New jewellery gallery opens

摘要

Rushing to the Victoria and Albert Museum with the aim of avoiding the potentially long jewellery preview queue, my head was spinning before I attempted to climb the staircase leading to the gallery. Luckily, my anxiety was halted when I took my first sneak peak inside the space - it was truly a contemporary masterpiece, worthy of its collection. The William and Judith Bollinger Jewellery Gallery opened to the public on 24 May, the effect of a generous 7 million pounds gift which enabled a four-year renovation of the V&A's jewellery gallery. The architect, Eva Jiricna, designed a space with sinuous glass cases, curving to show the collection highlights, a central glass spiral staircase rising to a new mezzanine floor, and a well designed chronology for the jewels which easily moves the viewer though the space while providing an 'accident free' quick tour route through the best of the collection - an essential for those with time constraints on a sightseeing day.