Jewellery Museums in Europe (Ex. UK)
This list of museums is provided as a service to our members. All the museums in this list have jewellery, sometimes rather loosely defined, in their collections, but some may not be on display. Please check in advance before visiting a museum, to avoid disappointment. The descriptions are provided by the museums themselves, or by members.
Please tell us here if there are any other jewellery museums which we should add to this list, or if anything needs correcting.
AUSTRIA
Graz
Schell Collection. Das Museum für ihr Schlüsselerlebnis
Wienerstraße 10, 8020 Graz
+43 316 / 71 56 56 - 38
Specialist museum of locks and iron, including a large collection of Berlin Iron and cut-steel jewellery.
Vienna
Kunsthistorisches Museum
1010 Vienna, Burgring 5, entrance: Maria-Theresien-Platz
+43/1/525 24
Major collection of jewelled objects, including some from the court of Rudolf II.
Weltliche und Geistliche Schatzkammer (Treasury)
1010 Vienna, Hofburg, Schweizerhof
+43/1/525 24
Visit the world’s greatest treasury and experience invaluable jewels and insignia from a thousand years of European history. In this oldest part of the Hofburg (13th century), you will find the crown of the Holy Roman Empire (around 962) and the later Austrian Imperial crown (1602), as well as the remaining items of the 15th century Burgundian Inheritance, and the treasures of the Order of the Holy Fleece.
Weltmuseum Wien(World Museum)
Heldenplatz 1010 Wien
+43/1/534 30-5052
Includes jewellery from non-European countries, including Ethiopia and South America.
MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art
Stubenring 5, 1010 Vienna
+43 1 711 36-0
A unified ensemble of Renaissance clothing ornaments formed the original core of the museum’s distinctive collection of jewellery. Today, European jewellery of the 19th century and artist-made jewellery from the 20th and 21st centuries represent this collection’s central focus.
Volkskundemuseum
1080 Vienna, Laudongasse 15-19
+43/1/406 89 05
Austrian traditional arts and crafts, including costume and jewellery.
BELGIUM
Antwerp
DIVA, Home of Diamonds
Suikerrui 17-19, B-2000 Antwerp
+32 (0)3 360 52 52
New museum, combining the previous jewellery and diamond collection of the Diamond Museum and the Silver Museum, Sterckshof. Includes major collections of diamond and other jewellery, as well as a specialist library.
Brussels
Musée du Cinquantenaire
Parc du Cinquantenaire 10, 1000 Bruxelles 1000 Brussels
+ 32 (0) 2 741 72 11
Massive applied arts museum containing numerous collections from all round the world, including much ethnographic jewellery, and a unique collection by the late cardiologist Noubar Boyadjian, which consists of objects in the form of a heart or decorated with a heart motif, mainly religious objects and jewellery. Three new rooms dedicated to Art Nouveau in Belgium will open shortly, including silverware, crystal and jewels, and signed works by Horta, Van de Velde, Hankar Hobé, Serrurier-Bovy, Wolfers, De Rudder, Van der Stappen and Braecke.
BULGARIA
Plovdiv
Ethnographic Museum
2, Dr.Stoyan Chomakov Str., Plovdiv.
624 261
Four large cases of traditional jewellery
Sophia
National Ethnographic Museum
6A, Moskovska St, Sofia
(+359 2) 987 4191
The museum displays folk costumes, fabrics, jewelry, wood cuttings, hammered ironwork, etc.
National Museum of History
16, Vitoshko Lale, 1618 Sofia
+359 (0)2-955 42 80
Classical and medieval Slav jewellery. Six cases of traditional jewellery.
Varna
Varna Regional Museum of History
41 Maria Luisa Blvd, 9000 Varna
+359 (52) 681 030
The Museum's arguably most celebrated exhibit is the Gold of Varna, the oldest gold treasure in the world, excavated in 1972 and dating to 4600-4200 BC. Although the most important pieces can be found in Sofia, the exhibit here occupies three separate exhibition halls.
Vratsa
Vratsa History Museum and Art Gallery
Hristo Botev Square
092 20373
Contains part of the Thracian Rogozen treasure, and many examples of 19th century Vratsa traditional jewellery.
CROATIA
Split
Archaeological Museum
Zrinsko Frankopanska 25, 21000 Split
+385 (0)21 329-340
The museum has Hellenistic and Roman jewellery, mainly from Salona, and also very interesting pieces from the Migration Period. Most is currently on display with the exception of the classical gems.
Ethnographic Museum
Iza Vestibula 4, 21000 Split
+385 (0)21 344 164
The museum houses much of the rich tradition and heritage of Split and Dalmatia, from jewellery and weapons to costumes and embroidery.
CYPRUS
Larnaka
Ayios Lazaros Church museum
Ayios Lazaros Square, Larnaka
Small museum containing icons, vestments, and church silver and jewellery.
The Pierides Foundation Museum
Zinonos Kitieos, 4, Larnaka
+357 (0) 24 814555
One case of traditional jewellery
Nicosia
Cyprus Jewellers Museum
7-9 Praxippou, Laiki Yatonia , Nicosia
2266 7278
Small museum dedicated to traditional Cypriot jewllery, mainly from the 19th century.
Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia
Ippokratus 17, near Laiki Geitonia,
(02) 66 14 75
Two cases of traditional jewellery and clasps.
CZECHIA
Jablonec nad Nisou
The Museum of Glass and Jewellery
* U Muzea 398/4 * 466 01 Jablonec nad Nisou
+420 483 369 011
The museum has two collections – the museum collection and Waldes collection. The sub-collections can be divided into basic (costume jewellery, books and magazines, buttons, metal costume jewellery, glass costume jewellery, medals and plaques, numismatic collection, Sachs collection, glass, Riedel glass, arts and crafts) and supplementary ones (costume jewellery technology, graphics, clothes accessories, copies, special collections and Waldes collection with its sub-collections of buttons, fasteners and clothes accessories).
Prague
National Museum
Vinohradská 1, Praha 1
(+420) 224 497 111, 224 497 111
The jewellery collection contains over 4,500 items from late antiquity up to the 20th century.
