"This is not the history of jewelry. And it is not a history of the world. Rather, this book is a highly opinionated chronicle of select moments where these forces collide. It is also, I hope, an invitation to see each jewel at the center of these moments through that cultural crash. It is how I fell so deeply in love with jewelry, and why, after reading this, I anticipate you might as well. Each moment attempts to isolate the forces of empire, conflict, commerce, passion, and fate coalescing in a jewel. I hope you will never again look at an art nouveau brooch without imagining Commodore Perry sailing into Japan, or see a cameo without considering the coronation of Napoleon or the excavations at Pompeii, and maybe the next time someone blames Marie Antoinette for the French Revolution, you will guide them to point at a necklace instead. This book is, above all, a call to take jewelry out of the safe glass vitrine, or velvet box, and place it on the grand stage of history. I hope, after reading it, you will always expect it to appear there"--Pages 6-7.