July 29, 2024
“Gemstones may be a constant in history, but the way they have been used, prized, valued, and marketed has also been the subject of constant change,” according to this stimulating if incomprehensive debut. Chronicling the cultural histories of 10 types of stone, Molesworth, the jewelry curator at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, explains that though spinel was prized by 16th- and 17th-century Mughal emperors who liked that it could be found in chunks large enough to be engraved, the red stone’s visual similarity to ruby earned it a reputation as an imposter, lowering its value. Molesworth contends that diamonds owe their place atop the hierarchy of precious jewels to 1930s advertising campaigns commissioned by the De Beers diamond company, which sought to boost demand during the Great Depression by creating the “impression that often plentiful material was both rare and desirable.” Elsewhere, Molesworth discusses emerald’s popularity with the upper crust of ancient Egyptian society and ruby’s role as a healing gem in the Ayurvedic tradition. The eye-opening history reveals how the value and associated qualities of gems varies over time, but Molesworth unfortunately glances over darker historical episodes, offering only passing references to the “blood diamond” trade and the frequently abysmal working conditions in gem mines. Though a few blind spots diminish its luster, this still shines.
Starred review from September 1, 2024
A brightly entertaining natural and cultural history of gemstones and the worlds they contain. The title may bring to mind Tolkien's ring-obsessed Gollum, and indeed there are a few grasping, jewel-smitten characters in Molesworth's survey. The book, she writes, was born of her long career in gemology, inspired by a remark her father made when she confessed that she wanted to work in neither the corporate world nor academia: "Hair, makeup, clothes, jewelry. Pick one." She chose wisely, for, as her book recounts, she's done a little bit of everything, serving as curator, cataloger, auctioneer, appraiser, and all-around scholar, working in a field that is "almost a perfect synthesis of every subject under the sun." Sometimes her enthusiasm builds to a geekfest, as when, in a swoon of gemological language, she recounts all the different jades that aren't really jades: "a mishmash of tough, translucent-to-opaque greenish materials such as serpentine, bowenite, amazonite, marble, quartzite, and chrysoprase." In fact, as she goes on to note, what is classified today as "true jade" is either nephrite or jadeite. There's a lively smattering of cocktail-party-worthy trivia on every page: the origins of the "eternity ring," courtesy of a marketing genius at De Beers who had to figure out what to do with a glut of small diamonds introduced from Siberian mines in the 1950s; the history of the massive tanzanite ring that Beyonc� wore after her first child was born, as well as the tsavorite ring Jay-Z gave her, "now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London." A highlight in a book full of them is Molesworth's considered judgment that the references to rubies in the Old Testament "were almost certainly to garnet," a little stone that earns a little more love thanks to her generous assessment of its significance. An overstuffed, endlessly interesting treat for anyone interested in any aspect of jewels.
COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.