The Czech Garnet Museum
Karlova 8, Praha 1, 110 00
(+420) 222 211 561
Museum and shop displaying jewellery and objects decorated exclusively with Czech garnets. The collection offers a comprehensive overview of jewellery from the early days when Czech garnet began to be used in jewellery production until the early twentieth century.
The Prague Jewellery Collection
Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, Hergetova Cihelna, Cihelna 2b, Praha 1
(+420)607 942 230
A collaboration between The Museum of Decorative Arts (UPM) and the COPA company, this dedicated museum displays jewellery from the 17th century to the present, including examples of Bohemian garnet jewellery, Berlin iron, Tiffany, Fabergé and Art Nouveau.
Nová Paka
The Municipal Museum, Nová Paka
ul. F. F. Prochazka c.p. 70, 509 01
(+420) 493 721 943
In the Treasury of Gem stones there is a gallery of various minerals and the history of jewellery manufacturing in the region. Gem stones are located according to their finding places and varieties. You can see there huge amounts of polished agates, amethysts, crystals, jaspers, garnets, etc.
Trebenice
The Museum of Czech Garnet
Loucka 411 13 Trebenice
+420/416 594 695
The Czech Garnet Museum is located in a former Lutheran church in Trebenice. The local exhibition focuses on the history of the region, the mining and processing of Czech garnet and historical as well as modern jewellery fashioned from garnet. The core of the museum's treasure is formed by a collection built up by V. Parík, a local doctor and ardent patriot. The greatest attractions include, among other things, the largest Czech garnet (pyrope), the jewellery collection of Ulrike von Levetzow, the last love of J. W. Goethe, and the urban vinyards register. Visitors to the museum can not only inspect the garnets on display there, but also try to find some directly in front of the museum or in the available garnet sand.
Turnov
Museum of The Bohemian Paradise
Skalova 71 511 01 Turnov
+420 481 322 106
The museum is focused on the processing and application of precious stones, which have a centuries-old tradition in the area. Besides the Treasury, with jewellery and objects made in the local vocational school, there is also a display of 19th and 20th-century jewellery made from Bohemian garnets. Since 1984, the Turnov museum has organized international symposia of contemporary jewellery, and pieces made by symposia participants are also on permanent display.
DENMARK
Aarhus
The Jewellery Box
Den Gamle By, Viborgvej 2, 8000 Aarhus C
(+45) 8612 3188
New display, opened 2017, consisting of approximately 1,000 of the finest Danish silver jewellery from the period 1900 to 2000 from the collection of Marion and Jorg Schwandt
Copenhagen
Amager Museum
Hovedgaden 4 DK-2791 Dragør
(+45) 3253 0250
Traditional costumes and jewellery of the Amager Dutch community of Copenhagen
Nationalmuseet (The National Museum of Denmark)
Frederiksholms Kanal 12, DK 1220 Copenhagen K
(+45) 3313 4411
Danish pre-historic and Viking jewellery. Some Amager and north African traditional jewellery
Rosenborg Castle
Rosenvængets Alle 2, 2100 København
+45 3542 2032
Includes Danish Crown jewels
Thorvaldsens Museum
Bertel Thorvaldsens Plads 2 DK-1213 Copenhagen K
+45 3332 1532
Bertel Thorvaldsen lived from 1770 to 1844 and Thorvaldsens Museum is Denmark’s oldest and also most extraordinary museum building. It contains one of the largest public displays of Graeco-Roman gems (in stone, glass, intaglios, cameos: the whole range) to be seen anywhere in the world.
Frederikshavn
Bangsbo Museum
Dronning Margrethes Vej 6, Frederikshavn, 9900
+45 9842 3111
Contains the world's largest collection of jewellery and other objects made from human hair.
ESTONIA
Tallinn
Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design
17 Lai Street, 10133 Tallinn
+372 627 4600
The jewellery collection includes over 2,200 jewellery pieces by more than 130 makers. The oldest exponents time-wise are the 19th-century traditional jewellery. The nucleus of the collection is formed by the jewellery from the 1950s-1980s that reflects well the changes and innovations occurring within the local context and the historical background.
FINLAND
Helsinki
The National Museum of Finland
Closed for renovation. Due to reopen Spring 2027
Mannerheimintie 34, Helsinki
+358 9 4050 9544
Finno-Ugric traditional jewellery from Finland, Estonia and Russia.
FRANCE
Arles
Museon Arlaten
29-31 rue de la République, 13200 Arles
+33 (0)4 13 31 51 99
Contains the Frédéric Mistral collection of Provençal costume and jewellery.
Arles
Musée de la Mode et du Costume
16 rue de la Calade, 13200 Arles
+33 (0)4 90 18 37 37
A new museum (2025) in the heart of Arles including Provencal jewellery and the costumes with which it was worn.
Besançon
Musée du Temps
Palais Granvelle, 96 Grande rue, 25000 Besançon
+33 (0)4 81 87 81 50
One of the largest collections of antique and jewelled watches in France, to commemorate the historic importance of the craft to Besançon
Cagnes sur Mer
Musée du bijou contemporain
Place du Château, 06800 Cagnes-sur-Mer
+33 (0)4 93 73 14 42
Housed in the former shop of the singer Suzy Solidor, the museum contains a unique collection of modern artist jewellery acquired from the annual contemporary craft exhibitions over the last 10 years. While the temporary exhibitions allow you to discover the world of an artist or several artists around a theme, the permanent collection, with 300 pieces, outlines the history of contemporary jewellery since the 1960s.
Écouen
Musée national de la Renaissance – Château d’Ecouen
Rue Jean Bullant, 95440 Écouen
+33 (0)1 34 38 38 50
The collections include a remarkable ensemble of Renaissance silverware and jewellery, which is well worth a visit for both specialists and enthusiasts. It features both princely jewellery and more modest archaeological finds dating from the 16th and 17th centuries (rings, buttons, belts, rosaries, etc), as well as several 19th-century pastiches/fakes.
