New Earrings: 500+ Designs from Around the World

Image of New Earrings: 500+ Designs from Around the World
Author(s): 
Release Date: 
June 1, 2013
Publisher/Imprint: 
Thames & Hudson
Pages: 
244
Reviewed by: 

Once the reader gets past the initial preface and introduction, he or she is in for quite a visual feast. Mr. Estrada has compiled an exhaustive, almost encyclopedic, assortment of earrings. The pieces are testament to the creativity and ability of these jewelry makers who can only be referred to as artists as opposed to mere artisans or jewelry designers.

The uses of materials are as varied as the designs themselves and include everything from paper to porcelain, sterling, resin, titanium, thread, and gold to rhinestones. There is apparently no medium that is not fair game in terms of achieving the desired outcome.

The reader should take note that these are not earrings that will be found displayed on the spinner racks on department store counters. The earrings here are really miniature works of art that deserve to be displayed in much more rarefied surroundings such as galleries and fine jewelry stores.

Anyone who has ever been in the jewelry business will tell you that earrings provide the bulk of the revenue when it comes to overall category sales, but these are earrings that invite further investigation and appreciation—from the utilitarian or decorative styles that are often associated with the category.

Mr. Estrada’s New Earrings is a celebration of workmanship, quality, imagination, engineering, and the joy of being a jeweler in the most artistic sense. These makers are not the artisans we associate with souvenir jewelry or some far flung oddity; these are artists who work with the most precious of materials and have the audacity to stretch the limits of what we perceive as wearable art.

New Earrings: 500+ Designs from Around the World needs to be read by anyone who appreciates the manual and creative arts as well as those who are aficionados of advanced designs and techniques. The book will provide wonder, amazement, and untold hours of entertainment as it invites revisiting. Each reader will be able to find an example they find inspiring and just plain amazing!