Utterly gorgeous and wildly informative — I’ve been flipping through this book like a treasure trove, picking up the shiniest bits here and there. It’s worth reading straight through at some point, but right now I feel like a kid in a candy store.

A beautiful book, with the breadth to interest many. Technical, aesthetically, and with gorgeous illustrations.

Great historical book with lots of information for those interested in jewellery. Highly recommend to everyone who shares this interest on any level.

A fascinating look at the history of jewelry making! Loved the extensive descriptions of the various components that make up jewelry design.

This is not what I expected but for someone who is interested in the history of jewelry they would find it very informative. There is a nice range of photos and cover a wide range of cultures, with lots of information. I received this book as an ARC and was happy to review it.

A wonderful, exhaustively researched book about jewelry past and present. I learned a lot from this gem of a book! A great resource for those who style, create or simply just love jewelry. I cannot recommend this book enough! It would make an excellent gift for someone in your life!

Working in jewellery retail and as a hobbyist, I find this easy to use and made a quick reference guide for when I needed to refresh my knowledge. I found the simple layout easy to read while the photos where my favourite part especially the older pieces. A good starter reference book.

This book was soooo informative on the history or jewelry. You can tell the author did an extreme amount of research and the photos are beautiful as well. I do wish it had more photographs of the jewelry and such but once I began reading, I understood why it didn't. It's more a real informative book on jewelry rather than a photo book of jewelry. I love both, so I'm not disappointed at all. I really recommend this book to those who want background information or just someone who wants to learn about the history behind styles of jewelry. [[If you want a book full of photographs with limited text, this is not for you!]]

This is a great instructional and informational book for anyone wanting to get into jewelry making, or like myself, am studying Geography and Geology at a state college. Wonderful information.

For a book called "looking at jewelry" this book featured far more words than it did pictures of shiny things for me to admire. It's highly informative, though! If you've ever wondered about jewelry terms, then this book will be super helpful for you. However, if you just wanted a book full of big pictures of shiny things, then...you might be disappointed.

What, I just like looking at pictures of shiny things. Is that so bad?!

I recently started making handmade jewelry and have been looking for a book to help take me deeper into the art of jewelry. This book did that and so much more. This book gives you history, detail of material that is used in making jewelry, different techniques, and anything that has to do with any type of jewelry past or present you’ll find in this book. You also get nice images of works of jewelry makers past and present.

Once you start reading you’ll notice right of the bat that there was a lot of research that went into this book, that will help newbie – advance jewelry makers which are looking into knowing more about the craft.

This is a well-written book about the past and present of jewelry creations. It has been meticulously researched and very detailed in the explanations and the addition of photos to give further understanding. I’ve been involved in the crafting of jewelry for over five years and found this book especially informative. It will positively make its way into my personal library!
I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Just what I'd expect from a Getty publication: very beautiful and well-informed. I would have liked to see more photographs, but that's compensated for by the great information provided.

A great guide for any jewel and fashion enthusiast.
This book gives us a detailed information on how to describe this pieces of art, and the history and importance that was given as protection amulets and hierarchy status markers.

This book is a valuable resource for the jewelry maker! It contains many full color illustrations of both finished products and step-by-step instructions on how to achieve these creations.

Looking at Jewelry is a concise history and glossary for jewelry making and adornment from prehistory to the modern era. The introductory chapter defines and develops the definitions of adornment, the differences between jewelry and clothing, style and materials, and methods of construction.

Due out 25th June 2019 from the J. Paul Getty museum, it's 132 pages and available in paperback format. The introductory chapter (~12% of the page content) is followed by a glossary/dictionary (75%), and a bibliography/further reading list, illustration credits, and short index complete the content.

The book is perhaps not as lavishly illustrated as it might have been (not a coffee table book), though the illustrations and photographs which are included are interestingly chosen and eclectic in their variety. The book also shows an impressively diverse treatment of the subject with no particular emphasis on western or European art. There is a wide variety of adornment from a broad selection of cultures including native peoples and Eastern cultures. The glossary and definitions are correct and well defined.

I think this would make a good library book, or perhaps a good addition to an artist/craftsman's design inspiration collection. There are a number of pieces in the book which had me doodling out designs and alternatives immediately. Just the cover piece provides a rich selection of design elements.

Four stars.

I liked the book a lot. really enjoyable, but I expected more pictures. thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the arc

Interesting information and some beautiful photos! I really enjoyed learning more about the history of jewelry in different cultures.