Text by Maurice P Galli in collaboration with Nina Giambelli. Illustrations by Maurice P Galli, Fanfan Li and Dominique Riviere 224 pages, Published by Schiffer Publishing, Ltd (Copyright 1995) priced at 1,995 baht.

Reviewed by Mukda Niphatthanaphan

This book is a book created to be a reference, or guidebook usable for amateur or professional jewelry designers, instructors and students alike. The book is divided into three parts. The first section discussed the basic principles of design and documents these with clear illustrations on use if the basic tools for design rendition. The second section continues with rendering techniques for metals and stones. The last section focuses on the rendering of rings and earrings. It also comprehensively displays how to render a three-quarter ring view with hints useful for each type of ring style. Invisible settings for rings, especially fancy cut stone shapes, classic cocktail rings and others are given as are distinct tips on achieving the best design potential in each case. Earrings are also covered in this section. Both dynamic design principles and varying methods for earring styles are addressed with full view drawings.

The book I well planned and organized, making it easy to follow. Most of the design techniques described are clearly demonstrated with color drawings and concise explanations. The content of the book is, however, limited by its focus on only rings and earrings. Additionally, the layout of the book implies more than a beginner’s knowledge of jewelry design technique, making this perhaps more for the advanced student or for the student in a formal class to fill in the missing portions of the basic knowledge not adequately explained. The rendering of design illustrations is depicted with clear and accurate color drawings on non-distracting, high quality paper, adding to the book’s general feel and overall print quality.