New Earrings: 500+ Designs From Around the World

This book offers a lush look at some of the most innovative earrings being created today by jewelry designers from all over the world. The author - really more a curator - is himself a distinguished jewelry artist. This book is not a how-to manual - there are no instructions for how to make any of the pieces. Rather, it is intended as a kind of art and design show in print for the reader to dip into and out of, perhaps drawing inspiration for amateur jewelry. The designs are highly innovative - some so much so that they are not easily recognizable as earrings, or even jewelry, but resemble other things - a barbell or even a traffic barricade. Every possible material is on display, from the expected, like semi-precious stones and metal, to the unexpected, like discarded doll heads and fruit. Two introductory essays provide much-needed context for the 530 rich, color illustrations. Most helpful is an alphabetical directory of the artists, though its placement at the back (set in extremely small type) requires a lot of flipping back and forth to understand what inspired individual designs. (June 11)