Helen is a world-renowned jewellery historian and gemmologist, whose 25-year career has spanned the global gem and jewellery industry. Her passion for gems has led her all over the world, from the ruby mines of Burma and the sapphire beds of Sri Lanka, to salerooms and collections in Paris and New York. For ten years she was a jewellery specialist for Sotheby’s and Christie’s, where she managed such sales as the private jewellery collection of HRH The Princess Margaret in 2006. She has since held roles as Professeur d’Histoire du Bijoux in Geneva and as Managing Director of a gemmological Academy across Switzerland and Asia.

She is now the Senior Curator of Jewellery at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and Lead Curator of their acclaimed exhibition, Cartier. Helen has a degree in Classics from Oxford University, is a Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in London. Precious, The History and Mystery of Gems Across Time, was released with Penguin in 2024.

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• Precious, The History and Mystery of Gems Across Time (2024)