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Artists’ Jewellery, by CHARLOTTE GERE and GEOFFREY C. MUNN

(Antique Collectors’ Club; 1989)

“Artists’ Jewellery: Pre-Raphaelite to Arts and Crafts” offers an intriguing, intimate look at the artists, designers and jewelers who served England’s royalty and aristocrats in the mid to late 19th Century. The text is a bit stilted, but the story is better told through the 103 color and 141 black-and-white photographs and illustrations.

From pencil sketches to final pieces, the authors share the talent of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Sir Edwin Lutyens, Henry Wilson and William Holman-Hunt, among others. These men, in collaboration with emiment jewelers such as Carlo Giuliano, created one-of-a-kind keepsakes during the Pre-Raphaelite and Arts and Crafts period. Intricate tiaras, lockets, hair ornaments and brooches adorned with precious stones were also laden with symbols and secret messages popular during the period. The secrets are revealed in this richly detailed book.

Available for $69.50 by special order from local bookstores, or at Rizzoli Bookstore in Costa Mesa and at Brentano’s. Also by mail from the International Specialized Book Services, 5602 N.E. Hassalo St., Portland, Ore. 97213; or telephone (800) 547-7734.