A sumptuously illustrated book exploring the lives and loves of 15 famous women through the prism of their jewelry - including Elizabeth Taylor, Elizabeth II, Jackie Kennedy and Wallis Simpson. The word 'jewel' derives from the Old French word joiel, a word that finds its roots in the words for playing, joy, and enjoyment, proof that jewelry is intimately tied to notions of pleasure and happiness. For some, it is the pleasure of love, for others, an obsessive passion. For Wallis Simpson, after the throne had passed her by, her jeweled treasures were her solace. As for Maria Callas, the soprano amassed diamonds and rubies to ward off the poverty of her childhood, and to spark the jealousy of a mother she hated. Barbara Hutton, America's most famous poor little rich girl, went around wearing a tiara, demanding to be called a princess. And they have been the cause of so much drama, Marie-Antoinette, whose diamond necklace identified her and sent her to the guillotine; Joséphine de Beauharnais, who was also embroiled in a necklace affair involving Marie-Antoinette's pearls; Yvette Labrousse, Miss France 1930, and wife of the Aga Khan, who was robbed of her royal jewelry in the middle of the street... In this gloriously illustrated book, novelist and jewelry expert David Lelait-Helo stares into the jewelry boxes of these illustrious women to discover their hearts and their minds.The women featured are: Ava Gardner Barbara Hutton Brooke Astor Elizabeth II Elizabeth Taylor Eugénie de Montijo Grace Kelly Helena Rubinstein Jackie Kennedy Diana, Princess of Wales Maria Callas Marie-Antoinette Princess Soraya Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor Yvette Labrousse