Grasse
Musée provençal du Costume et du Bijou
2 rue Jean Ossola, F-06130 Grasse
+33 (0)4 93 36 44 65
The museum is housed in the former home of the Marchioness of Cabris, Mirabeau’s sister, and contains the Provençal costume and jewellery collections of Helena Costa
Le Puy
Musée Crozatier
2 rue Antoine Martin, 43000 Le Puy-en-Velay
+33 (0)4 71 06 62 44
Large wall case of typical Auvergne jewellery, with others showing silversmith’s tools and moulds, and pilgrimage souvenirs
Lyons
Musée d'histoire de Lyon
Gadagne, 1 place du petit Collège, 69005 Lyon
+33 (0)4 78 42 03 61
In 2018, the decision was taken to modernise the permanent exhibition of the Lyon History Museum in several phases. Between 2019 and 2023, a new exhibition is opened every year to renew and completely modernise the museum's displays and visitor experience. Collections include French revolutionary jewellery
le Musée Africain de Lyon
Permanently closed
150, cours Gambetta, 69361 LYON cedex 07
+33 (0)4 78 61 60 98
Belonging to the Society of African Missions, The African Museum of Lyon is a private institution open to all. It includes African jewellery from the Meynet collection.
Marseilles
Le MuCEM. Musée des Civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée
7 Promenade Robert Laffont - 13002 Marseille
+33 (0)4 84 35 13 13
The museum consists of the old Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions, fortified with the collections of the Museum of Man from the Trocadero. It contains jewellery and costume from across Europe and north Africa. It is housed in the Fort Saint-Jean and a new building built on the adjoining J4 pier, together with a Centre for Conservation and Resources (CCR) located in the Belle de Mai area, near the Saint-Charles railway station, where most of the collections are stored.
Martainville
Musée des Traditions et Arts Normands
le Château de Martainville, Martainville-Epreville
+33 (0)2 35 23 44 70
The 2nd floor is devoted to traditional Normandy dress, including jewellery.
Méru
Musée de la Nacre et de la Tabletterie
51, rue Roger Salengro - 60110 Méru
+33 (0)3 44 22 61 74
Located in an old factory, the museum presents the history of small works, such as card cases, fans and buttons, in mother of pearl, tortoiseshell, ivory and bone in the region, from the 17th to 20th century.
Nice
Musee d'Art et d'Histoire Palais Massena
65 rue de France, Nice
+33 (0)4 93 91 19 10
Contains Chapsal collection of traditional jewellery from France and other countries.
Paris
Musée national des Arts d'Afrique et d'Oceanie
Closed. Collections transferred to the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac
293, avenue Daumesnil , 75012 Paris
44 74 84 80
Includes the Paul Eudel collection of jewellery from the Maghreb
Musée des Arts Décoratifs
107 rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
00 331 4455 5750
Some 1,200 jewels from its collection are exhibited in the Galerie des Bijoux
Musée national des Arts et Traditions Populaires
Closed. Collections transferred to the MuCEM in Marseilles
6, av. du Mahatma Gandhi, 75116 Paris
44 17 60 00
Includes French traditional jewellery
Musée d’Orsay
Esplanade Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 75007 Paris
+33 (0)1 40 49 48 14
A fine collection of jewellery and goldsmiths’ work dating from the 1860’s onwards
Musée national de la Legion d'Honneur et Des Ordres de Chevalerie
2, rue de la Légion d'honneur (parvis du musée d’Orsay), 75007 Paris
+33 (0)1 40 62 84 25
Not only orders of chivalry, but an amazing range of badges of all kinds, many featuring impressive gems
Musée du Louvre
36 Quai du Louvre, 75001 Paris
+33 (0)1 40 20 53 17
Its collection of jewellery ranges from ancient to mid-19th century and includes magnificent French Crown jewels displayed in Galerie d’Apollon
Musée de Minéralogie
Mines Paris - PSL, 60 boulevard Saint Michel, 75006 Paris
+33 (0)1 40 51 91 39
One of the most complete and spectacular mineralogical collections in the world, comprised of around 100,000 samples, including 4,000 on exhibit, and over 2,900 species of minerals.
Musée de Cluny / Musée National du Moyen Age
28 rue Du Sommerard, 75005 Paris
+33 (0)1 53 73 01 73
A fine collection of Medieval jewellery
Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac
37, quai Branly, 75007 – Paris
+33 (0)1 56 61 70 00
Includes jewellery and ornaments from non-European cultures including the Paul Eudel collection of jewellery from the Maghreb
Petit Palais: Musée des Beaux Arts de la Ville de Paris
Avenue Winston-Churchill, 75008 Paris
+33 (0)1 53 43 40 00
Includes more than 5,600 works of jewellery designs, concentrating on the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Rouen
Musée le Secq des Tournelles
Rue Jacques Villon, 76000 Rouen
+33 (0)2 35 88 42 92
The museum is dedicated to art in iron of all forms, including an important collection of jewellery.
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Musée d'archéologie nationale
Château - Place Charles de Gaulle, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 78105
+33 (0)1 39 10 13 00
Includes major collections of medieval and earlier jewellery, as well as coins, combs, armour, weapons and art, as well as some more curious objects.
Wingen-sur-Moder
Musée Lalique - Musée de France
40 rue du Hochberg, Wingen-sur-Moder, Bas-Rhin
+33 (0)3 88 89 08 14
The only museum in France dedicated to the work of the Art Nouveau master jeweller and glass worker, René Lalique (1860-1945). Opened July 2011.
GERMANY
Baden-Baden
Fabergé Museum GmbH
Sophie Strasse 30, 76530 Baden-Baden
+49 (0) 7221 970 890
The private Fabergé Museum is the first of its kind dedicated solely to the life work of Carl Fabergé. The unique collection of the full range of works by Carl Faberge is present, starting with the famous Easter eggs of the imperial family, to exquisite jewellery and high-quality goods of daily use from the time of the 1st World War.
Bad Füssing
Bernstein/Amber Museum
Hinter dem Rathaus, am FreizeitparkHeilig-Geist-Straße 2
+49 (0) 8531 981 034
Private museum concerned with the origins of amber, and how it is made into jewellery
Berlin
Altes Museum
Am Lustgarten, 10178 Berlin
+49(0)30 266 42 42 42
the Altes Museum, built between 1823 and 1830, has been home to the Collection of Classical Antiquities since 1904. It contains examples of Etruscan and Roman jewellery.
