L’ÉCOLE invites you to discover the stories behind the world of gemstones through live reading sessions with our experts.
For this session, Dr. David Usieto Cabrera, Professor at L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, will read an excerpt from Jewels and Jewellery by Clare Phillips, published by Thames & Hudson with the Victoria and Albert Museum.
During the session, he will explore the chapter “Coloured Gemstones: The Townshend Collection”, examining how ornamental stones became objects of desire through their color, geological rarity, and long association with power and protection. He will also consider how the Victorian practice of displaying genuine gems alongside their paste imitations invites us to question what we truly value in a stone—and what this tension reveals about jewelry as an object of belief, identity, and worth.
For those who wish to go further, featured titles are also available at the L’ÉCOLE Library Corner at Al Safa Art & Design Library
Reading Session:
Thursday, July 23rd
From 12 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. (U.A.E time)
In English
Speakers:
With Dr. David Usieto Cabrera, lecturer at L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts
Book:
Jewels and Jewellery by Clare Phillips, published by Thames & Hudson with the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Image Credit: Townshend Gem Collection (detail)
Bequeathed by the Rev. Chauncy Hare Townshend
©Victoria and Albert Museum, London