Masters: Gemstones: Major Works by Leading Jewelers (Paperback)

~ Lark (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

What awesome craftsmanship appears throughout this unique volume—the zenith of an art that marries the world’s most exceptional gems with exquisitely-honed metal designs. Approximately forty of the world’s top jewelers present expertly-fashioned settings that embrace a diversity of styles and techniques, including pavé, channel, invisible, gypsy, wire, and tension. Christoph Krähenmann’s creations display a fabulous fusion of Swiss artisanship and American ingenuity, old world elegance and contemporary chic. Paula Crevoshay’s jewelry focuses on the way gems make light tangible; she is considered by many to be one of the finest colorists today. And Kent Raible finds his inspiration in the opulent, intricate gold work of antiquity. Whether encrusted with diamonds or emphasizing just one glimmering stone, all these bejeweled pieces are simply stunning.

Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: Lark Books (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579908322
• ISBN-13: 978-1579908324
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #121,616 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars incredible, January 31, 2008

By	jokat (london UK) - See all my reviews

This book is incredible! It follows the same format as the lark 500 series - but with more! There are profiles of the masters showcased in this book with info about them, thier work, sometimes how they got started etc. Then this is followed by a selection of pages of thier work. Its beautifully done and its inspiring to the very last detail. This is not a project book. Its a gallery of masters, as its title implies, and its inspiring for jewellers, collectors and anyone interested in jewellery. It focuses, obviously, on gemstone use - but this doesn't restrict it to one type of jewellery - there are incredible examples of metalwork, mixed media, gem carving, setting etc. Its just beautiful. I'm blown away by it. It arrived a few days ago and I still can't put it down. Been carrying it around with me! If you like the 500 series, any of them, one of them or all of them, I feel sure that you will love this book. Its very well done and a lot more effort has gone into this new "masters" series that lark are planning to do more of (yey) than with the general 500 series - which is just a call for submissions. This book has collected masters together and written about them and thier work some - so its insightful, especially to other jewellers/metalsmiths. I highly recommend it.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Modern Masters; Tomorrow's Heirlooms, August 18, 2008

By	Richard W. Wise "Richard W. Wise, G.G." (Lenox, Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Looking for beautifully made, artfully designed jewelry made with high quality materials? Historically, a few big name retailers have provided leadership, but over the past couple of decades, the 5th Avenue jewelers that used to be the go-to stores have grown tired and complacent, their goods have evolved from innovative and exciting to safe and boring and the low and mid-range jewelers have followed their lead. The giants who built those legendary retail establishments are long gone and most of the famous names have been sold off to conglomerates who grow fat off their fading reputations. In short, they are no longer a solution, they have have become part of the problem.

The good news is that there are a small number of American designer-goldsmiths and jewelers working today that are producing tomorrow's heirlooms. They are the Rene Laliques, the Pierre Cartiers of the late 20th, early 21st Century. Unfortunately few are well enough capitalized to stand against the hot wind of hyper-babble that hammers the consumer with the dubious virtues of such artistic nonentities as Paloma Picasso, JAR and David Yurman.

A new book, published by Lark Books and entitled: Masters-Gemstones, Major Works by leading jewelers curated by Alan Revere will provide you with an acetylene torch to to cut your way through the junkyard.

Unfortunately, the book presents its own design problems. The title is unfortunate and the cover is a mess.--so poorly designed that it becomes impossible to tell what the title is, what the book is about and who wrote it. Well Alan Revere is listed as "curator" which means he wrote it, I guess, Lark prefers publishing books without authors, that way they retain the copyright and most of the profits.

Revere has made an excellent selection. He picked 39 contemporary jewelers and each one is a master. The common denominator, they all work with gemstones---a practice considered very un-chic in university jewelry arts programs where most of our creative artists are trained (another component of the problem, but I digress). What I found most exciting was that after thirty years of looking around there were a good number of artist-jewelers that I had never heard of.

I know and carry the work of several; Bernd and Tom Munsteiner, Michael Zobel, Michael Sugarman, Zoltan David and Stephen Webster but artists like Klaus Spies, Gregore Morin and Bayot Heer were completely new to me. What is really surprising, with perhaps two exceptions I like them all.

Revere's commentary is adequate but oh the pictures! Really its all about the pictures. Masters: Gemstones is a breath of fresh air blowing through the mundane world of American retail jewelry. The book provides a visual stroll through some of the best of the best jewelry being made today. Revere has performed his curator role to perfection. Some of the artists use traditional materials, some add the non-traditional, but all put their pieces together with sensitivity and panache. Secrets of the Gem Trade: The Connoisseur's Guide to Precious Gemstones

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sparkle galore, November 24, 2008

By	Jeri Nevermind "loves to read" (Idaho) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Interested in beautiful things, or looking for inspiration for your jewelry making? Look no further. This is a glorious book, chock full of the latest designs from master jewelry makers. And are they all different! No matter what your taste you'll find things to like in this book.

There is a fabulous frog, done in emeralds, diamonds and other gems, leaping from the page on 261. Or modern design of a necklace that looks something like a waterfall on page 157. A "candy necklace" series of jewelry on page 190 are lovely, and in sharp contrast to the spare elegant, modern looks of the jewelry by Klaus Spies.

You'll love it.