An item of jewellery is traditionally thought of as an ornament and decoration, a useless object, with no particular function or use, an embellishment that has no practical purpose. This book investigates the evolution of functional jewellery from the past to present day, while the three prestigious introductory articles by Alba Cappellieri, Paola Venturelli and Elisabeth Fischer show how jewellery has always played a functional role, especially in regard to clothing, throughout the ages.

The various functions of jewellery are then defined by the projects of young international designers, finalists in the Next Jeneration Jewellery Talent Contest, in an exhibition under the curatorship of Susanna Testa.

Functional Jewellery is a valuable tool for understanding the complexity and beauty of jewellery, even in ordinary, everyday gestures, like pinning the edges of a cape, buttoning a coat, styling hair or protecting nail varnish.

Text in English and Italian.