Cultural gems
Outside of window displays and gem fairs, jewelry is embedded in our cultural mindscape. Here is a selection of works that put jewels center-stage.
MÉMOIRES D’UN JOAILLIER Fred Samuel How does a piece of high jewelry come into being? What does an exceptional stone reveal to a practiced eye? In Mémoires d’un Joaillier , Fred Samuel reflects on his life journey with a storyteller’s voice and a gemmologist’s sensibility. Turning the pages takes readers behind the scenes of the finest creations, expeditions in search of rare gems, and the evolution of a house now considered one of the foremost names in jewelry /public-objects/57bd2544-d4e1-4583-8082-9517783c6e84-1292aff7-eb39-4ee0-87af-f3437ae81a2f-Avinas_LOGO.ai%20(2).webp Image sélectionnée PORTRAIT D’ADÈLE BLOCH-BAUER Gustav Klimt With its lavish costumes and sumptuous aesthetic, Moulin Rouge! left its mark on cinematic history. For Satine, the film’s heroine, Baz Luhrmann wanted jewelry as dazzling as the character herself. Designed by Stefano Canturi, the necklace worn by Nicole Kidman features 1,308 diamonds for a total 134 carats, making it one of the most expensive pieces of jewelry ever made for a film. /public-objects/45d587df-4044-49c7-9fba-0cf7f59345d6-e8ed964e-0157-4456-b9aa-59df0484c272-Avinas_LOGO.ai.webp Image sélectionnée MOULIN ROUGE! Baz Luhrmann ! It is one of the most precious works in the history of art. Painted by Gustav Klimt at the height of his Golden Phase, popularly referred to as the “Woman in Gold”, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I incorporates a profusion of gold and silver leaf, geometric forms and symbols inspired by Egyptian, Greek and Byzantine civilizations. Behind the spectacular first impression lies an extraordinarily complex work and an equally extraordinary destiny. It is now on view at Neue Galerie New York.