Conceived, according to the author Roberta Bernabei, as a research tool for those interested in contemporary jewelry, this book wears its textbook origins proudly: an introduction, brief conclusion and resource appendix accompany 25 interviews with European jewelers, illustrated by black and white images and a modest color section. Some of the interviews are better than others, but overall these encounters are really interesting, capturing the voices of the jewelers and offering repeated insights into the artistic process. The focus on European jewelers only is a little provincial and the resource list has some strange elements that would be better replaced with a comprehensive bibliography organized by subject, but the ambition of this book to contribute to the published resources about contemporary jewelry is impeccable. This is a book for students, collectors, curators and writers – indeed, anyone who is interested in contemporary jewelry and likes to see it taken seriously.
