Book Reviews

If Santa didn’t bring you the deluxe coffee-table book of your dreams, a) have words and b) feast your eyes on these two mouth-watering titles. Then leave the magazine open on this page…

Diamonds: Diamond Stories

By Anders Christian Madsen. Foreword by Edward Enninful Assouline.com, £70

This glittering coffee-table collaboration between the Natural Diamond Council and publisher Assouline showcases how diamonds transcend time, punctuate culture and continue to carry personal meaning and symbolism. The book opens with a foreword by Edward Enninful, who outlines his own relationship with diamonds via the lens of his position as editor of British Vogue.

As a renowned stylist, he has observed how diamonds in fashion images and celebrity portraits have conveyed different messages over the decades. For him, diamonds represent luxury, glamour and aspiration, “but the representation of those ideals are changing – so is the diamond.”

The book’s introduction by Madsen takes Enninful’s view that you can wear Grandma’s diamonds with jeans and a T-shirt, that there are new and progressive ways – for boys as well as girls – to wear diamonds, and expands on it. Our new understanding of luxury is perfectly illustrated by an image of diamond-clad Marilyn Monroe as ‘boudoir babe’ juxtaposed with a similarly attired Madonna three decades on – decidedly all about empowerment and independence. A recent Vogue cover of Billie Eilish redefines further what corsets and diamonds mean.

Whether you accept or question the author's premise, there’s no denying the power and glamour of the very many full-page fashion images that follow. And you’d have to agree with Madsen’s summing up that diamonds are “universal symbols for anyone who dares to dream.”

Cartier and Islamic Art

In Search of Modernity Thames & Hudson, £45

Inspiration for jewellery can come from all manner of sources; in the case of Louis Cartier (1875-1942), the grandson of Cartier founder Louis-Francois, Islamic art was a particular draw. The impassioned collector and arts patron was especially attracted by the geometric shapes, colour combinations and motifs he saw in Persian book arts.

Published to accompany a major exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and the Dallas Museum of Art, this sumptuous book looks at the influence of Islamic art on Cartier’s work, how motifs and colours of that world found their way into amazing pieces of jewellery down the decades.

For the jewellery/art historians – as well as Cartier fans – there is plenty to get your teeth into, with illustrated essays around the subject to put Louis Cartier’s passion into context. For instance, in the early 20th century, the study of Islamic art became an established discipline, and the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1922 saw works of art arrive in Paris, inspiring fashion designers such as Paul Poiret as well as dealers, collectors, historians, perfumers, jewellers, interior designers and publishers.

Images in the book range from large, detailed close-ups of gorgeously vibrant pieces – artefacts as well as jewellery – from the Cartier archive, as well as black and white photographs used by the house for a 1913 exhibition.