Art jewellery has departed from its tradition of being decorative ornaments and it has moved beyond solely working as social markers into a new art form not restricted to specific techniques, materials, subjects or aesthetics. Artists working with jewellery as a medium should be considered equal to fine artists. The jewellery produced is unique pieces of art and not mass-produced design objects.

The purpose of fine art and art jewellery is communication, conveying ambiguous messages and raising questions. Jewellery has the ability to open up for dialogue between the wearer and its audience. Its messages can contain many layers and urge us to reflect upon and question our own system of belief of what is considered precious and beautiful.

In this book, noted art jewellery specialist Inger Wästberg shines light upon art jewellery as an independent art form through a number of pieces from her own collection. She shows jewellery that reflects the times we are living in; that challenges our perception of what is considered beautiful; and that deals with topics like gender equality, overconsumption, sustainability and the transience of life.