Subjects:  1. Art    2. Design - Textile & Costume   

Reviews (8)

Great Educational Resource!
I bought this book for our store reference.My staff became hooked, the information is solid and written in a way that reads like a book built for leisure. One critique;There could be more pictures in her book, although a cliche - a picture is worth a thousand (descriptive) words.I will buy more books from Ms Matlins, she has established herself as THE DEFINITIVE WRITER for gems and pearls.Thanks for the great reading material.Veronica, Ali'i Jewelry - Hawaii

Another Winner by Matlins!
If you love pearls--or just want to learn more about them--this is the #1 book to buy. I have Matlins 'Jewelry & Gems: The Buying Guide' which is very well worn from use, so I decided to start learning more about pearls with this book.
Fascinating! The Best I've Ever Read on Pearls.
This book covers everything anyone needs to know about pearls. It's filled with information that helped me finally realize what's important in selecting nice pearls, and why some are so much more expensive than others.I was so confused about them after talking to different jewelers that Iwasn't sure what to buy (and they are too expensive to make a mistake).This book was a godsend. And I love the pearls I finally bought...and knowthey will stay beautiful! Also, I never knew there were CULTURED abalonepearls, but I plan to look for them for my next treat to myself! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Jewelry    5. Pearls    6. Purchasing    7. Reference - General    8. Reference - Price Guides    9. Consumer guides & advice    10. Jewellery & jewellery-making   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Asian    4. Design - Textile & Costume    5. History - Ancient & Classical    6. Jewelry    7. Antiques & Collectibles / Jewelry   

Reviews (3)

Diamond's Are A Girls Best Friend, Pt.2
So small but so wonderfull.

Want to learn about jewelry design?Keep looking . . .
If you are interested in learning about jewelry design, or seeing a comprehensive set of examples of a jeweler's most fabulous pieces, don't bother with this book.The subtitle "Universe of Design" is most misleading as regards this member of the set--I have not read the others, so I can't review them.The book is simply a puff piece about Van Cleef and Arpels:names various members of the family, discusses some ongoing motifs in design, and does a lot of name-dropping.The color illustrations are mostly copies of ad photos.Very skimpy for a "universal" book!

Van Cleef & Arpel...A book with its own class.
When I saw this book for the first time, it seems like I found some thing that I has been waiting for a long time. Since I was young, I am interesting in this jewelry maker because my mother tell me that the Van Cleef jewelry is the most beautiful jewelryin the world. So, I would liketo know more about this adorable jewelry maker and this book is reallyfulfill my need. It consist of the history and the technic of them, VanCleef & Arpel. The book also contain lots of beautiful images of thelegendary jewelry product from Van Cleef such as the crown and jewel of theEmpress of Iran. This book is a highly recommended book. After you finishyou will realize that the value of this book is more than its price on thecover. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Antiques & Collectibles    3. Antiques / Collectibles    4. Art    5. France    6. History    7. Jewelry    8. Jewelry Arts And Crafts    9. Pictorial works    10. Antiques & collectables: jewellery    11. Jewellery & jewellery-making    12. Photography / Fashion   

Reviews (4)

Very informative. Very little organization.
I found the opening chapters of this book very informative. However, the section of pictures could use some organization.If there is a pattern to how the pictures are organized, I have yet to discern it.Very few if any dates are attributed so it's not organized chronological.Very few pieces are attributed to designers so that's not it either.Some pages seem to have a theme but are unrelated to the page immediately before or after. It seems like photos were grouped by what would fit on the page.
If it Sparkles, If it Shines, Leigh has itShown
Very informative book on rhinestone jewelry. I own every book in Leigh Leshner's collection and she leaves you wanting for more books to be published. Excellent samples of jewelry; beautiful photography and very informative on jewelry from this vintage. A must for the rhinestone collector.

Gorgeous Pictures!!
I bought this book to supplement my collection for information on the jewelry I sell on my web site, Atlanta Vintage Jewelry. It's full of excellent pictures on black backgrounds that make the jewelry really stunning.
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Subjects:  1. Antiques    2. Antiques & Collectibles    3. Antiques / Collectibles    4. Antiques/Collectibles    5. Collectors and collecting    6. Jewelry    7. Jewelry Arts And Crafts    8. Reference - Price Guides    9. Rhinestone jewelry    10. Antiques & collectables: jewellery   

Reviews (24)

Well-written, clear, and easy to read!
I liked the way Newman clearly explained ideas that a few of the diamond sales people I encountered were unable to explain.This book has lots of information that I didn't find elsewhere. The jewelry store owner I finally bought my diamond from actually uses certain chapters in this book to train his staff!! Excellent book.

