This episode is brought to you by Leibish, the coloured diamond jewellery experts.

Did you know that pink diamonds are amongst the rarest diamonds and over 90% came from the

Argyll mine in Australia which closed in 2020?

Well, to my mind, because they're the only jewel that actually doesn't touch the skin,

you have to put it through something that can be pierced.

The brooch is really the only jewel that can take any scale at all from the most minute, and indeed the smallest brooch in the exhibition

is a medieval brooch that is barely one centimetre

high, a little ring brooch,

right through to incredibly lavish bodice ornaments.

I'm Carol Houlton, the voice of jewellery.

Welcome to if jewels could talk. I'm an author and broadcaster, and the woman who initiated the role of jewelry editor at magazines like Tatler and Vogue. This is a podcast for everyone, for people who do like jewelry, for people who don't realise they like jewellery,

and anyone intrigued by fascinating facts, new ideas and forgotten histories.

So join me as I tell sparkly tales and meet all sorts of people,

delving into four centuries of jewellery culture,

and investigate what's happening now.

I'm so happy this morning to be able to give you a preview and sneak peek behind the scenes of what is going to be a blockbuster exhibition that's happening in October.

It's called From Function to Fantasy, The Brooch.

And I'm here with Catherine Hoselle, who's co-director of Watsky in St. James is in London

and is the curator of this exhibition. Thank you, Catherine,

for showing us this incredible exhibition. You're very welcome. Thank you for your interest.

Well, we certainly are. It starts, what, from 1,200 BCE to contemporary bridges.

That's correct. Yes, 3,000 years span, which is quite ambitious,

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