The fascination of jewels is rooted not only in their ability to please the eye but also in their power to express the range of human emotions and ambitions—love, friendship, religious devotion, superstition, dynastic pride. Renaissance jewels are among the most alluring manifestations of an age that experienced the widening of old-established horizons, from the Old World to the New. Dr. Yvonne Hackenbroch’s seminal and comprehensive work, Renaissance Jewellery, originally published in 1979, established her reputation as the world’s foremost expert in the field. Hackenbroch brings to the subject not only her specialized knowledge and historical discipline but also a storyteller’s passion for the jewels’ beauty and power. With the kind permission of Dr. Hackenbroch’s estate, Assouline has abridged Dr. Hackenbroch’s original text to produce this spectacular volume, brimming with luxurious imagery expressing the overfl owing creativity and boundless spirit of the Age of the Renaissance.