Deutsches Technikmuseum
Trebbiner Straße 9, 10963 Berlin
+49 (0) 30 43 97 34 0
In 'Manufakturelle Schmuckproduktion - Mensch, Maschine, Meisterstück' you can see the steps by which a piece of jewellery is created. It focuses on the six process techniques of embossing-pressing-punching, drawing-rolling, casting, goldsmithing, guilloching-engraving and chain making. Visitors can follow step by step how a piece of jewellery is created.
Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Ethnologisches Museum and Museum Europäischer Kulturen
Lansstraße 8 and Arnimallee 25, 14195 Berlin-Dahlem
+49(0)30 266 42 42 42
These museums in the suburb of Dahlem contain large collections of traditional art and culture from Asia, the rest of the world, and Europe, including jewellery.
Kunstgewerbemuseum
Matthäikirchplatz 4-6, 10785 Berlin Tiergarten
+49 (0) 30 266 42 42 42
European arts and crafts from the Middle Ages until the present day: glass, enamel, and porcelain receptacles as well as gold and silversmith work. Includes the 13th/14th century Pritzwalker hoard of 130 pieces of jewellery.
Kunstgewerbemuseum - Schloss Köpenick
Schloßinsel 1, 12557 Berlin-Köpenick
+49 (0) 30 266 42 42 42
One case of Berlin Iron jewellery
Märkisches Museum (Berlin City Museum)
Closed for renovations. Will re-open in 2028
Am Köllnischen Park 5
+49 (0) 30 24 00 21 62
One case of Berlin Iron jewellery
Bonn
LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn
Colmantstr. 14-16, 53115 Bonn
+49 (0) 228 2070 351
Contains one of the most important collections of Roman jewellery north of the Alps as well as one of the largest and most important collections of early medieval jewellery, including the best collection of Frankish gold disc fibulae clasps in all of Europe.
Cologne
MAKK – Museum für Angewandte Kunst Köln
An der Rechtschule, 50667 Cologne
+49(0)221 221 238 60
Extensive jewellery collection representing all kinds and materials, with a focus on antiquity, the jewels of the Renaissance and the 19th/20th centuries. Includes work by Lucien Falize, Jules Wièse, Eugène Fontenay, Carlo Giuliano and the Castellani brothers, as well as Lucien Gaillard, Eugène Feuillâtre, Louis C. Tiffany, Edouard Colonna, Ludwig Habich, Patriz Huber, Theodor Fahrner and Elisabeth Treskow. A new dedicates Jewellery Gallery will open on 17 December 2024.
The Romano-Germanic Museum
The museum at Roncalliplatz is closed for renovation work. The exhibitions have moved to the Belgian House (Cäcilienstraße 46 - near Neumarkt)
Roncalliplatz 4, D-50667 Cologne
+49 (0) 221 221 24438
European and German jewellery from classical antiquity and the migration period. Frankish finds from Cologne and the Rhineland.
Darmstadt
Museum Künstlerkolonie
Institute Mathildenhöhe, Olbrichweg 13, 64287 Darmstadt
+49 (0) 6151 13 27 78
The presentation in the former studio of the artists colony building combines painting, sculpture, architectural models, graphics, book art, furniture, textiles, porcelain, jewellery and goldsmith's work of the Darmstadt Art Nouveau - and shows the members of the artists' colony as influential artists of their time. On display are masterpieces by such renowned artists such as Peter Behrens, Hans Christiansen, Bernhard Hoetger and Joseph Maria Olbrich.
Hessischen Landesmuseums
Friedensplatz 1, 64283 Darmstadt
+49 (0) 6151 3601 200
Includes the Arts-and-Crafts collection of the Dutch court jeweller Karel A. Citroen (*1922). Citroen began collecting in 1952, at a point in time when it was not at all fashionable to collect artisan craftwork from the Art Nouveau. By 1959, the Amsterdam-based jeweller had succeeded in bringing together several hundred objects from all over Europe, with the main focus being on jewellery.
Dresden
Royal Palace
Residenzschloss, Taschenberg 2, 01067 Dresden
+49 (0)351 49 14 2000
Includes the Historic Green Vault, the New Green Vault, and the Turkish Chamber, featuring magnificent artworks of gold, silver, precious gems, enamel, ivory, bronze and amber.
Duisburg
Cultural and Stadthistorisches Museum
John Corputius-Platz 1, 47051 Duisburg
+49 (0)203 283 2640
Contains The Koehler Osbahr collection, consisting of more than 200 pieces of jewellery, including the personal ornaments of the founders, European jewellery from the 18th-20th century, and Islamic jewellery from Algeria, Turkoman, India and South-east Asia.
Frauenau
Glasmuseum Frauenau
Staatliches Museum zur Geschichte der Glaskultur, Am Museumspark 1, 94258 Frauenau
+49 (0) 9926 94 10 20
Contains a study collection of glass jewellery from the 1920s and 1930s, bequeathed by the Gablonzer Jewellers Ginzel Franz (1898-1960) and his nephew Franz Ginzel and his wife Susanne. His expulsion from Jablonec and the failure of a new start in West Germany have left behind an untouched collection of exceptional quality.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Museum Werdenfels
Ludwigstraße 47, 82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen
+49 (0)8821 75 17 10
Many examples of the typical traditional jewellery of the Werdenfels region.
Halle
Stiftung Moritzburg - Kunstmuseum des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt
Friedemann-Bach-Platz 5 06108 Halle (Saale)
+49 (0) 345 21 25 90
Extensive collection of works of the Halle Jewellery School from the 1920s to the present day.
Hamburg
Altonaer Museum
Museumstraße 23, Hamburg, Germany 22765
+49 (0) 40 428 1350
Important collection of traditional costumes and jewellery from the Hamburg area.
MK&G Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe
Steintorplatz, 20099 Hamburg.
+49 (0)40 428 134 880
Some traditional costumes and jewellery from the Vierlande, and also some Art Nouveau jewellery.
Hanau
Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus Hanau
Altstädter Markt 6, 63450 Hanau
+49 (0) 6181 256556
The German Goldsmiths' House in Hanau is one of the most important exhibition centres for goldsmithing and silversmithing in Germany. The permanent exhibition shows aspects of the development of jewellery after 1945 on a national and international level and illustrates how a conventional understanding of jewellery was expanded by an artistic one. Besides the permanent exhibition there are two to three temporary exhibitions each year on jewellery and hollowware.
