“People Will Stare. Make it Worth Their While” – Harry Winston. || Jewellery Collection Exhibition 1/2

I don't feel competent to talk about jewellery. I don't wear any myself. I can't start a post with 'like any woman I like diamonds'. No I don't. Carbon takes so many forms. The admiration for this particular stone has always amused me. To me, privately it looks like a nicely polished glass. I work with Swarovski 'crystals on a daily basis (not literally, I use their digital form in costume designs) and I don't think I'll ever understand the awe of this form of 'beauty’.

But! Sometimes, there is jewellery that catches even my eye for longer. This is also what happened last time at the Ulster Museum. The jewellery collection I am presenting to you today (in two parts, due to the overwhelming amount of photos) is part of the permanent exhibition there. And perhaps this is mainly why I never looked at it any closer. A colossal mistake on my part! The craftsmanship and attention to detail in these designs deserves a longer moment to be given to them.

The oldest small and larger pieces of exquisite jewellery on show date back to the 16th century! What attracts me most about historic jewellery is its undeniable durability. The choice of materials as well as the perfect binders that will allow such a work of art to last for hundreds of years is undoubtedly admirable.

The precision of the workmanship makes me envy the makers their infinite patience in practising such a difficult and demanding craft. The very fact that we need a magnifying glass to appreciate all the details of these 'trinkets' seems to me a sufficient argument for which the jewellers works deserve admiration.

What is most striking is how trends have changed over the centuries. Fashion played an important role in the selection of certain types or colours of stones as well as the size of the jewellery itself.

Tastes changed, as did the materials used in jewelery makeing. Not only gold or diamonds! We find onyx (often used to make so-called cameo), coral or even horn. Fashion is not guided by the quality or durability of materials. Therefore, jewellery dictated by trends gets 'old' quickly and ceases to impress after time like restrained, cool classics. At least – in my humble opinion

Which jewels have impressed you the most?