2022 Holiday Gift Guide: Diamond Gifts Inspired By Best-Selling Jewelry Design Books
Get a look that matches the mode of your favorite publication.
So, you’ve decided to make the holidays really sparkle for someone special. I am not talking about lighting the Christmas tree. I mean you are really going for it and giving them a natural diamond jewel. Or perhaps you have just decided to take the plunge on a diamond jewel for yourself because you have been so good all year. Yet you are not quite sure what diamond jewel to choose among all the beauties on the market.
First it is important to zero in on qualities you want this jewel to have. One hack we have come up with for the season is to let the best-selling jewelry design books be your guide. Does Ice Cold: A Hip Hop Jewelry History capture the swagger you want in the gift? Or do you desire something with more of a romantic historic vibe like The Queen’s Diamonds? Maybe you are looking for a design with symbolism like the animals in Beautiful Creatures or an item with a fashionable flair like the motif laden treasure in Chanel High Jewelry.
Find out more about the jewelry design books and gifts that match their modes below.
Dazzling Drip
In the landmark 388-page publication Ice Cold: A Hip Hop Jewelry History author Vikki Tobak reviews all the various types of bold chains, big rings and pendants artists in the music genre have flaunted over the decades. She also covers the humor and symbolism often found in the designs as well as signature silhouettes like grills.
In the same way hip hop artists have gone mainstream, the spirit of the jewelry genre can be found on the red carpet and in a variety of diamond jewelry collections.
Black Panther star Letitia Wright showed off her Bespoke Bijules Grillz by designer Jules Kim and grill manufacturer Charlie Goldcap at the film’s New York premiere. The process to order personalized grills, which is clearly a deluxe gift idea, begins with a DM to the designer on Instagram, a review of her styles and couture fittings.
While hip hop jewelry history is defined by personalized pieces like grills as well as gargantuan diamond jewels, you can find plenty of smaller options today that, to use the parlance of the genre, allow you to “step into your power” with jewelry. Design details that capture the look are gold links, words, letters and numbers as well as motifs like stars.
Explore Natural Diamond Jewelry Gift Ideas Inspired By Ice Cold: A Hip Hop Jewelry History
Crown Jewels
The Queen’s Diamonds is the equivalent of an authorized biography of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s vast collection of diamond jewels and the trove of pieces she inherited from British monarchs who preceded her. Written by Hugh Roberts, the former Director of the Royal Collection, the book which was published in 2018, became a best-seller in the jewelry design category at the time of the Queen’s funeral in September.
All the senior female members of the royal family wore beautiful jewels during the Queen’s memorial events including William and Kate’s seven-year-old daughter Princess Charlotte. The adorable and precocious child sported a little vintage diamond horseshoe on her black coat which was a sweet tribute to the love of horses she shared with her grandmother. It also conjured up the 19th century sentimental diamond jewelry of Queen Victoria.
The Queen’s Diamonds features some of Victoria’s jewels and the spirit of the looks she popularized can be found in several great jewelry collections today. A beautiful jewelry box is another way to capture the essence of the antique style.
Explore Natural Diamond Jewelry Gift Ideas Inspired By The Queen’s Diamonds
Beautiful Creatures
Beautiful Creatures: Jewelry Inspired By The Animal Kingdom covers gem-set jewels made over the last 150 years. Written by yours truly as a catalogue for the exhibition I curated at the American Museum of Natural History, the book has remained popular since it debuted in 2020.
Animals bring a lot to the jewelry genre. There is the charm of the design and the inherent symbolism such as the metamorphosis of a butterfly or the wisdom of an owl. Animals are also linked to the zodiac. No matter what motivates you to choose a certain creature, they are guaranteed to incite awwws from all who see it.
Explore Natural Diamond Jewelry Gift Ideas Inspired By Beautiful Creatures: Jewelry Inspired By the Animal Kingdom
Fashion Conscious
Chanel: High Jewelry, the book celebrating 90-years since Coco Chanel launched her legendary diamond jewelry collection in 1932 is coming in fashionably late. It won’t be released until March 7, 2023 but, as every fashion person knows, “getting on the list” is critical to getting something first. Pre-order the publication now for a holiday gift someone will receive next year. It promises to show all the jewels with the designer’s iconography.
To shop in the fashion-conscious mode of the book is easy, even without seeing it. You can pick up iconic motifs made by fashion houses like Chanel or Louis Vuitton. Or choose designers that have always been fashion favorites such as Tiffany’s Elsa Peretti whose jewels were featured on the Halston runways in the 1970s. More recently Jennifer Lopez showed how the Americana of Jacquie Aiche’s jewels fit perfectly with Ralph Lauren.
Explore Natural Diamond Jewelry Gift Ideas Inspired By Chanel High Jewelry
