Tiffany, Cartier, and Boucheron are names typically associated with the
celebratory—multi-carat engagement rings and necklaces for
shimmering nights out. But in the lush book Lest We Forget: Masterpieces
of Patriotic Jewelry and Military Decorations (Taylor Trade Publishing),
Judith Price, president of the National Jewelry Institute, showcases the
brands’ role in creating jewelry and objets used during wartime to
communicate with loved ones—or commemorate them. Price presents a
picture of the world’s military past through 150 iconic pieces
culled from London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, New
York’s West Point, Paris’s Musée de
l’Armée, and countless private collections. Among them are
the Victory Clock (above)—made by Cartier in 1930 and later
presented to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who used it to keep track of
time in multiple war zones—and the platinum, diamond, ruby, and
sapphire Red Cross medallion brooch Joseph Chaumet designed in 1917 for
his daughter, a nurse, to wear on the front lines. Notes Price:
“The jewelry was to say, ‘Don’t forget
me—I’m there for you’” (rlpgtrade.com; $30).Courtesy of Sotheby's
