Out of this World! Jewelry in the Space Age, an exhibition opening this weekend at the Forbes Galleries, is showing off jewelry, precious and otherwise, that’s inspired by space, crafted from meteorites, and more.
Here’s the idea, from guest curator Elyse Zorn Karlin:
Space has always been in our consciousness and often expressed in jewelry. The ancients wore amulets depicting the moon; in Georgian and Victorian jewelry we see numerous depictions of the moon, stars, and Halley’s Comet. The mid-20th century saw an explosion of “space age jewelry” and corresponding couture, and today the “futuristic” look in fashion is “in” thanks to Lady Gaga and other entertainers. Many contemporary fine jewelers and studio jewelers still look to space for inspiration and the result is some of the wonderful jewelry you will see in this exhibition.
This solid-gold replica was made by Parisian jeweler Cartier, and three editions will be shown off at the exhibition–one for each of the spacecraft’s astronauts (Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins). Sounds like an Oscar for space explorers.
