The Jeweled Garden: A Colourful History of Gems, Jewelry, and Nature

The great 19th-century French jewelers, Boucheron, Chaumet, and later Lalique, excelled in adapting flowers, trees, and fruits into wonderfully imaginative – and highly collectible – bracelets, brooches and necklaces.

The legendary 20th-century firms Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari and Belperron also created memorable jewels emulating nature, as did American jewelers such as Seaman Schepps, Oscar Heyman & Brothers, David Webb and Verdura.

Their ingenuity has in turn inspired the designs of our own time, including Mughal-influenced pieces by Joel Arthur Rosenthal, Stefan Hemmerle’s playful ferns and mushrooms, and Jacqueline Karachi-Langane’s cascading orchid necklace for Cartier.

The 375 stunning illustrations make this a collector's piece in itself.