Abook that rocks for diamond ring buyers!
I personally found this book well written and informative. Every chapter covers the basics and gave me enough confidence to make a decision while understanding what our jeweler was talking about. The content is quite easy to grasp and the pictures are enjoyable. This book actually helped me to select an appropriate setting for my anniversary ring, see chapter 12: V-tips for marquise stones. I also found the chapter on clarity & trasparency very clear and to the point. The writer is indeed experienced and knows how to explain this diamond subject to us! After reading this one, I also bought the Diamond Handbook by Newman to acquire more knowledge. Anyone shopping for a diamond ring should get this book before your next trip to your jewelry store, it's flawless!

Pretty Pictures
If a picture is worth a thousand words then there are more than enough pictures to make this book worth borrowing. However the prestine touched up photographs serve no purpose in the real world when shopping for a diamond.It is unlikely you will ever see a diamond presented to you with the kind of studio lighting needed to make the photographs in the book worth while. I have been in the diamond world for my whole adult life and believe the worst thing you can do to a customer is give him a false sense of confidence. The book fails to mention the severe diamond shortages of 2005, the GIA bribery scandle and the latest consumer scams like annealing. The purpose of any "how to Book" is to give all the facts a customer needs to know to make an intelligent decision. This one falls so short your almost better off just winging it or buying from an on line consolidator.There are other "How to Buy a Diamond" books that don't cut corners and tell it like it really is.Only borrow this one if you like to look at pictures and don't read the articles. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Diamonds    2. Nature    3. Nature/Ecology    4. Purchasing    5. Rings    6. Rocks & Minerals    7. Consumer guides & advice    8. Jewellery & jewellery-making    9. Reference    10. Consumer Guides    11. Antiques & Collectibles    12. Jewelry   

Reviews (9)

A Sweeping, Successful Overview of Collectible Silver Jewelry
I was very happy with this book. I have been collecting for 22 years. I have been a vintage jewelry dealer for just a few years. This is the book I open the most when buying, researching and selling anything silver. Organized by geographic origin, each chapter gives you a rich overview of styles, eras, hallmarks, makers' marks, quality, estimated value and more... Love this book.

Terrific resource!
I was looking for a book to help with identifying Mexican jewelry marks. This book went beyond just Mexican silver on to US, Scandanavian, British and other types of silver. It was exactly what I was looking for.

Rezazadeh Book on Silver Jewellery
Contains the marks on silver jewellery from many countries around the world so is very useful for collectors and those interested in silver jewellery. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Catalogs    5. Collectors and collecting    6. Jewelry    7. Reference - Price Guides    8. Silver jewelry    9. Silver, Gold & Other Metals   

Reviews (1)

What? You don't already have this book???
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Subjects:  1. Amber    2. Amber art objects    3. Amber fossils    4. Gems    5. Jewelry    6. Lapidary    7. Nature    8. Nature / Field Guide Books    9. Nature/Ecology    10. Rocks & Minerals    11. Economic geology    12. Geochemistry    13. Gold & silversmithing    14. Jewellery & jewellery-making    15. Mineralogy   

Reviews (1)

Should be required reading for turquoise lovers...
This compact little book is jammed solid with luscious pictures of tuquoise and to-the-point information.The topics discussed range from the technique of inlays to the various methods turquoise is altered on the modern market - from 'stabilizing' to 'color enhancing'.
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Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Earth Sciences - Geology    4. Jewelry    5. Nature    6. Rocks & Minerals    7. Southwestern States    8. Turquoise   

Reviews (2)

Informative and nice pictures
There are not too many books on Jade, so I'm glad I found this one.It was pretty informative and had very nice photographs illustrating the author's points.It's worth it if you're in the jewelry business and want to know more about jade, and it's good for any jade collector.I found the information to be accurate.

Buy this book!!!
Like all of the Fred Ward Gem Books Series, this is an instant classic. It features National Geographic quality photos, no surprise since Ward has photographed/authored a number of articles for that magazine. My favoritesection deals with the jade from Meso-America, used by the Olmec, Mayan andAztec civilizations. But it also contains much on Burmese and Chinese jade.This is simply an outstanding book. Buy it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles / Jewelry    2. Jade    3. Jade carving    4. Nature    5. Nature / Rocks & Minerals    6. Nature/Ecology    7. Precious stone industry    8. Rocks & Minerals    9. Antiques & Collectibles    10. Jewelry   

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Buttons    5. Buttons & Pins    6. Catalogs    7. Collectors and collecting    8. Jewelry    9. Prices    10. Reference - Price Guides   

Reviews (1)

essential for building a graphic knowledge of Indian design.
This book depicts the best from collections ofearly Native American Pueblo silverwork. The photographs allow the reader to identify key characteristic features of traditional Native American jewelry. The informativeverbal descriptions do not insult the reader nor the makers.There are few books thatportray the early Southwest jewelry as well as this one. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Crafts / Hobbies    4. Indians of North America    5. Jewelry    6. Navajo Indians    7. Silver jewelry    8. Southwest, New    9. Antiques & collectables: gold & silver (other than jewellery)    10. Antiques & collectables: jewellery    11. USA   

