Jewels from Imperial St. Petersburg

Image of Jewels from Imperial St Petersburg
Release Date: 
March 14, 2013
Publisher/Imprint: 
Unicorn Press
Pages: 
296
Reviewed by: 

“Include this book in your library of fashion book treasures. You won’t regret it.”

In a time of digital everything with the pace of everyday activities speeded up and measured in nanoseconds, it is refreshing and altogether thrilling to be “slowed down” with the leisurely glory that only a well-made and beautifully presented hardcover book can deliver.

Jewels from Imperial St. Petersburg reminded me that there is no greater pleasure than to hold and savor a volume of such high caliber.

Jewels from Imperial St. Petersburg is more than just a sumptuously and exquisitely illustrated book about “Russian jewelry.”

Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm enlightens us about the provenance of these masterpieces as well as details about each owner and contractor of every particular work of art examined.

Most books covering a very specific topic such as this offer us the usual cast of characters presented willy nilly, enveloped in the context of their minuscule contribution to the whole, but such is not the case here.

We are exposed to names that have been either been relegated to the back burner of history or ignored due to the shining glare of the more familiar and celebrated names such as Faberge, which is a name that is clearly synonymous with Mother Russia and certainly within the world of fine jewelry masterpieces.

Regarding Faberge, the reader will note that the illustrative examples of the master’s work are not just the world famous eggs but extraordinary pieces of fine jewelry with very few examples of the more decorative, non-wearable items that we have all become so enthralled with.

The jewelry we are exposed to in this book is so beyond the scope of what we know as wearable jewelry that Ms. Tillander-Godenhielm gives the reader an entirely new perspective on life in St. Petersburg during this abbreviated period of time.

In essence, the author not only tells the story of these inconceivable treasures but she also educates us on a sociological tangent with respect to “lifestyles of the rich and royal” during that time frame, making readers of fashion books such as these feel we have all been cheated by not being more enlightened about the lives of these fabulously rich folk as we are usually focused on those from Western Europe or the United States.

Suffice it to say Jewels from Imperial St. Petersburg is a book for jewelry lovers, history aficionados, the culturally enlightened, and just about anyone who can appreciate the beauty of unique and beautiful jewelry, paintings, and photos. Include this book in your library of fashion book treasures. You won’t regret it.