SSEF's Advanced Jewellery History Course Provides Invaluable Education

Forbes

05-07-2025

In SSEF's Advanced Jewellery History course, students physically handle and learn how to catalogue ... More jewels of antiquity, such as these Roman gold earrings set with imitation emeralds and pearls (circa 200 A.D.)
As any knowledgeable collector or jewelry professional knows from experience, acquiring knowledge and facts about intricacies of fine jewelry design, materials and artisanship is best achieved by viewing, and ideally handling, superb pieces in person. Take for example the expertly curated Cartier survey on view through November at London's Victoria and Albert museum. (Full disclosure: I own a few Cartier jewels, and enjoy their shows and books that present the Parisian heritage jeweler's greatest creations.) Showcasing over 350 spectacular jewels and bejeweled objects, the vast and varied Victoria and Albert exhibit burnishes the Cartier brand and is attracting hordes, despite its steep ticket prices. (Weekday shows cost about US$36.00, while a weekend ticket runs almost US$38.00.)
Jewelry Historian Kathia Pinckernelle, M.A. teaches Advanced Jewellery History at SSEF. Pictured ... More here is an Egyptian Eye of Ra Ring made of blue faience, dated circa 1550 and 1292 B.C..
Studying Jewelry At The Swiss Gemmological Institute
Attending a carefully curated and invitingly glamorous show such as this one, however, may provide few guarantees of consequential learning. Jostling through museum crowds to glimpse jewels and read their curatorial placards can prove physically and mentally challenging, and in some cases, impossible. When it comes to acquiring depth of knowledge about jewelry, a blockbuster exhibit experience can sometimes turn out to be a bust. Which leads me to the good news for jewelry lovers and professionals in search of authoritative jewelry education. There's an academically authoritative, lavishly illustrated and entertaining in-person course offered by the Swiss Gemmological Institute (SSEF) entitled Advanced Jewellery History that examines the cultural, artistic, economic and psychological significance of jewelry throughout the timeline of Western civilization. (I live in hope for the day when SSEF announces it's offering Pinckernelle's course covering jewelry throughout the history of Eastern civilizations.)
A Mesopotamian piglet pendant from 3000 B.C. is part of SSEF's permanent jewelry collection that ... More Advanced Jewellery History students get to see, touch, and feel with their own hands.
The curriculum's caliber is rigorous. Sections on gemstone facts throughout human history are scientifically precise yet enjoyable to study-- and easy to absorb. The course's historical narrative begins with the jewelry of antiquity. For instance, the section on ancient jewelry includes authentic Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Roman and Greek jewels that reside in SSEF's permanent collection and which students handle extensively during practical workshops.
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Jewelry historian Kathia Pinckernelle, M.A. worked at Christie's London and Geneva, and at Cartier, ... More before co-creating and teaching SSEF's Advanced Jewellery History course.
As Dr. Laurent E. Cartier FGA, Head of Special Initiatives at SSEF explained in an email, 'Based in Basel, Switzerland, the non-profit SSEF aims to advance the science of gemstone testing and gemological training, while also imparting evidence-based knowledge of jewelry and gemstone history.' This newly updated course serves the needs of the world's jewelry lovers, students and those working in the gem and jewelry trades who are highly motivated to learn jewelry history. It is a five-day crash course offered in person at SSEF's Basel headquarters. Titled 'Advanced Jewellery History', this fact-packed program is taught by jewelry historian Kathia Pinckernelle, MPhil. Tuition costs 4,000 Swiss francs, excluding VAT.
Students Give Advanced Jewellery History Course An A
What differentiates this from similar courses offered at other institutions is its practical training. Every afternoon of the course, students handle antique, vintage and contemporary jewels from SSEF's permanent collection. Pinckernelle trains students in how to professionally examine jewels with a loupe and catalogue pieces from throughout the narrative of jewelry history in precise detail. 'This practical component of study ensures that students can take home skills that they can then expand on by visiting trade shows, auctions and museums,' Dr. Cartier observed.
This Art Deco silver, gold lacquer, abalone and eggshell cigarette case was made with the East Asian ... More labor-intensive technique of burgauté, also known as lac burgauté. This involves inlaying iridescent pieces of abalone shell, often tinted, into a lacquer base, sometimes with additional gold or silver inlay. The outer edges of this hauntingly beautiful scene are framed by tiny eggshell fragments that have been pressed into the lacquer with special tools.
In an email, mainland Chinese jewelry store owner and gemmologist Martina Xiaoyun Hu, FGA, described her experience of SSEF's Advanced Jewelry History course. 'I learned so much theoretically and practically from this course. Especially useful were the afternoon sessions spent handling jewelry and learning about European and British hallmarks and assay marks through using the loupe and studying the different marks. This information is valuable to me in my daily work. I strongly recommend this SSEF course to anyone who has basic knowledge of jewelry, but hopes to learn in more depth about antique and vintage jewels.'
SSEF director Michael Krzemnicki, FGA recounted in an email how the course originated. 'Back in 2021, we decided to launch this course on jewelry history as a way of exploring the different uses of gems through history, and how these link with different periods of jewelry.' Equally important, he added, 'Students also learn about fakes and imitations (quite widespread in antique jewelry) through time.'The course is given in small groups, with a maximum of nine students, and was conceived in part by Vanessa Cron, founder of the website Research Jewel. The course currently on offer was revised and expanded by Kathia Pinckernelle with Dr. Laurent Cartier, who presents a unit entitled 'Gemstones Through Time,' with collaboration from SSEF's Dr. Akitsugu Sato, FGA
