History Lessons
Everything old is new again, as they say. Or, in the case of jewelry, sometimes everything old is simply overlooked. A new venture by two historians aims to change that by introducing jewelry students to the vast—and often underutilized—resources available to those studying jewelry design and history.
 
The Association of the Study of Jewelry & Related Arts, founded by author Elyse Zorn Karlin and Yvonne Markowitz, jewelry curator at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, will promote jewelry studies in schools and museums. The goal of the association is to emphasize jewelry in not only a historical context but also as a part of the decorative arts and fashion realms.
 
ASJRA will encourage colleges to include jewelry history courses for both jewelry and decorative arts students, along with study programs at museums. A model program is already in place at Boston's MFA.
 
Underscoring these efforts is the encouragement of students to research and write scholarly articles for publication in the group's quarterly, Adornment, the Magazine of Jewelry & Related Arts.
 
ASJRA recently held a conference, "A Place in Time: Jewelry Within the Context of the Decorative Arts," in New York and plans to hold its 2008 conference in Boston in October. These annual conferences—like the entire ASJRA venture—provide a place for jewelry curators, academic historians, and students to learn from each other and from the past. What better way to prepare for the future?

Weekly Gem
The New Year typically ushers in a new start for many, and this year, the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball was no different. The 100-year-old tradition got a makeover, as new LED technology and Waterford Crystal panels helped to double the ball's brightness. Onlookers were dazzled by the display—which, like so many resolutions—disappeared shortly after midnight.
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