Random Walks in the Low Countries: Christmas gems

Half of my family lives in Boulder, CO; my son studying at the University and my parents living coincidently nearby. My daughter and I flew in for a few days visit between Christmas and New Years, ready with cookies to exchange and life’s stories to trade. Everyone is doing well: it’s great to share memories and plans, get some advice and encouragement, and to share meals and events.

And some fun together!

The Denver Art Museum is hosting Brilliant, and exhibition of Cartier’s finest bespoke works. The French jeweler has been around since1847, and the exhibit traces its early establishment by Louis-François and its long association with royalty and celebrities. The works are intricate and expansive: arrays of matched gemstones set into filigreed silverwork. Necklaces, tiaras, rings and bracelets glisten in the cases; special portions cover the influences of the Far East and Middle East on related pieces.

I liked the ‘mystery clocks’, the hands suspended without visible connection to the clockworks.

My daughter has a retail background, and aided my engineer’s eye, curious about how the tiniest of gems could be attached to the intricate pieces. There are impossibly tiny silver baskets and prongs that anchor each individual stone, a later portion of the exhibit illustrates the design and crafting processes.

The collection of emeralds, a portion devoted to men’s creations, rounds it out; it’s a lovely exhibit, well worth making time for.

I breezed through a showing of colorful works by Raoul Dufy downstairs and the outside sculptures, then lunch together in the café to compare perspectives. We topped that with Champagne brunch at the Greenbriar Inn the next morning, highly recommended regardless of the season.