Victorian era Europe saw an increasing interest in the glory days of the Renaissance, and a burgeoning middle class had the money to spend on historical works of art. Goldsmith Reinhold Vasters was just the man to meet the demand, turning out dozens, if not hundreds, of pieces meant to be taken as true Renaissance originals. They were, too, until a chance discovery in the 1970s uncovered the truth.

History’s Greatest Jewelry Scandals, Part 2

For this month's Deep Dive, we are going to take a look at some historical jewelry scandals, from the frustrating to the awe-inspiring. In this episode, we cover the only time the British Royal Jewels were stolen, the whereabouts of the missing French Blue diamond, and the Great Diamond Hoax of 1872!

The inevitable conclusion, and final episode of this month's very very deep dive into jewelry as magical symbol! We pick up where we left off, in Hellenistic Greece, touch on a few other Eurasian cultures, and then take a look at some of the ritual uses of jewelry in pre Columbian Mesoamerican and Andean cultures.

Let's continue our tumble into the rabbithole of jewelry as magical symbol, with a trip through the use of jewelry through a few different eras of history in ancient Greece. Along with the continuing use of amulets and protective jewelry, the influx of gold into ancient Greece changed the way jewelry and belief were intertwined, giving us some absolutely spectacular examples of goldsmithing and craftsmanship made in the name of ritual and devotion.

We are going on the deepest of dives this month, discussing the rich and fascinating history of jewelry as magical object, spanning hundreds of thousands of years. In part one we talk about the oldest known jewelry, the first known purely symbolic adornments, and how ancient Mesopotamians and Egyptians approached jewelry and spiritualism.

We continue our Deep Dive into the histories of everyone's favorite precious metals, gold and silver. This episode we cover the cool, shiny, moonlike metal, silver, and its secret importance as a driving force behind most cultures, ancient and modern.

Here it is, folks- the big one, the foundation of it all, the history of everyone's favorite shiny gold metal, gold! Let's discuss 7,000 years of gold and why we even think it's special to begin with.

Let's continue our love affair with archeological revival jewelry as we delve into the three centuries long history of Egyptian revival jewelry, complete with yet another Napoleon Bonaparte appearance.

Come with me on a journey into the history of archeological revival jewelry, a companion to this month's Deep Dive Wednesday videos. Episode one covers Hellenistic Revival/Neoclassical, Etruscan Revival, and how ancient Scythian jewelry was responsible for the Faberge egg.