21st Century Jewelry: The Best of the 500 Series

500 Series

by Marthe Le Van

The definitive art jewelry collection! 21st Century Jewelry features a decade's worth of memorable pieces selected from the prestigious and best-selling 500 Series, all gathered in one beautiful edition. Juried by an international roster of jewelers, curators, and gallery owners, each design captures the power of jewelry at the start of a new century. This beautiful gallery book offers a wealth of priceless knowledge, as the experts describe what made a particular necklace, bracelet, or ring stand out to them. Jewelers, artists, and art enthusiasts all will be inspired! This hardbound, keepsake volume will be treasured for its coffee-table beauty, valued for the inspiration it provides for artistic creativity, and appreciated for capturing the decade's finest work in art jewelry. 

Genres: Art, Jewellery, Nonfiction

420 pages, Hardcover

First published August 2, 2011

Reviews

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will give a disclaimer and state that I did not read all the mini-bios of the jurors. This book was not what I was expecting, but I liked it overall. The photographs are wonderful, and the jewelry is interesting, mostly beautiful and occasionally appealing to me. Most of the pieces were accompanied by comments from other artists or collectors. I find that people in this community have their own language which I don’t always understand because I don’t have this background. Therefore sometimes the comments made sense to me and sometimes not. However, this book brought a new experience to me, and that’s worthwhile.

[Ligaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing, inspiring, creative, and thought-provoking, this book is a great reference for anyone interested in contemporary jewelry. Although I wouldn't wear everything in here, indeed, not everything in this book is even wearable, I enjoyed seeing what these artisans came up with. I read the introductory material, and actually enjoyed the different font sizes within the text, but only lightly read through the commentary accompanying most every piece of jewelry. Professionally photographed, well organized book.

[Edie Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book presented selections of 21st century artistic jewelry. Some were beautiful, some were clever, some expressed meaning. Others were bold or subtle. There were playful pieces and those which were humorous. With so many entries tastes of all kinds could be satisfied. However, it is likely you won’t like everything you see, but this is hardly unusual with such an eclectic collection. I would definitely say it’s worth a look.
The text, however, was forgettable and hardly informative. It seemed to get in the way of the pictures. I suggest skipping it.

[Ronda Canary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really 3.5. Some beautiful, some hideous

[Linds · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love everything in the 500 series. I’m not a jeweler but seeing what artists are doing is very inspiring.

[JayeL]

For my purposes, this book is definitely the best of the three. This book is pure eye candy. Thanks to Ray at Lark for sending me this book for free!

The foreword and juror statements are a little bit strangely formatted. The designer of the book used different sizes within the same sentences, which makes parts of the text jump out at' me when I read. I wonder if I just read the larger text if there would be some kind of subliminal message? I didn't take the time to try that.

Starting on page 12, there is very little text - just artists' names and the names of pieces as well as size and materials used. The major part of the book is all about inspiration. Most of these pieces are art and could not really be worn anywhere where you had to get in a car or pick up a drink much less to work or to pick up the kids at daycare. The Puddle Series Bracelet is one such piece. It doesn't matter, though, because these one of a kind (presumably) pieces are gorgeous to look at

These pieces are also not the thrown together pieces that can be made in a few hours. The shapes and forms are, in many cases, organic and curvilinear. The colors are also, mostly, neutrals and golds. There are a few pieces with other colors and they really shine. Most of the pieces are metal, but I saw a few fiber pieces. One of my favorite pieces is I Long for Your Touch (pg. 99) by Roberta and David Williamson. I like the face and leaf shapes.

It is not clear to me what type of jewelry many of the pieces are intended to be. I am not bothered by this, because I won't be buying or wearing these pieces and can be inspired from bracelets and broaches. If you need to rev up your creativity, take a look at this book, regardless of your medium.

[Lucy]

Lots of interesting & innovative jewelry. Some I really like, would dearly love to have, and would wear. Some I wouldn't want even if you paid me. All are one-of-a-kind, many with comments from jewelers, curators, collectors, & gallery owners; few mention having worn the thing in question. It's sometimes hard to figure out what something is, especially when its name is "Untitled." The sizes help only a little, especially since they're all given in centimeters and I'm still on inches-feet; converting is a pain. Is it a ring, a brooch, a bracelet, a necklace, an earring; or none of the above?
Recommended for anybody who likes jewelry, if only to see what's out there. There is a list of the artists in an appendix with page numbers so you can cross-reference, also short biographies of the jurors who chose the items. Each item states what materials were used and the techniques used in creating it. The book would have benefitted from a glossary for obscure terms of technique or material.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want a copy to keep for myself.