Idar-Oberstein
Industriedenkmal Jakob Bengel
Wilhelmstraße 42a, 55743 Idar-Oberstein
+49 (0) 6781 27030
The Jakob Bengel chain and jewellery factory is a living, hands-on museum of the production of costume jewellery from 1870 to 1990, including Art Deco jewellery from the 1920s and 1930s made from chrome-plated metal and the plastic Galalith.
Karlsruhe
Badisches Landesmuseum
Karlsruhe Palace, 76131 Karlsruhe
+49 (0)721 926 6514
Wide-ranging collection, from Antiquity to the present day, including 17th century Turkish booty, the Margrave’s Kunstkammer, and some traditional and aristocratic jewellery from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Kevelaer
Niederrheinisches Museum für Volkskunde und Kulturgeschichte
Hauptstr. 18, 47623 Kevelaer
+49(0) 283 295 41 10
Includes two cases of jewellery and ex-votos from the major pilgrimage centre.
Leipzig
GRASSI Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig
Johannisplatz 5-11, 04103 Leipzig
+49(0)351 49 14 2000Includes jewellery from south and east Europe, as well as Central Asia, North Africa, Polynesia, etc.
Munich
Bayerisches National Museum
Prinzregentenstr. 3, 80538 München
+49 (0) 89 21 124 01
Includes jewellery from royal Palatinate graves of the early 17th century.
Die Neue Sammlung, State Museum of Applied Arts and Design
Barer Straße 40, 80333 Munich
+49 (0)89 272 72 55 60
Showcasing some 300 pieces of jewellery art from the permanent loans of the Danner Jewellery Collection, which provides a wealth of insights into this lively international scene.
Nuremberg
Germanisches Nationalmuseum
Kartäusergasse 1, D - 90402 Nürnberg
+49 (0)911 1331 0
With current overall holdings of around 1.2 million objects, the Germanisches Nationalmuseum is Germany's largest museum of cultural history. It has the most important collection of German traditional jewellery, but it is not on show in the permanent exhibition.
Pforzheim
Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim
Jahnstraße 42 • D-75173 Pforzheim
+49 (0)7231 39 21 26
One of the few dedicated jewellery museums in the world. It has a permanent exhibition of jewellery from Antiquity to the present day, and a rolling schedule of temporary exhibitions on all aspects of jewellery.
Stralsund
Kulturhistorisches Museum
Mönchstraße 25-28 18439 Stralsund
+49 (0)3831 253 600
Contains the Viking gold hoards of Hiddensee and Peenemünde, on permanent display in a special exhibition from 2015
Stuttgart
Linden Museum
Hegelplatz 1, 70174 Stuttgart
+49 (0)71 1202 2-3456
Includes 11th century Ghasnavid and 19th century Turkomen jewellery, as well as examples from many other cultures.
Waldenbuch
Museum der Alltagskultur
Schloss Waldenbuch, Kirchgasse 3, 71111 Waldenbuch
+49 (0)711 89 535 111
One board of traditional Wurttemberg jewellery
GREECE
Athens
National Archaeological Museum
44 Patission St., Athens
+30 (0)213 214 4800, 213 214 4856
Includes classical jewellery from all over the Greek world, including the treasure from Mycenae, and the Eleni and Antonios Stathatos Collection.
The Benaki Museum - Museum of Greek Culture
Vassilisis Sofias and 1 Koumbari street, 106 74 Athens
+30 (0)210 367 1000
Housed in the home of Antonis Benakis, the original Benaki Museum contains a unique exhibition of Greek culture arranged diachronically from prehistory to the 20th century.
The Benaki Museum - Museum of Islamic art
22 Ag. Asomaton & 12 Dipilou St., 105 53 Athens
+30 (0)210 325 1311
The Islamic art collections of the Benaki Museum are housed in a complex of neo-classical buildings located in the historical centre of Athens, in the Kerameikos district. The collection, which includes examples of jewellery from as far as India, Persia, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Arabia, Egypt, North Africa, Sicily and Spain, ranks among the most important in the world.
Museum of Greek Folk Art
Closed while awaiting reopening in new building
17 Kydatheneon St, Plaka
+30 (0)210 323 1577
Located in an old house in the Plaka district, one floor is dedicated to silver work and traditional jewellery, and another to traditional costume with jewellery.
National Historical Museum
13 Stadiou street
+30 (0)210 323 7617
Three rooms of aristocratic and traditional costume, with 12 cases of jewellery.
Greek Historical Costume Museum
7 Dimokritou st, Kolonaki
+30 (0)210 362 9513
Contains the costume and jewellery collections of the Lyceum Club of Greek Women.
The Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum
Kallisperi 12 & Karyatidon Str., Acropolis 11742, Athens
+30 (0)210 922 1044
The Museum’s permanent collection includes over 4000 pieces of jewelry and micro sculptures from over 50 collections designed by the museum’s founder, Ilias Lalaounis, between 1940 and 2000. The permanent collection is enriched with donations including jewelry and decorative arts from around the world.
Florina
Museum of Gold and Silversmithing, Folklore and History
Nymphaeum 530 75, Florina Prefecture
+30 (0)23810 31382/31354
The museum has showcases displaying two sets of rare goldsmith’s tools and a collection of goldsmith’s work (including men’s and women’s jewellery, ecclesiastical objects, buckles, belts, snuff-boxes, and household utensils).
Ioannina
The Silversmithing Museum
Acropolis of Its Kale, Castle of Ioannina, GR-45221 Ioannina
+30 (0)26510 64065
This is a thematic museum concerned with the technology of silversmithing during the pre-industrial period, focussing principally on the history of silversmithing in the region of Epirus. Displays include jewellery, arms and martial gear, household silverware and personal effects, from the prime period of Epirote silversmithing in the late 18th and early 19th centuries through to contemporary work.
Nafplio
Komboloi Museum
25 Staikopoulou St. Nafplio
+30 (0)2752 021618
History and exhibition of 400 komboloi (Greek rosaries) of the period 1750-1950.