Laurent Cartier, Ph.D. presents a unit entitled 'Gemstones Through Time' in SSEF's Advanced ... More Jewellery History Course,with collaboration from Dr. Akitsugu Sato, FGA.
According to Dr. Cartier, 'The Advanced Jewellery History course offers designers, retailers, vintage and estate jewelry dealers, marketing professionals, design students and collectors deep and thorough historical content. The history of jewelry and the use of gemstones are very linked,' he continued. 'This fact is what motivated SSEF to offer the course in the first place. Although SSEF is known for testing gemstones,' he observed, 'we also see a lot of jewelry from various eras. We wanted to link these two topics so that we (and students) could more fully understand the jewels and gems we examine in a more complete context.' SSEF's Advanced Jewellery History course has been offered seven times since 2021. The next course session will take place from 13th to 17th of October 2025. As Dr. Cartier related, 'We've had an interesting mix of people from auction houses, major heritage jewelry maisons, jewelry dealers, goldsmiths and jewelry collectors join us as students.'
Taught By An Historian Who Worked At Christie's And Cartier
Regarding the qualifications of the teacher: As a jewelry historian with a master's degree (MPhil) in ancient Greek and Roman jewelry, Kathia Pinckernelle, FGA is also a gemologist. 'I would like to expand research in the future to jewelry history of China, Japan and India, along with pre-Columbian civilizations,' she wrote in an email. Pinckernelle began her jewelry career in London at the auction house of Christie's, which was founded in that city in 1766. Pinckernelle soon transferred to the Christie's Geneva branch, for which she researched and authored three jewelry auction catalogues per year until 2007.
Jewels like this exuberant, circa 1955 platinum and diamond brooch by the Parisian house of ... More Mauboussin are handled, drawn and catalogued by student sat SSEF's Advanced Jewelry History course.
According to Dr. Cartier, who is also a lecturer at Switzerland's University of Lausanne and an affiliated associate professor at the University of Delaware, 'Kathia Pinckernelle is a tri-lingual jewelry historian in German, French and English, and the Advanced Jewellery History course is taught in English.' As Pinckernelle put it in an email, 'I believe in jewelry. Its story is a human tale of creativity, beauty, artistry, status, technology, science – and a lot of hard work. It illustrates neatly, and beautifully, the history of humanity.' After she left Christie's, Pinckernelle worked in publishing and taught English in Jordan and in Moscow before returning to Geneva and joining Cartier Tradition, the branch of Cartier that restores and offers for sale its heritage jewels. In that position, Pinckernelle traveled internationally buying important antique and vintage Cartier pieces which she then catalogued..
Pinckernelle has been teaching the history of jewelry at the SSEF since 2022 and also curates the SSEF permanent jewelry collection. 'The SSEF is a foundation with a clear mandate to focus on research and education,' she noted. 'It is a pleasure and an adventure to help them build a jewelry collection for educational and research purposes. For jewelry history course students,' she added, 'Handling and examining various types of jewelry, from vintage masterpieces to fakes from various eras, is absolutely essential to the learning experience.'
Dated circa 900 A.D., this Celtic, double spiral bronze fibula brings imparts the material presence ... More of the ancient past to SSEF's Advanced Jewelry History students.
When asked if SSEF plans to offer an Advanced Jewelry History course encompassing Asian, Middle Eastern, East Indian, North American First Nation people from what is now Canada, and indigenous tribal jewelers from what is now named the United States, Pinckernelle provided the following answer. 'Jewelry history tends to be very Eurocentric, that's the case also when you look at the literature that is available,' she wrote. 'This course focuses on jewels and jewelry periods that are relevant for the high-end market. Given that we only have 5 days available, it's hard to pack more into that time frame.' She went on to share that, 'SSEF hopes to enhance the course offering by providing a culturally broader jewelry education and by sharing more of its research findings in the future.
What a clasp: the back view of the Celtic double spiral bronze fibula showcases the profound ... More technical skill of the artisan who made this piece around 900 A.D.
While Kathia Pinckernelle and Dr. Cartier are next giving the Advanced Jewelry History course at SSEF's Basel headquarters in October 2025, they often speak in tandem regarding aspects of jewelry history at international jewelry fairs. They recently presented a panel discussion at the Gem Genève jewelry show in Geneva, Switzerland. Entitled, 'How Art Deco Defied Conventional Materials, Gems and Techniques', this presentation also included jewelry expert Violaine Bigot, Heritage Director at Chaumet in Paris,. Together, these three experts provided historical, scientific, cultural and psychological insights into the creation and significance of Art Deco jewelry and in how far it defied convention (spoiler alert: less than is commonly expected).
SSEF's Advanced Jewellery course covers Berlin iron, which is black-lacquered cast iron jewelry that ... More became popular in the early 19th century, mainly in Prussia (now Germany). During the Napoleonic Wars, citizens donated their gold to the Prussian war effort in exchange for iron pieces such as this cross.
For those unable to afford the time or money to attend the SSEF course in person, there is a free online teaser , 'Introduction to Jewellery History.' While those who enroll can move through the course at their own pace, this educational opportunity, it should be noted, is available throughout the student's lifetime, and can be accessed across any and all devices.