Thursday, February 8, 2007

A Passion for Jewelry: An interview with Christopher Forbes about Collecting

If you keep up with business news, you know a lot about Christopher "Kip" Forbes. He's the Vice Chairman of Forbes, the global business media company founded by his grandfather. What you won’t read in the business section is that Forbes is an avid collector of many things, including jewelry.

Although Forbes himself maintains a personal collection, he also oversees the corporate collections, which are displayed in the Forbes Galleries in the company’s New York City headquarters. Masterpieces of French Jewelry originated there.

Mr. Forbes will be in San Francisco for the opening of the exhibition at the Legion of Honor this month. We caught up with him to find out what gets his collecting juices flowing.

Q: In the catalogue for Masterpieces of French Jewelry, you mention that you collect jewelry and objects relating to Napoleon III and his family. Describe the jewelry you have in your collection. Why does this man inspire you to collect?

A: I've long been fascinated by Napoleon III whom I find one of the most under-rated world leaders of the 19th century. He is also far more affordable to collect than his illustrious uncle! Most of the collection is comprised of portraits, documents and other ephemera relating to the Emperor, his wife the Empress Eugenie, and his son the Prince Imperial. Among the few pieces of jewelry, perhaps the most interesting is a presentation ring with the bust of the Emperor all cast in aluminum. It's hard for us to believe now, but when it was first discovered aluminum, given the incredible cost of producing it, was considered far more valuable than silver or gold... [more]

Posted by: | February 8 at 11:34:25 AM
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