At Victoria and Albert, Jewels Go High Tech

by Suzy Menkes
(iht.com)

LONDON: It could be defined as a new "crystal palace" - and what more fitting place to install it than in another monument to Queen Victoria's era, the edifice dedicated to herself and her husband? The mirage of glass and glitter that is the new jewelry gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum is one of the must-do visits of the summer. There are even lines of eager visitors waiting to enter a space that is both redolent of history and startlingly modern, with its two-tier galleries joined by a glass spiral staircase.

But it is not just the transparent jewel box of an exhibition area, imaginatively designed by the architect Eva Jiricna, that has brought a gust of modernity to jewelry display. Nor is it the gems themselves, although they include, as well as historic pieces dating back 800 years, the work of 140 living designers. Contemporary art from the 20th century includes works made out of acrylic, papier-maché or knitted nylon.

The revolution is in the embrace of multimedia. Screens dotted through the gallery, either with rotating images or as computers on which visitors can search and learn, are an imaginative addition to what is already a splendid display.

Read entire article here.

View slide show of jewelry pieces here.