Three New Jewelry Books Made for Holiday Gifting

By Victoria Gomelsky | December 15, 2025

If you’re looking for excellent—if heavy—stocking stuffers to fill out your selection of affordable (but make it jewelry) gifts this holiday, look no further than the three wonderful tomes highlighted below, guaranteed to resonate with younger shoppers.

Costume Jewelry

Since the 17th century, women with more style than means have adorned themselves in jewelry made from paste, an artful but inexpensive glass used in imitation jewelry. In Costume Jewelry, a forthcoming title from Taschen, jewelry expert Carol Woolton sheds light on how the category came into its own after the Great Depression and World Wars through nearly 600 exquisite examples assembled by collector Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.

Using materials such as Bakelite and Lucite, designers of the 20th century followed in the footsteps of couturiers such as Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli in helping democratize fashion. Learn how their creations—colorful, opulent, eye-catching, and accessible—continue to inspire designers today.

The Age of Grandeur: The Definitive Guide to 19th-Century Jewellery From the Classical and Romantic to Art Nouveau

The Age of Grandeur cover — *The Age of Grandeur*

By now, most of us know that Gen Z is keen on vintage, whether it’s secondhand clothing, wristwatches, or jewels. For a proper education on some of the oldest vintage jewelry around, point your clients in the direction of The Age of Grandeur: The Definitive Guide to 19th-Century Jewellery From the Classical and Romantic to Art Nouveau.

Published by ACC Art Books and written by renowned jewelry experts Daniela Mascetti and David Bennett (authors of the seminal reference work Understanding Jewellery), the book features more than 250 images that help trace the evolution of jewelry style during the 1800s. From Napoleonic classicism to Victorian memorial jewels, from the archaeological revival to the naturalistic forms of art nouveau, the story of the era’s jewelry is essential reading for anyone seeking greater insights about the themes, styles, and techniques of craftsmanship perfected and treasured by earlier generations.

Craftland: In Search of Lost Arts and Disappearing Trades

In an age of mass production and the machine-made aesthetic it has spawned, the desire for objects made by hand is stronger than ever. In his new book, Craftland: In Search of Lost Arts and Disappearing Trades, James Fox, an art historian at the University of Cambridge, reports on the hidden histories that have shaped Britain’s heritage of craftsmanship and warns that its oldest artisanal traditions are on the brink of extinction. Along the way, he writes about dry wall builders in West Yorkshire; coopers (or barrel makers) in Bushmills, Northern Ireland; and rush weavers in Bedfordshire, among others. Fox makes a passionate case for buying less and spending more for objects made by human hands, and argues that wherever you live, makers can thrive.

“Craft can happen anywhere, even in the most seemingly boring places, even in retail parks and industrial estates and cul-de-sacs and converted garages,” Fox says. “Manufacturing was such an ever-present part of our past that wherever you grow up, you can find these great craft stories, these great manufacturing histories and their legacies all around you.”

Top: Costume Jewelry by Carol Woolton is published by Taschen.