55. Istanbul Jewelry Show | 17 - 20 April 2024

56. Istanbul Jewelry Show | 02 - 05 October 2024

Venue | Istanbul Expo Center

World Famous Jewelry Museums

Estimated Reading Time: 5 min

From the precious crown jewels to the state-of-the-art modern collars, the art of jewelry design has spelled collectors for centuries. The jewel museums, which are also the focus of exhibitions and museum regulars, are home to more and more industry professionals. The dazzling, jewel-encrusted brooches by JAR at The Metropolitan of Art, and the magnificent Ancient Inca chest-plates of the Golden Kingdoms at Getty remain memorable masterpieces. For professionals and accessory enthusiasts who want more than to wait for temporary shows, there are many famous jewelry museums dedicated to the intricacies of the art of jewelry. You can learn about the treasures of jewelry museums around the world and visit some of them at the first opportunity.
 

The priceless collections in the world's largest jewelry museums prove that jewelry design and production is an art.Here are some of them!

1. Pforzheim Jewelery Museum, Germany

The jewelry museum dedicated to the history of jewelry is considered the only one of its kind worldwide. Located in Germany, the jewelry museum showcases a diversity of jewelry spanning more than 5,000 years, with nearly 2000 exhibits, including an extensive collection of rings. The collection includes treasures from Greco-Roman antiquity, Renaissance and Jugendstil/Art Nouveau, as well as contemporary art jewellery. Other unique components of the collection include non-western jewelry and 17.-19. it also includes 20th-century pocket watches.

2. Museo de las Alhajas en la Via de la Plata

The name of the jewelry museum established in La Bañeza (Leon) city of Spain means Jewelry Museum on the Silver Road. Opened in 2011, the Jewelry Museum on the Silver Road features 19th century Spanish traditional costumes and 16th-18th century costumes from the Silver Road and the city of Leon. It has a collection of more than 3,000 pieces of 19th century jewelry. The jewelry museum contains the best collection of traditional civic jewelry in Spain. Highlights include large silver necklaces called collaradas made with jewels from the Asturian jet, and small-headed Manila shawls made of ivory or mother-of-pearl.

3. World Jewelry Museum

Founded in 2004 in Seoul, South Korea, the jewelry museum is one of the few museums in the world that is entirely devoted to jewelry, especially ethnically diverse. Nine exhibition galleries presenting 1000 pieces of jewelry from African, Asian, Central Asian, European and pre-Columbian artifacts are among its prominent exhibits in terms of material and function.

4. Tower of London Jewelry House

The Tower of London is home to perhaps the world's largest, most exclusive and expensive collection, the Crown Jewels. The Crown Jewels are part of the Royal Collection, guarded by the Yeomen Warders, better known as Beefeaters. This extravagant collection is housed in the Jewelry House in the Tower of London, which has been one of London's finest museums for jewelry lovers since the 14th century. These include Temporal Justice, Spiritual Justice and Swords of Mercy, and Queen Elizabeth II during her 1953 coronation. It also includes the St Edward's Crown worn by Elizabeth.

5. Boston Museum of Fine Arts

The museum's jewelry collection is small but covers a wide variety of periods. It is a museum where countries such as Greece and Egypt, including Turkey, offer real antique jewelry treasures to western luxury consumers for the first time. It showcases the animated designs of all the greats of the era, such as Castellani, Giacinto Melillo and Eugene Fontenay. Featured designs in jewelry exhibitions; A gold brooch from the 1850s by Castellani and a 2002 Akelo pendant that mimics an ancient Etruscan granulation technique are special pieces.

6. Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum

Cooper-Hewitt has a strong collection of jewelery and design objects in the Product Design and Decorative Arts division. There are also numerous jewelry sketches and preparatory drawings in the Drawings, Prints and Graphic Design section of the museum. The objects in the collection represent a variety of styles, materials and origins. Many exhibitions are also held at The Cooper-Hewitt, focusing on unique design and materials from the mid-20th century to the present.

7. Patek Philippe Museum

Although the museum is more devoted to the history of watchmaking than to traditional jewelry, it still makes a great visiting spot for those who love luxury ornaments. The museum is located in a world-class location in the heart of Geneva, which covers four floors of a historic building. The collection is divided into two sections: the Antique Collection, which includes European works from the 16th to 19th centuries, and the Patek Philippe Collection, which includes the designer's works from 1839 to the present. The permanent collection and beautifully placed display cases document the evolution of the craft through one of the most impressive watch collections from both Patek Philippe and other artists.
 

Jewelry Collections of Famous Museums

Besides museums focused solely on jewelry, there are also major museums such as the Louvre that have their own jewelry exhibitions and collections. Louvre; It has an important jewelry collection spanning from the Near East, Greek, Roman, Etruscan and Egyptian Antiquities to the 18th and 19th centuries. In addition to ancient objects, this collection includes pieces from some of France's most powerful families. The museum's collection includes many items belonging to the ruling families of France, such as the necklace and earring set of Napoleon's second wife, Empress Marie-Louise.

Like the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has an extensive jewelery collection dating back to antiquity. The Met can showcase all manner of jewelry, from ancient Roman cameos to Art Nouveau necklaces designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany in 1904. The collections featured in the museum's exhibits focus on the meanings and importance of jewelry.

The United States Gemology Institute (GIA), which is the highest authority by the jewelry industry to standardize on the classification and analysis of diamonds and colorful precious stones, is one of the places you can find jewelry worth showcasing. GIA, based in Carlsbad, California, is a great center for visiting the institute, as well as famous stone rating and training programs.
 

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