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Parsons, NJI Team Up for Second Jewelry Course
Scheduled for October, the week-long course is a chance for connoisseurs to take an in-depth look at the art of fine jewelry and watches.
Pictured here is 2015’s graduating class of students from the National Jewelry Institute and Parsons “The Fine Art of High Jewelry and Timepieces” course. (Photo credit: Annie Watt)
New York--The National Jewelry Institute and Parsons School of Design are partnering up for their second annual educational course, “The Fine Art of High Jewelry and Timepieces,” which will take place this October in New York.
The class is a four-day intensive that includes lectures on high jewelry from a curator at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, lessons on the business of luxury conducted by various curators and experts, as well as lunches and cocktails with various jewelry and watch executives and collectors.
Some of the jewelry and watch houses participating in the course include Cartier, Chopard, Graff, Christian Dior and Piaget. 
The program culminates in a graduation ceremony, where participants will be awarded a certificate from Parsons.
National Jewelry Institute founder and President Judith Price said, “While participants appreciate and buy high jewelry, they want to take the next step and really learn about the history of jewelry and what makes the brands special. The attendees come from all over the world, especially Canada and Southeast Asia, and really get a chance to bond during the week. They return home with new friends and most importantly, a deeper understanding of high jewelry and timepieces.”
Price was a longtime Time magazine business reporter, and went on to launch Avenue Magazine, which she sold in 2001. In 2002 she founded the National Jewelry Institute, a nonprofit that aims “to preserve, research, and exhibit fine jewelry from all over the world.”
Exhibitions NJI has staged include “Notorious & Notable: 20th Century Women of Style,” at the Museum of the City of New York and “Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry,” at The Field Museum in Chicago and The Forbes Galleries in New York.
NJI’s partnership with Parsons also includes an annual awards ceremony and gala at the Louvre Museum in Paris. This year, they held their second gala during Haute Couture/Haute Joaillerie week, on July 4.
Tuition for The Fine Art of High Jewelry and Timepieces course is $4,500 and includes all lunches and cocktails.
For more information contact The National Jewelry Institute’s Exhibition Manager, Meri Horn, at mhorn@nationaljewelryinstitute.org.
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