Frightfully Fabulous: Jewellery Inspired the Macabre, Mon 20 October 2025, 6pm – 7pm, £7 or £10, Online (UK time)
As the nights draw in and the shops fill up with Halloween wares, discover an array of diamond-encrusted beasts of the night. From the arachnid to the vampiric, find out how jewellery designers have created objects of fear and fascination, transforming them into glamorous and sometimes startling jewels.
Join art historian and author, Rachel Church, in this online talk exploring how creatures which are often considered frightening have been used as tokens of love and luck from the Victorian period to today. You will hear how jewellery can be used to amuse and terrify, whether through unexpected materials or technical effects.
There will be the opportunity to ask questions and join in the conversation.
Image credit: Le Vian Ring featuring fancy diamonds, vanilla diamonds and chocolate
diamonds set in 18K gold. Copyright Le Vian.
Do you record or broadcast your talks?
We run our events in person at the Goldsmiths’ Centre and online, so that as many of our community as possible can exchange ideas, learn from industry experts, and form valuable connections across the UK. We do not record these events, or broadcast them, to encourage the open sharing of ideas and experiences and preserve confidentiality. Popular topics will be repeated over time.
Do you have any access requirements?
We are committed to making our training programmes and events as inclusive and accessible as possible. If you have any access requirements, please inform us as early as possible so we can make the necessary arrangements. While we will do our best to accommodate your needs, advance notice is essential to ensure we can provide appropriate support.
To discuss your requirements when booking tickets for our Goldsmiths’ Centre programmes, please contact us at boxoffice@goldsmiths-centre.org
Who is the speaker?
Rachel Church has written and lectured widely on jewellery history and design. She is the author of 'Rings' (V&A/ Thames and Hudson 2011 and 2017) and 'Brooches and Badges' (V&A/ Thames and Hudson 2019). She has worked as a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum and was part of the team which redeveloped the William and Judith Bollinger Jewellery Gallery.
Ticket options
As the nights draw in and the shops fill up with Halloween wares, discover an array of diamond-encrusted beasts of the night. From the arachnid to the vampiric, find out how jewellery designers have created objects of fear and fascination, transforming them into glamorous and sometimes startling jewels.
Join art historian and author, Rachel Church, in this online talk exploring how creatures which are often considered frightening have been used as tokens of love and luck from the Victorian period to today. You will hear how jewellery can be used to amuse and terrify, whether through unexpected materials or technical effects.
There will be the opportunity to ask questions and join in the conversation.
Image credit: Le Vian Ring featuring fancy diamonds, vanilla diamonds and chocolate
diamonds set in 18K gold. Copyright Le Vian.
Do you record or broadcast your talks?
We run our events in person at the Goldsmiths’ Centre and online, so that as many of our community as possible can exchange ideas, learn from industry experts, and form valuable connections across the UK. We do not record these events, or broadcast them, to encourage the open sharing of ideas and experiences and preserve confidentiality. Popular topics will be repeated over time.
Do you have any access requirements?
We are committed to making our training programmes and events as inclusive and accessible as possible. If you have any access requirements, please inform us as early as possible so we can make the necessary arrangements. While we will do our best to accommodate your needs, advance notice is essential to ensure we can provide appropriate support.
To discuss your requirements when booking tickets for our Goldsmiths’ Centre programmes, please contact us at boxoffice@goldsmiths-centre.org
Who is the speaker?
Rachel Church has written and lectured widely on jewellery history and design. She is the author of 'Rings' (V&A/ Thames and Hudson 2011 and 2017) and 'Brooches and Badges' (V&A/ Thames and Hudson 2019). She has worked as a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum and was part of the team which redeveloped the William and Judith Bollinger Jewellery Gallery.
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