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Pearls

Dive into the beauty and history of pearls, exploring their origins and cultural significance with globally renowned jewellery historian Beatriz Chadour-Sampson. Learn the difference between varieties of natural and cultured pearls, and discover the art of pearl grading with exclusive contributions from Mikimoto. You will also discover how pearls have been incorporated into fine jewellery, with exquisite examples from the V&A's collections.

From the moment you enrol on a V&A on-demand course, you get 12 months' access to every stunning video lecture to rewatch as often as you like, plus plenty of additional learning materials, yours to keep.
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  • Beatriz Chadour-Sampson

  • 9 classes

  • 3 hours 2 minute

This course covers:

  • 2000 years of pearl diving and trade: from the Gulf to the New World, Russia to Australia
  • Napoleon, Empress Josephine, and the role of pearls in their rise to power
  • Pearls as enduring status symbols through the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Rococo
  • The invention of cultured pearls, changing jewellery design forever
  • Contemporary design and innovation from leading jewellery designers of our time
  • A closer look at examples from the V&A collections and their stories
Your tutor

Beatriz Chadour-Sampson

Beatriz Chadour-Sampson is an international jewellery historian, author and lecturer. She was consultant curator to the redesigning of the William and Judith Bollinger Jewellery Gallery and guest curator of the ‘Pearls’ exhibition at the V&A. Today she is the curator of the Alice and Louis Koch Collection, now in the Swiss National Museum.
Fascinating and insightful… so much more than can be read in a book!
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