London spring report

[boerumbiddy]

I completely forgot to report on my trip to London last month, with a childhood friend who is also gem-happy, to see the stunning Cheapside Hoard exhibition at the Museum of London (hurry, closes on April 27), with side trips to the crown jewels and Gray's Market.

I thought the Cheapside show was elegantly handled. There were lots of contemporary portraits of people wearing comparable jewels, for example, and the jewels themselves, obviously a 17th-century jeweler's stock in trade, were all on view by category: a showcase of elaborate chains, one of green and purple grape-shaped earrings, etc., etc. I almost missed the famous emerald salamander itself; its image covers the shopping bags for the exhibition and half the facade of the museum, but the actual jewel, apparently a hat ornament, is rather small. The single-emerald watch was impressive, as expected. There was also a watch with CT scans of each successive layer of inner workings.

It always makes me happy to see the crown jewels in the tower, symbols of permanence in a changing world. But there is a new crown jeweler, G. Collins & Sons, with which I am not familiar. Garrard's, crown jeweler since Victoria's reign, has been dumped. There is a new "by appointment" royal jeweler, too, Wartski. Their stuff was gorgeous at the Winter Antiques show in New York a year ago.

I think that if I had had more ready cash, there were bargains to be had on unusual colored stones at the various booths at Gray's, especially if I could figure out the V.A.T. refund system. I am not good at mental arithmetic, though, and run-of-the-mill stuff still seems cheaper in the U.S. I am still satisfied that my avatar ruby ring was a bargain, and probably Asian, rather than African, in the opinion of at least one knowledgeable dealer.

All in all, worth the trip@

 

[boerumbiddy]

Link to a really interesting G.I.A. article on the Cheapside Hoard:

http://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/FA13-cheapside-hoard-weldon

 

[boerumbiddy]

We also visited the Natural History museum collection, including the pyramid of fancy colored diamonds, but really should have gone to the Victoria and Albert collection instead. Just now drooling over their website:

http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/j/jewellery/

 

[JewelFreak]

Glad you enjoyed the Cheapside Hoard. I'd love to see it!

When we lived in Europe, London was my favorite city for jewelry -- mostly window-shopped jewelry, sadly. But fun -- I spent hours & hours slowly moving up Bond Street, from window to window. The V&A is super for ogling too.

Just for the heck of it, here is the Daily Mail's take on why Garrard was dumped by the Queen (they still hold a Royal Warrant from Prince Charles). The Mail is an awful rag, but this makes sense, plus the fact that Garrard went through a lot of changes, bought by Brunei investors, merged with Asprey, sold to somebody else, un-merged from Asprey. From the Mail:

According to the Palace, it was simply 'time for a change'.

But it also comes after a gradual image shift for Garrard, which in 1996 appointed Jade Jagger - daughter of Rolling Stone Sir Mick Jagger - as its creative director.

Among her designs were gold chain-mail underwear, diamond-studded revolver pendants and devil-themed trinkets.

Then came the appointment of raunchy pop singer Christina Aguilera as the company's new face, a move some regarded as an 'embarrassment' to the Royal Family, and the opening of a glitzy store in Beverly Hills, California.

Mr Collins, on the other hand, runs a quaint 'antique and modern jewellery' business in Tunbridge Wells High Street.

The 51-year-old became a favourite of the Queen more than two years ago, after a recommendation from a friend.

 

[chrono]

What a fun and interesting trip to London. It's been a long time since I've been there and I still remember the crown jewels exhibit. Back then, we were allowed to mill around each exhibit as long as we wanted to.