Jewelry Galley Opens at the Bruce Museum Today

An exotic exhibition illustrating the evolution of jewelry - from when bones and animal's teeth were used a milennia ago, to eye-popping, sparkling gemstones used today - opens Saturday at The Bruce Museum in Greenwich.

The exhibition - Bijoux: The Origins and Impact of Jewelry - opens July 16 and will be on view through Feb. 26, 2012, will feature a magnificent array of different types of jewelry as well as samplings of minerals, precious stones and other materials from which artists have created an infinite variety of human adornment. So visitors will be able to see how raw stones and minerals are refined into collectible, albeit, expensive pieces of jewelry.

Jewelry is considered the universal means to transmit personal information - marital status, wealth, heritage, and aesthetics. An artifact of world history, jewelry is evidence that the Earth, human culture, and technology have evolved.

The known history of personal adornment extends thousands of years. Humans have adorned themselves with everything from shark’s teeth to diamonds to tattoos, according to the museum. Exotically rare or hard to get items are the most coveted: until now.

The exhibit also will illustrate how in this “Age of Sustainability,” jewelry artists are experimenting with both new and long forgotten materials and techniques. This trend is pushing the envelope in jewelry design and has set the stage for a renewed appreciation for the intimacy between art and science.

Bijoux: The Origins and Impact of Jewelry investigates the wide range of materials used to make jewelry, from bones and fossils to diamonds and cubic zirconias, with the ingenuity of artists who create pieces from a host of materials, from the common to the sublime. The exhibit also explores the genesis of these natural materials as well as theeconomic and environmental impact of the universal attraction to sparkle.

The exhibition is organized by the Bruce Museum’s new curator of Science, Dr. Gina C. Gould, and is supported by Betteridge Jewelers of Greenwich, the Charles M. and Deborah G. Royce Exhibition Fund, Anne and Fred Elser, and Hank and Meryl Silverstein.

The Bruce Museum is at 1 Museum Dr. in Greenwich. General admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, and free for children under five and museum members. Free admission to all on Tuesdays. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday; 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday. Groups of eight or more require advance reservations. Museum exhibition tours are held Fridays at 12:30 p.m.

For information, call the Bruce Museum at (203) 869-0376, or visit the website at www.brucemuseum.org.