Thessaloniki
Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki
6 Manoli Andronikou Street, Postal Code 540 13, Thessaloniki
+30 (0)2313 310201
Recently refurbuished, the museum includes a room dedicated to 'The Gold of Macedon', highlighting the importance of gold in ancient Macedonian culture through the most recent finds.
Vergina
Royal Tombs Museum
Archaeological site of Aigai, 59031 Vergina, Prefecture of Imathia, Macedonia
+30 (0)23310 92347
Site of Aigai, the ancient capital of the Macedonian kings, and the tombs of the royal dynasty, most notably King Philip II. Contains the funerary jewellery found in the tombs.
HUNGARY
Budapest
Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Closed for renovation
+36 1 (0)456 5100
The fine metalwork collection counts about 10,000 pieces today, including the Esterházy collection; the division comprising jewellery, clothing accessories, various small boxes and cases; and the clock and watch collection. Besides the work of the leading Hungarian masters in the 17th and 18th centuries or objects made by the fine metal craft dynasties of Pest and Buda in the 19th century, the bizarre filigree work statuettes created by the Selmecbánya master Sámuel Libay also deserve mention. Held in the collection are a number of truly outstanding Art Nouveau jewels, such as works by Rene Lalique and Oszkár Tarján (Huber).
Hungarian National Museum
Muzeum korut 14-16, 1088 Budapest
+36 1 (0)327 77 00
Contains major collections of historic Hungarian and Balkan jewellery from the 16th to the 19th century.
Neprajzi Muzeum (Ethnographical Museum)
Temporarily closed for renovation
V. Kossuth ter 12, H-1055, Budapest
+36 1 (0)474 2100
Includes Hungarian traditional costume and jewellery
IRELAND
Dublin
National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology
Kildare Street, Dublin 2
+353 1 (0)677 7444
This branch of the National Museum of Ireland houses the most wonderful collection of artefacts dating from 7000 BC to the late medieval period. Examples include the Ardagh Chalice, the 'Tara' Brooch and the Derrynaflan Hoard.
National Museum of Ireland - Decorative Arts & History
Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7
+353 1 (0)677 7444
This branch of the National Museum of Ireland houses fine examples of silver, ceramics, glassware, weaponry, furniture, Folklife, clothing, jewellery, coins and medals, including Celtic revival and archaeological jewellery.
ITALY
Arezzo
Museo Orodautore (Gold Museum Orodautore)
Palazzo Della Fraternita, Via Giorgio Vasari, 6, 52100 Arezzo AR
+39 (0)575 377437
Opened in 2022, this museum celebrates Arezzo jewellers, displaying over 300 pieces dating from the 1970s to the present day.
Biella
Santuario di Oropa
Via Santuario di Oropa, 480 13900 Biella-Oropa (BI)
+39 (0)15 2555 1200
The treasury of the shrine of the Virgin of Oropa contains, together with crowns, chalices, ostensories and votive hearts, the jewels that adorned the statue of the Madonna for the coronations that have been held at Oropa every hundred years since 1620: the two-tier tiara, the aureole of stars, the bodice, the ‘love knot’ and the pendant realised in gold, diamonds and precious stones.
Campo Ligure
Museo della Filigrana Pietro Carlo Bosio
Via della Giustizia 5, 16013 Campo Ligure GE
+39 (0)10 920099
The only museum in the world dedicated to filigree.
Casalmaggiore
Museo del Bijou
Via Porzio, 9 26041 Casalmaggiore (CR)
+39 (0)375 205344 - (0)375 284424
The exhibited objects consist of more than 20,000 pieces of mainly costume jewellery produced by the industries in Casalmaggiore between the end of the 19th century and 1970. Besides the traditional jewellery (brooches, cufflinks, bracelets, belts, earrings, pendants) you can find powder-cases, lipstick holders, cigarette cases, sunglasses, devotional medals and badges.
Ferrara
The National Archaeological Museum of Ferrara
Via XX Settembre, 122
+39 (0)532 66299
La Sala degli ori (The Hall of Gold Jewellery) opened on 10 June 2010. It shows, mostly for the first time, jewellery of gold, silver, amber, semi-precious stones and vitreous glass paste from the necropolis of Spina. The refined, innovative exhibition setting was developed by the Emilia-Romagna Archaeological Heritage Bureau with the technical assistance of jewellers Bulgari.
Florence
Treasury of the Grand Dukes
Ground floor, Palazzo Pitti complex, Florence
055-238-8709
Formerly known as the Museo degli Argenti, the museum houses an important collection of jewellery from the 17th to 20th centuries, including over 100 pieces by 53 international artists and jewellers, such as Buccellati, Torrini, Bino Bini, Gio Pomodoro, Cavalli, Finotti, Sofia Vari, Bueno,and has a large section dedicated to contemporary jewellery.
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Firenze
Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, 9b, 50121 Firenze FI
+39 (0)55 23575 - (0)55 294882
Contains the ancient gem collections of the Medici and Lorraine families, one of the largest and most important collections in the world. A rotating selection, from the Carolingian period to the Renaissance, are now on display in the newly opened historic Corridor of Mary Magdalene de Medici.
Gorizia
Palazzo Coronini Cronberg
Viale XX Settembre 14-34170 Gorizia
+39 (0)481 533485
The jewellery collection consists of late 18th to early 20th century jewellery which belonged to the Coronini Cronberg family. Particularly important is Russian jewellery from the bequest of Count Eduard Cassini.
La Spezia
Museo del Sigillo
Via Vittorio Veneto, 2 - 19124 La Spezia
+39 (0)187 727220
Around 1500 examples of seals from the 4th millenium BC to the present.
Milan
Museo Poldi Pezzoli
Via Manzoni 12 - 20121 Milano
+39 (0)2 794889
The Poldi Pezzoli Museum contains the collection of Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli (1822-1879) and is housed in his family palace. It includes about 3000 items of wonderful jewellery, Murano glass, porcelain, arms and armour as well as tapestries and carpets, furniture and archaeology. A collection of over 400 Netsuke was added by Giacinto Ubaldo Lanfranchi in the 20th century.