Subjects:  1. Absorption spectra    2. Analysis    3. Antiques / Collectibles    4. Crafts & Hobbies    5. Gems    6. Hobbies/Crafts    7. Jewelry    8. Minerals    9. Optical Mineralogy    10. Precious stones    11. Spectra    12. Crystallography    13. Jewellery & jewellery-making    14. Mineralogy   

Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. 20th century    3. Antiques    4. Antiques & Collectibles    5. Antiques/Collectibles    6. Beauty & Grooming - General    7. Decoration and ornament    8. Diet / Health / Fitness    9. History    10. Jewelry    11. Jewelry Arts And Crafts    12. Plant forms    13. Themes, motives    14. Antiques & Collectibles / Jewelry   

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Jewelry    5. Reference - Price Guides    6. Antiques & collectables: jewellery    7. India    8. Jewellery & jewellery-making   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Beauty & Grooming - General    4. Fashion    5. History    6. Perfumes    7. Perfumes industry    8. Social aspects    9. Antiques & collectables: jewellery    10. Art / Fashion   

Reviews (2)

Great Book
I received this item as a gift and *loved* it. The pictures and layout are beautiful. However, I would like there to have been more content around the items.

Gorgeous Pictures!
The best thing about this book is definitely the pictures. If you love jewelry, this book is for you! Tiffany & Co. is one of the world's most famous jewelry stores, and this book does justice to their legendary status. The accompanying captions and articles left a little to desire, but the photographs made up for it. A must have for any jewel maven. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques/Collectibles    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Crafts & Hobbies    4. Fashion    5. History - General    6. Jewelry    7. Jewelry Arts And Crafts    8. Tiffany and Company    9. 20th century    10. Antiques & Collectibles / Jewelry    11. Jewellery & jewellery-making    12. New York   

Reviews (4)

Really good on the details!
I have found this to be of immediate value in figuring out who made what.No, it doesn't have all the answers, but covers most things pretty well, and certainly better than any other reference I have.A must for any serious collector or dealer of American silver.

A wonderful reference for collectors or dealers...
This reference would be a wonderful addition to any silver collector's library. It contains over 2400 marks, along with information about over 1600 manufacturers of American silver. Unlike some other books (Kovel's wonderful guide comes to mind), it goes into a bit more depth, with histories of and information about the makers themselves, rather than just the marks. There are lots of black and white photos, showing some of the marks themselves as well as samples of the works on which they appear. All in all an excellent reference for either the collector or the dealer of American silver, and worth the wait to order.

Much additional information.
In comparing to previous edition: lots more text & many more entries!!! Format changed to 2 columns - a little harder to find things w/out white space. Some hallmarks repeated from the last book have losttheir clarity. Weight convertion chart is added, so is cross-referencingcompany names. But there is no 'flow chart' of companies as in the lastedition. Seems to be no additions to the glossary. A must buy even if youown the previous edition! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. General    5. Hallmarks    6. Reference - General    7. Silver, Gold & Other Metals    8. Silversmiths    9. United States    10. Antiques & collectables: gold & silver (other than jewellery)    11. Antiques & collectables: jewellery    12. Reference works    13. USA   

Reviews (4)

Miriam Haskell-- the QUEEN of Costume Jewelry!
She is definately a QUEEN when it comes to costume jewelry.If you are a fan of her Jewels, you won't be sorry buying this book.(Amazon is the best place too!)

Jewels of Miriam Haskell
Miriam Haskell is recognized as an important American costume jewelry designer in this wonderful coffee table book.She had a penchant for the unusual with her ostentatious accessories.She was born in 1899 in TellCity, Indiana to immigrant parents (a Russian father and a Prussianmother). The Jewels of Miriam Haskell
I had so much looked forward to reading this book that when it arrived I was disappointed.The text was rather disorganised in places and so it was hard to follow the points the author was making about the early life andvarious influences upon Miriam Haskell.Most of the book was focused onone designer and most of the pictures, although they are very nicepictures, came from the same few sources.I was hoping for a carefullyresearched piece which told me a lot more about Haskell and gave a muchwider assortment of the pieces she designed.The book left you asking morequestions than it answered and wanting more variety then it presented. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1899-1981    2. 20th century    3. Antiques / Collectibles    4. Costume jewelry    5. Crafts & Hobbies    6. Criticism and interpretation    7. Haskell, Miriam,    8. History    9. Hobbies/Crafts    10. Individual Artist    11. Jewelry    12. Jewelry Arts And Crafts    13. Technical & Manufacturing Trades    14. United States    15. Gold & silversmithing    16. Haskell, Miriam    17. Jewellery & jewellery-making    18. Social history   

Features

• Illustrated

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Crafts / Hobbies    4. Jewelry    5. Art techniques & materials    6. Crafts & Hobbies / Jewelry    7. JEWELRY MAKING    8. JEWELRY_REPAIRING    9. Jewellery & jewellery-making