Helen's career has spanned the global gem and jewellery industry, from roles with leading auction and jewellery houses to academic posts. For ten years she was a jewellery specialist for Sotheby's and Christie's in London and Geneva, where she handled sales of global importance including the private jewellery collection of HRH The Princess Margaret in 2006. As a gemmologist and jewellery historian, she has since held roles as Professeur d'Histoire du Bijou at the Geneva University of Art and Design, Managing Director at the House of G belin, and most recently as the Senior Jewellery Curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Precious is her first book for general readers.
This is - fittingly - a gem of a book. Rich descriptions, fascinating histories and, at times, just pure, dazzling bling. A joy to read. -- Tracy Borman, author of Elizabeth’s Women, Thomas Cromwell and The Private Lives of the Tudors Reading Precious is like opening history's treasure-chest, to discover a trove of fascinating information. -- Jane Robinson, author of Trailblazer, Hearts and Minds and Bluestockings Merging knowledge with fascination she shows us that the preciousness of gems does not lie solely in their sparkle but in their story. * Clare Hunter, author of Threads: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle * This is - fittingly - a gem of a book. Rich descriptions, fascinating histories and, at times, just pure, dazzling bling. A joy to read. -- Tracy Borman, author of Elizabeth’s Women, Thomas Cromwell and The Private Lives of the Tudors Reading Precious is like opening history's treasure-chest, to discover a trove of fascinating information. -- Jane Robinson, author of Trailblazer, Hearts and Minds and Bluestockings Merging knowledge with fascination she shows us that the preciousness of gems does not lie solely in their sparkle but in their story. * Clare Hunter, author of Threads: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle *