again” if she acquired it. It was not a sales pitch to convince someone to spend beyond her means. The designer saw that Grant understood the jewel’s intention, and was “ready for serious jewelry.”

Michelle Ong, Sapphire Swim Brooch, 2017. 
Blue and pink sapphires, emeralds (Main: 5.92ct), Paraíba tourmalines, pink sapphires, and white diamonds in platinum, titanium, and white gold. Picture credit: © Carnet Jewellery
Michelle Ong Sapphire Swim Brooch with blue and pink sapphires, emeralds, Paraíba tourmalines, and white diamonds in platinum, titanium, and white gold. Photo: Carnet Jewellery.

Beyond the stones
The next pivotal moment, akin to “a spiritual experience,” came when Grant visited the Cartier exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris in 2013. What struck her “was the love and the passion, and possibly the pain, that all of this jewelry encapsulates in history.” From there, it was a natural journey to write a book about the emotional and historical weight small artifacts carry.

One of the questions this exceptional survey raises is whether a jewel holds more value than its total carat weight. Designers that Grant interviewed felt that the stones had to be in service to the design. The price of stones, especially diamonds, can fluctuate, but the intrinsic worth of the creation remains.

“We have to look at the art, because the art is the true value, because it will ensure the survival of jewelry. It’s about the emotion, which I think comes from the art. And the stones are important, but they are elements in a much bigger picture,” says Grant. “We sometimes get caught up with talking about carat weight and monetary value, but I’m not sure it’s going to help us in terms of getting people to truly treasure jewelry long-term.”

Of course, the book features some extraordinary jewels, such as the Anemone necklace by Italian house Buccellati, in which over 60 rough diamonds sit inside golden flowers with smaller faceted stones as pistils. “It was made in 1988 but looks medieval and nothing like big diamonds tend to look,” notes Grant. She also highlights Hong Kong-based Michelle Ong’s Mesmerizing Lily brooch among “great examples of pieces drenched in diamonds but where the art still rules, which is not easy to do.”

Coveted is a welcome addition to jewelry writing, as it pays homage to the wild, risk-taking, innovative free spirit that makes these designers’ creations so desirable.

Coveted: Art and Innovation in High Jewelry was published by Phaidon and released in the US on November 11.
Coveted: Art and Innovation in High Jewelry is published by Phaidon.

Main image: John Moore Verto Necklace with diamonds in extruded silicone, gold, and oxidized silver with magnetic clasp, 2015. Photo: John Moore.

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