Explore the History of Jewelry with Pauline Ungar

Who doesn’t love to admire a beautiful piece of jewelry? Throughout history, jewelry has been worn by women and men as adornments. In fact, it is one of the oldest types of archaeological artifact – with 100,000-year-old beads made from Nassarius shells thought to be the oldest known jewelry. Today, jewelry is as important for men as it is for women and the style of jewelry one wears can say volumes about the person wearing it.

On Saturday, March 1st at 3:00pm, the Larchmont Public Library presents Jewelry Maker and Goldsmith, Pauline Ungar, in a fascinating program about the history of jewelry from the 1600’s to the present. The program will take place in the Larchmont Village Center, located directly behind the Larchmont Public Library at 121 Larchmont Avenue in Larchmont. The program is free.

The program will examine all styles of jewelry including Edwardian, art nouveau, art deco, retro (jewelry from the 1950’s to the 1980’s which is popular now) and more.  You’ll learn how wearing jewelry came to be an outward display of wealth and social status as well as what types message several of types of jewelry have conveyed throughout history. Ungar may also touch on the impact of jewelry in the media as well as jewelry-houses, such as Castellani, Van Cleef and Arpels, Chanel, Tiffany, Cartier, and Verdura.  

Pauline Ungar is a member of the American Society of Jewelry Historians and is a designer and goldsmith. As a faculty member at the Scarsdale Adult School, she has presented lectures on the history of jewelry over the past four years.