This year's annual summer exhibition at the Goldsmiths' Hall in the City of London runs from May 29 to July 12, 2003. Entitled `Love Story', it celebrates the eternal marriage between weddings and precious metals. Focusing on four different decades - the 1890s, 1920s, 1960s and today, it illustrates wedding jewelry, silver, gifts, fashions and memorabilia, all of which capture the essence of the times. Loaned from private and public collections around the country, nearly all the exhibits tell a romantic tale and were either worn by the bride or the groom on their wedding day, or have some association with the `love' concept. Tiaras and wedding dresses recall weddings of the 1890s, most notably the Castle Howard tiara specially designed by Cartier. Menu cards for wedding breakfasts and posy holders emphasize the styles of the era. There is also a charming gold, enamel, seed pearl and diamond buckle that was given to a young bride as a gift from the Goldsmiths' Company on the occasion of her wedding in 1899. Other memorabilia from the period includes the Harrods catalog, highlighting the items that should be included in the bride's trousseau. For the Swinging `60s, the mood is lighter and certainly more frivolous. Today's exhibits confirm that good old-fashioned romance along with the deep-rooted traditions associated with weddings are still alive and kicking. In short, for the romantic, the nostalgic or simply the curious, this is an exhibition that merits a detour. .

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Source: Couture International Jeweler
June / July 03 issue