Naples
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (MANN)
Piazza Museo 18/19, 80135 Naples
+39 (0)81 44 22 111 — 329
The collection of gems boasts more than 2,000 examples, including not only 350 gems found in archaeological sites of the Campania region, but also the Farnese collection, one of the most important historic collection of gems ever created in Italy. The Farnese collection, started in the town of Parma in the mid-17th century, incorporated gemstones belonging to other 15th century famous private collectors, in particular the Venetian pope Paolo II Barbo and Lorenzo de’ Medici. Gems collected by the cardinals Ranuccio and Alessando Farnese and by their librarian Fulvio Orsini were later added to the original core.
Museo del Corallo Ascione
Piazzetta Matilde Serao 19 | Angiporto Galleria Umberto I, 80132, Naples
+39 (0)81 421111
Private museum in the Naples branch of the jewellers Ascione dedicated to the history of coral. Includes details of fishing and manufacture as well as numerous examples of finished jewellery from the collection of the 150-year old establishment.
Nuoro
Museo Della Vita E Delle Tradizioni Popolari Sarde
Via Antonio Mereu, 56 08100 Nuoro (Sardegna)
+39 (0)784 257035 - 242900
Ethnological museum of Sardinia, including a room of traditional jewellery
Padua
Museo di Arti applicate e decorative
Palazzo Zuckermann, corso Garibaldi 33
+39 (0)49 8205664
The museum contains over two thousand objects from the collections of the Civic Museum of Medieval and Modern Art. The jewellery includes: dress accessories such as buttons, shoe buckles, watches, walking sticks, compacts, snuff boxes and fans; a collection of over 400 pieces of high quality male jewellery, such as rings of various kinds, tie pins, cuff links, watch chains and seals donated by Leone Trieste in 1883; the personal jewellery, mainly in the Parisian and London style, bequeathed by Adele Sartori Piovene in 1917; two more bequests, from Levi Case and Dal Zio followed in the 1960s and 1970s, and there are also examples of contemporary jewellery from the Paduan school of gold and silver working
Pescara
Museo delle genti d’Abruzzi
Via delle Caserme, 22, Pescara
+39 (0)85 4510026
085 4510026 (int. 1)Includes traditional costumes and jewellery of the Abruzzi.
Rome
Museo Nazionale Delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari
Piazza Marconi, 10.
+39 (0)6 549521
The museum was founded in 1956, after the long organizational work which followed the Italian Ethographical Exhibition held in Rome in 1911. This institution intends to provide documents and information on the folk traditions of the various regions of Italy. Large collection of Italian traditional jewellery.
Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia
Piazzale di Villa Giulia, 9
+39 (0)6 3226571
Contains pre-Roman antiquities, including much jewellery. The Castellani collection is famous for its jewels and gold-works, which provide an invaluable contribution to the study of ancient goldsmithery.
Domvs Avrea, Bulgari
Via Condotti 10
A new museum space in the Bulgari store at Via Condotti 10 that houses the Bvlgari Heritage Collection opened in 2023. The first room on the left immediately upon entry into the boutique has been transformed into the DomvsAvrea. Open every day, it is free of charge to anyone wishing to discover the history of Bvlgari jewellery, the evolution of the Brand's design, and the icons that have led to its international success. This shall all be presented in exhibitions of varying themes that will alternate over the coming months.
Torre del Greco
Coral Museum – Liverino Collection
Via Montedoro 61, 80059 Torre del Greco (NA)
+39 (0)81 8811225
The Liverino family have been working coral at Torre del Greco since 1894. This private museum displays a vast array of exquisite contemporary and historical coral jewellery and objects, including a paraure ordered for Joséphine de Beauharnais, as well as lava and cameos. By appointment only at info@liverino1894.com.
Trapani
Museo Regionale di Trapani Agostino Pepoli
via Conte Agostino Pepoli, 200, Trapani
+39 (0)923 553 269
Extensive collection of Trapanese coral art and jewellery, much from the treasury of the Annunziata.
Vicenza
Museo del Gioiello
Basilica Palladiana, Piazza dei Signori, Vicenza
+39 (0)444 320799
This museum is the first in Italy and one of the few worldwide to be dedicated exclusively to jewellery. The Jewellery Museum, a permanent museum space of 410 square metres inside the Palladian Basilica, offers an original, varied aesthetic and educational jewellery experience, enhancing items with ancient origins, deeply rooted in human culture.
Volterra
M. Guarnacci Etruscan Museum
Via Don Minzoni,15, Volterra
+39 (0)588 86347
Extensive collection of Etruscan art including numerous pieces of jewellery, mainly from tomb excavations.
Udine
Il Museo Etnografico del Friuli
Palazzo Giacomelli, Via Grazzano 1, Udine
+39 (0)432 1272920
Contains Perusini collection of traditional jewellery and amulets.
MALTA
Mdina
Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum
Villegaignon Street, Mdina MDN 1191
+356 (0)2145 4512
This palace is the former home of Capt Olof Frederick Gollcher OBE (1889-1962). The jewellery on show includes a collection of rings, Maltese silver buttons, watches and family pieces.
Valletta
Casa Rocca Piccola
74 Republic Street, Valletta, VLT 03
+356 (0)21 221499
Casa Rocca Piccola is the private home of the De Piro family. It contains the relics of over 200 years of fine living, including costume and jewellery.
NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam
Rijksmuseum
Jan Luijkenstraat 1, 1071 CJ Amsterdam
+31 (0)20 6747000
The Rijksmuseum re-opened in 2013, after an extensive renovation. It’s jewellery is now housed in a new gallery, supported by a grant from the Tiffany & Co Foundation, consisting of 300 pieces of jewellery from the Museum's holdings, covering the period from the 8th century up to the pioneering work of the 1960s and emphasising the continuity of the jeweller's art.
Apeldoorn
CODA Museum
Vosselmanstraat 299, 7311 CL - Apeldoorn
+31 (0)55 5268400
CODA museum in Apeldoorn is a museum for contemporary art and regional history. As a museum for contemporary art it specialises in jewels and paper art. The jewellery collection gives a good overview of the evolution of modern jewellery from ca. 1960. There are (among others) works of Emmy van Leersum, Gijs Bakker, Françoise van den Bosch, Nicolaas van Beek, Marion Herbst, Onno Boekhoudt, Ruudt Peters, Dorothea Prühl.
