Discover a dazzling deepdive into the history of the world through a totally new lens as told by the VampAs Senior Jewellery Curator. Includes 16 pages of colour photography showcasing some of the worlds most spectacular jewellery.A magnificent compendium of everything one could ever want to know about jewels their symbolism physical construction worth and history. SpectatorFrom Princess Margarets pearls to the priciest of diamonds gemmologist Helen Molesworth has seen them all Daily Mail You MagazineA sumptuous and sweeping history of humanitys love affair with jewels. VogueThis is fittingly a gem of a book. Rich descriptions fascinating histories and at times just pure dazzling bling. A joy to read. Tracy Borman author of Elizabeths Women Thomas Cromwell and The Private Lives of the TudorsTravelling through moments in history and layers of soil and sediment this is world history as you have never seen it before.This is the story of precious gems from emeralds and rubies to sapphires and pearls. Explore their history and geology as well as their famous owners from Elizabeth 1 to Elizabeth Taylor Marie Antoinette to Marilyn Monroe Coco Chanel to Beyonce.Discover the fragile emerald watch that survived crosscontinental journeys and centuries under the floorboards of a London house.Journey back through the generations of women who wore pearls as a signifier of femininity and marvel at the role these glistening objects have played in changing depictions of feminism.Learn of the Burmese warriors who believed so strongly in the connection between rubies and lifeblood that they embedded them into their skin before battle to protect them from harm.In this sumptuous and sweeping history of humanitys love affair with jewels the VampAs Senior Jewellery Curator Helen Molesworth takes you behind the curtain of museums and auction houses showcasing some of historys most incredible and iconic jewels and the deeply human stories that lie behind them.Beautifully written and su