Top of the PYRAMID

The history of jewelry is often the history of the world. Don’t believe us? Listen to the bracelets.

- STELLENE VOLANDES

There are no coincidences in jewelry.

The Egyptian Revival of the early 19th century, rich with gold and cloisonné enamel and full of Egyptian motifs? That happened soon after Napoleon’s Egypt campaign and the publication of Description de l’Égypte. The revival that swept the later half of that century came in the wake of Verdi’s Aida in 1871. And Art Deco’s Egyptian Revival—those diamond, onyx, turquoise, and carnelian pendants and bracelets depicting pyramids, sphinxes, pharaohs—can be traced to November 1922, when Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon had this exchange: “Can you see anything?” “Yes, wonderful things!” They had discovered King Tut’s tomb. The Egyptian Revival pieces that ensued remain some of the most sought after jewelry collectibles, regularly fetching record-breaking prices at auction.