Why is Faberg, unique? What is champlev, enamel? Why should emeralds be regarded with suspicion? Which jewels contain miniature coffins? Starting to Collect Antique Jewellery tracks the progress of jewellery designs from early times to the twentieth century, assisting the professional jeweller, the collector and the student in making informed and balanced judgments upon scores of crucial topics from the setting of old gems, to fakes and forgeries. This book is superbly illustrated with hundreds of colour photographs provided by auction houses, dealers, leading shops and private collectors. From Castellani to Cartier, from hair combs to cameos, Starting to Collect Antique Jewellery represents a key companion which is relevant, readable and comprehensively informative.
John C. Benjamin served a four-year apprenticeship at Cameo Corner, the Bloomsbury antique jewellers specialising in rare and historic jewellery from Ancient Rome to the nineteenth-century. He was International Director of Jewellery for Philips Fine Art Auctioneers, before setting up on his own as an independent jewellery consultant in 1999. A lecturer, writer and broadcaster, he has lectured extensively to professional groups, universities and societies in Britain, Europe and America, and regularly appears on BBC Television's Antiques Roadshow. He is a fellow of the Gemmological Association and was admitted to the Goldsmith's Company in 2000.
