NEWARK, NY.- Whether they are made of natural materials or are marvels of human invention and skill, jewelry has adorned the human body since prehistoric times. The Newark Museum has been collecting jewelry since 1911, and has one of the most comprehensive holdings in the country.

Beginning June 27, The Lore Ross Jewelry Gallery, newly redesigned and reinstalled, is showcasing jewelry across seven centuries in an exhibition titled Jewelry, from Pearls to Platinum to Plastic. The focus of the new installation is the wide array of materials, both costly and inexpensive, that have been used over the centuries to create things of beauty for personal adornment.

For the first time, the gallery features an interactive component that allows visitors to learn more about the individual pieces in the exhibition through text and video, or to zoom in for more detail.

In honor of the opening of the newly installed Gallery, the Museum hosted a day-long celebration featuring jewelry experts. Jewelry Discovery Day, Buried Treasure? which took place on June 27 from 10:30 am to 4 pm. It included a conversation with the Museum’s Chief Curator and Curator of Decorative Arts Ulysses Grant Dietz, who managed the reinstallation. Dietz spoke on The Stories Behind the Stones: Collecting Jewelry for an Art Museum from 10:30 am to noon. From 1:30-3 pm, Sarah Churgin, Director of the Jewelry Department at Rago Arts and Auction Center and a jewelry appraiser on the PBS series Antiques Roadshow, conducted jewelry appraisals. Selected pieces were shared with the audience.