What makes an item of jewellery valuable?
Where is the boundary between jewellery and fine art?
In order to find some answers, I went to the Electrum Gallery and the Lesley Craze Gallery – two of London’s major galleries.
The Electrum Gallery is London’s first gallery of contemporary jewellery, with a collection that reflects the need to present an objective view of the field and its future direction of development. The gallery collaborates with more than 100 artists, and presents continuous exhibitions on particular themes or movements. The gallery’s permanent exhibition shows the widest range of diversity: alongside the achievement of experienced masters, we can find work by art college graduates; decorative pieces are augmented by conceptual works; traditional materials are contrasted with new techniques.
A much more subjective approach to the selection of exhibits may be seen at the Lesley Craze Gallery. Here, aesthetic and conceptual canons are clearly defined. These are works corresponding to particular tastes and interests. The Lesley Craze Gallery has a separate room for textiles, and many of the jewellers have utilised textile art techniques.
The Lesley Craze Gallery strives to remove the boundaries between costume jewellery and the design of art jewellery. The focus of interest at the gallery is on the object as a work of art.
Looking back at the recent past, it is surprising that in the late 1960s and early 70s, London did not yet have a single jewellery gallery.
Small exhibitions were held at the “Heal’s” department store, which specialises in home design and decorative art. This certainly did not satisfy the jewellers, whose numbers were growing all the time and who wished to be on an equal footing with other branches of the arts. And so it was necessary to establish a gallery.
The Electrum Gallery was founded in 1971, when the young jeweller Barbara Cartlidge (who is still the owner and director of the gallery today) was seeking an opportunity to permanently exhibit her own work and that of her peers.
A location was found near the popular Oxford Street and the fashion showcase Bond Street. For 35 years now, the home of the Electrum Gallery has been No. 21 South Molton Street, London.
Although 35 years is a considerable length of time in the life of a gallery, it is a very short period in terms of the development of the field.
WHAT IS A JEWELLER?
In my conversation with the gallery’s curator Janice Hosegood, I pose a question about the terminology, which is used so inconsistently. A great variety of names for this branch are encountered: contemporary jewellery, conceptual jewellery, experimental or innovative jewellery, and others.
Janise Hosegood considers that it is more than just a difference of terminology. Rather, each artist will have a different name for their profession, using such terms as “jeweller”, “artist”, “designer”, “jewellery maker”, etc. But in Hosegood’s opinion, the term “art jewellery” most precisely describes this field. Being quite abstract, it does not, however, exclude any of the most important characteristics present in this field: individuality, the necessity of a concept and a contemporary interpretation.
By “concept”, Hosegood refers to an artist’s personal viewpoint, their “story”, which will be completely different in each case. It can be expressed as a dialogue with the material, or as a story in the literary and illustrative sense. A work of jewellery can also be an expression of the artist’s attitude or a quest in the field of aesthetics.
There are artists for whom the initial idea, which led to the necessity of creating the particular piece of jewellery, is just as significant as the finished work. To them it is important that the idea should come across clearly. For others, the experience obtained from the moment when the idea first emerged up to the finished work is a journey revealed in the finished product, not requiring any further explanation.
Contact with the buyer gives the object a second life. Thus, one section of the customers attach considerable importance to obtaining as much information as possible about the artist’s impulses in creating the particular object and its symbolic meaning, while others prefer not to know, since the particular work has given rise to completely different associations in their minds. Thus, a piece of jewellery can have two parallel, completely unrelated conceptual meanings. The gallery’s function, as the curator emphasises, is to find the common ground between these two sides.
An item of jewellery, much more than any other piece of art or design, is connected with its owner. It represents not only a material investment, but also reflects their personality and the emotional motivation behind the choice of that particular piece.
A GOLD OR PLASTIC RING?
A piece of jewellery is something that can be used in countless ways, from the very simplest – creating an ambience or serving as an accessory for dress – up to the most complex, such as an affirmation of one’s identity, an element of ritual or a means of communication. Historically, jewellery is connected with symbols of welfare and power. The weight of a diamond or the quantity of gold can be equated with a sum of money, thus giving the piece a particular material value. These criteria are clear, but what are the criteria applying to items of paper, plastic or porcelain? Are contemporary works of jewellery anything more than just overly expensive toys, whose value does not stretch beyond the whims of society at some particular age?
Janice Hosegood: precious metals and gemstones no longer have such a decisive role. The value lies in the artist’s creative originality, in the uniqueness of the piece and sometimes also in the popularity of the artist.
Neither is the value of a painting measured in terms of the number of tubes of paint used to paint it.
According to Janice Hosegood, the use of precious metals and precious stones still has a certain role, but no longer such a decisive one. The emphasis on wealth and power is no longer a priority, and the main emphasis is on the individuality of the artist and of the owner of the piece of jewellery. The artist’s creative originality, the uniqueness of the work and, in many cases, the reputation or popularity of the artist all represents value. The attitude towards evaluation is similar to the criteria for evaluating a painting (or sculpture), which are not determined according to the number of tubes of paint that have been used to paint it.
Nowadays, it would be wrong to consider that economic reasons lie behind the use of “cheap” materials. By contrasting precious stones with such fragile materials as woollen thread or a piece of fabric, the difference in their durability and symbolic significance is being emphasised. Changes in the value system have also been promoted by the interaction of different cultures. Here we may take the example of Japanese artists, who are happy to use paper, fabric and other materials that have not been popular in the European tradition of jewellery.
VALUABLE JEWELLERY IS PRACTICAL JEWELLERY
In Hosegood’s opinion, the value of a piece of jewellery can, however, also be influenced by practicality – the possibility of wearing it. If an object is unsuitable for wearing, then it is much harder to sell, even if the idea behind the work and the workmanship itself is outstanding. A piece of jewellery relates to the body, so it has to be functional, and whatever its form and however unusual the approach, it must not cause discomfort to the wearer. However, views on functionality differ: what is a limit for one individual does not represent a barrier for someone else. Janice Hosegood says she has met buyers who do not hide the fact that they will not be able to wear the piece they have purchased very often, because of its weight, or because the material is so fragile, but even so, these restrictions do not deter them. Paradoxically, the more valuable an item – the more unique, unusual or experimental – the harder it is to find a buyer for it. Most popular is traditional jewellery that is convenient to wear and is in line with fashion trends. However, the interest in unique works of art and jewellery is growing all the time. Works that were exhibited at the gallery five years ago are not to be seen anywhere now.
For those with an interest in this field, the museums provide something of a balance. The Victorian and Albert Museum (V&A) in London adds to its jewellery collection every year. There are also a small number of private collectors and galleries with sufficient financial resources to purchase expert-based collections. For example, the American collector and gallery owner Helen Drutt has donated part of her jewellery collection to the Philadelphia Museum.
Also widely known among specialists in contemporary jewellery are the SOFA (International Expositions of Sculpture Objects & Functional Art) fairs, held in New York and Chicago, and Collect (International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects) in London.
It is hard to say what the art jewellery of the next century will look like, but it is quite clear already that changes in the application of materials and in the aesthetic canons are taking place, and that considerable attention is focussed on the potential of current technology.
* The Lesley Craze Gallery was founded in 1984, located 33 – 35a Clerkenwell Green, London.
Costume jewellery is traditionally made utilising inexpensive materials. Its main function is to adorn the dress. The form and colours are entirely dependent on the dress and relate to current fashion trends.
The Victoria and Albert Museum is currently undergoing reorganisation, and the contemporary jewellery exhibition will be on view again only in 2008.