Divine Jewels : The Pursuit of Beauty

Discover the dazzling treasures of one of the world's most prominent jewelry collectors, hailed by Forbes as "the man with the most valuable jewelry collection you never knew existed."

This volume illuminates the vision of Kazumi Arikawa, a Japanese collector and dealer, and the founder and president of Albion Art. Throughout his career, he has pursued the world's most dazzling gems, acquiring rare pieces from all eras with incomparable artistic and historical value, including an important number of royal jewels from across Europe and the largest collection of historical tiaras.

For Kazumi Arikawa, who spent several years as a Buddhist monk, jewelry art is a spiritual journey-an exaltation of emotions and a celebration of universal beauty, which he has made it his mission to spread across the world through publications and exhibitions. In Japanese culture, this veneration of beauty is closely linked to the purity of the soul.

Featuring a catalog of works curated by acclaimed jewelry historian Diana Scarisbrick, as well as all-new photography by Nils Herrmann, this volume presents for the first time 250 treasured pieces that have passed through the skilled hands of this unique collector, including a selection of masterpieces now held in the Qatar Museums collections.

Contributor Bio(s)

Kazumi Arikawa is the founder and president of Albion Art.

Diana Scarisbrick is an art historian specialized in glyptics and jewelry. She has curated major exhibitions on jewelry history, including Tiara (Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 2000), and is the renowned author of numerous books on jewelry and art.

Nils Herrmann is a German photographer specializing in fine jewelry and design.

Quotes/Reviews

"In 'Divine Jewels: The Pursuit of Beauty,' a 520-page volume published on Sept. 18 by Flammarion, some 250 pieces chronicle not only the history of jewelry and capture items of historical importance but also are symbols of Arikawa’s philosophy. 'My construction of the world from a philosophical standpoint is that the divine is connected to the ultimate truths of the universe and so is beauty,' he explains. Part reasoned catalogue of pieces in the Albion Art collection, part history of jewelry compendium, entries offer a contextualized description by jewelry expert Diana Scarisbrick." — WOMEN'S WEAR DAILY

In addition to his role as founder and president of Albion Art, Kazumi Arikawa is regarded as the most prominent collector of historical jewels around the globe. Having acquired some of the rarest and most sought-after pieces known to man—from antique carved cameos to a world-renowned tiara collection—the Japanese collector (and former Buddhist monk) is now putting his most exquisite treasures on full display in Divine Jewels, which is co-authored by Diana Scarisbrick, a leading scholar of jewelry history. With 10 themed chapters delving into the history of Arikawa’s most valuable pieces, the collection must be seen to be believed. — NATURAL DIAMOND COUNCIL