Pearls: Dazzle Our Imaginations!
Tracing the history of costume jewelry from ancient times to the present day, and explaining how changing fashions, social developments, and the discovery of new materials have influenced and inspired designers, DK Collector's Guide: Costume Jewelry is exciting, comprehensive, and easy to use. Written by world-renowned antiques expert Judith Miller, the book offers more than 1,500 collectible pieces in catalog-style, including special sections on 25 major designers such as Joseff of Hollywood, Tiffany & Co, Chanel, Schiaparelli and Dior, and offers priceless tips on what to look for when buying costume jewelry.
Broken into three sections, 'The Classics' covers traditional pearl stringing and simple earrings, 'Special Occasions' includes a striking copper-colored choker and a lariat suitable for a bride, and 'Fashion Forward' contains a bangle with fiery-colored pearls and a dramatic bracelet using handmade beads and dyed pearls. Chapters on the science and culture of pearls include tips on selecting, working with, and caring for these treasures, while engaging anecdotes and vibrant images of pearls throughout history round out this informative and entertaining book."
"[This novel] narrates the creation of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer's painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring. The "Girl" in Chevalier's version is 16-year-old Griet, who goes to live with the Vermeer household as a maid and becomes increasingly intimate with Vermeer as she takes on duties as a private assistant."
Confronted by her late husband's suspicious death, the prospect of bankruptcy, and the disappearance of a priceless black pearl necklace called the "Black Trinity," young widow Hannah McGarry reluctantly turns for help to the seductive Archer Donovan, the silent partner in her husband's pearl farm enterprise.
"Whether you prefer a classic single strand or a funky combination of pearls and semi-precious materials, Simply Pearls shows you how to create necklaces that are easy to make yet look both expensive and professionally made. No longer the extravagance they used to be, pearls come in a variety of types—from freshwater to faux—that make these beautiful gems an affordable and elegant option.
"With projects designed for beginners and intermediate crafters—with a few more challenging designs for good measure—Simply Pearls is a volume that people will consult again and again for basic stringing, knotting, and wire-work techniques; to find inspiration and project ideas, including tips on refreshing heirloom jewelry; and as a materials reference. Whether your look is modern and edgy or classic Chanel, Simply Pearls offers great how-to-wear-it ideas and beautiful projects that will give you the Tiffany’s look at Target prices."
"In 1948, a nineteen-year-old Japanese pearl diver is in her fourth season of perfecting the techniques of her age-old occupation. But her dreams of spending her life diving in the waters of the Inland Sea are shattered when she discovers that she has leprosy. She knows that the shame attached to the disease is inescapable: rejection by her family is imminent, exile unavoidable.
"No more than two months elapse before authorities send her off to a leprosarium on the island of Nagashima, and although it is only seven miles from her home, it is a world away from all that is familiar to her. At once, she is instructed to forget her past, to strike her name from the koseki, the family register, and ordered to choose a new name. As 'Miss Fuji' looks around her, she sees her own future in the debilitated bodies and the lives of the more than two thousand other patients. But her 'future' never comes; her own case of leprosy remains a mild one owing to the discovery of a medicine that impedes the disease’s progression in its victims."