Arnhem
Museum Arnhem, formerly MMKA
Utrechtseweg 87 6812 AA Arnhem
+31(0)26 30 31 400
Collection of contemporary jewellery centred on makers who trained at the Arnhem art academy, including Maria Hees, Herman Hermsen and Lia de Sain.
Delft
Museum Nusantara
Permanently closed in 2018
Sint Agathaplein 4, 2611 HR Delft
Only museum in Europe dedicated to Indonesian culture. Good selection of Indonesian traditional jewellery
Doesburg
Lalique Museum
Gasthuisstraat 1, 6981 CP Doesburg
+31 (0)313 471410
René Lalique (1860-1945) made a name for himself as a goldsmith in Paris, where he attracted attention with his highly detailed jewellry. The permanent collection covers a very large part of René Lalique’s impressive oeuvre.
Leiden
Wereldmuseum Leiden (Museum Volkenkunde)
Steenstraat 1, Postbus 212, 2300 AE Leiden
+31 (0)88 0042 800
Leading Dutch ethnographic museum.
Nijmegen
Galerie Marzee
Lage Markt 3 / Waalkade 4 6511 VK Nijmegen
+31(0)24 322 96 70
Galerie Marzee is the largest gallery for modern jewellery in the world. As a rule, the gallery hosts four or five exhibitions at any time, with new openings every two months.
Schoonhoven
Dutch Silver Museum
Kazerneplein 4, 2871 CZ Schoonhoven
+31 (0)182 38 56 12
The museum has a vast collection of four centuries of Dutch silver, clocks and watches.
's-Hertogenbosch
Stedelijk Museum / Design Museum Den Bosch
De Mortel 4, 5211 HV ’s-Hertogenbosch
+31 (0)73 627 36 80
An exceptional collection of 20th-century artists' jewellery. Some is on display, but the majority is in store.
NORWAY
Bergen
Kode Bergen Permanenten (Decorative Arts Museum)
Temporarily closed
Nordahl Bruns gate 9, 5014 Bergen
+47 (0)53 00 97 00
The museum is the repository for Norway’s largest private collection of Bergen silver. For centuries Bergen was Norway’s main centre for beautiful and prestigious objects made from gold and silver. These objects represent Norway’s foremost classic handcraft. Here you will find tankards, drinking vessels, goblets, terrines, snuffboxes, silverware, jewellery and other objects from the 16th through 20th century.
Oslo
Kunstindustrimuseet
Permanently closed in 2016
St. Olavs gate 1
One of the earliest museums of decorative arts in Europe, it contains a selection of Norwegian costumes and jewellery.
Norsk Folkemuseum
Museumsveien 10, Bygdøy, N-0287 Oslo
+47 (0)22 12 37 00
Norway's largest museum of cultural history featuring the world's oldest open air museum and large indoor collections. Permanent indoor exhibitions include folk art, folk costumes, and jewellery.
POLAND
Gdansk
Museum of Gdańsk, Amber Museum
Wielkie Młyny 16, 80-849 Gdańsk
+48 (0)514 222 205
The Museum of Amber displays natural lumps of the resin and its inclusions, as well as finished products, e.g. jewellery, cutlery and chests. The visitor will learn how amber is formed, how it is extracted, what its properties are, and how it has been worked over the ages.
Warsaw
Muzeum Biżuterii Współczesnej. Museum of Contemporary Jewellery
Permanently closed
Plac Konesera 8, 03-736 Praga, Warszawa
+48 22 128 44 44
PORTUGAL
Braga
Museu dos Biscainhos
Rua dos Biscainhos 4700 - 415 Braga
+351 253 204 650
The Museum presents itself as an approach to the 17th to early 19th centuries, reflected in the private world of a Manor House, providing a contextualised journey through the tastes, traditions, emotions, art, thought and life of Portuguese society during the period under analysis.
Coimbra
Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro
Largo Dr. José Rodrigues · 3000-236 Coimbra
+351 239 853 070
The collection includes jewellery from the 16th to 18th centuries from religious houses, where they were admitted as novice dowry, offerings, royal donations or bequests.
Guimarães
Museu de Alberto Sampaio
Rua Alfredo Guimarães, 4800-407 Guimarães
+351 253 423 910
Mainly religious silverware. About 70% of the total number of pieces originates from a single institution – the Insigne e Real Colegiada de Nossa Senhora da Oliveira – and the liturgical implements coming from Santa Marinha da Costa and from S. Torcato, or from the church of S. Miguel do Castelo, ended up being integrated in the treasure of the Collegiate Church; the temple of the Collegiate Church was the headquarters of the Irmandade de S. Nicolau, whose silverware was deposited in the Museum in 1994, forming a secondary nucleus within the collection.
Lisbon
Museu do Tesouro Real
Palácio Nacional da Ajuda, Calçada da Ajuda 1349-021 Lisboa
+351 21 031 28 14
Located in the Ajuda Palace, the new Royal Treasure Museum contains the Portuguese Crown Jewels as well as many other outstanding examples of jewellery.
Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
Av de Berna 45A, 1067-001 Lisboa Codex
+351 21 7823000
The Calouste Gulbenkian Collection comprises some 6000 works of art from all over the world and dating from antiquity until the early twentieth century (including examples from ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, Babylon, Armenia, Persia, Islamic Art, Europe, and Japan). The collection of works by René Lalique (1860-1945) is quite exceptional for the quality of the jewellery and other objects, particularly the glass, which, because of its quality and consistency is considered to be quite unique. There is also a small case of classical gems and jewellery.
Museu Nacional de Arqueologia
Praca do Imperio, Lisbon
+351 213 620 000
The National Archaeological Museum contains the most important and largest collection of archeological findings in Portugal, including a treasury of gold jewellery from the Bronze Age to the Roman period.
Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga
Rua das Janelas Verdes 1249 - 017 Lisboa
(351) 21 391 28 00
The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga contains the most important collections of fine and applied arts in Portugal. It includes a room dedicated to Portuguese jewellery from the 15th to the 19th century, with around 300 pieces displayed in 13 cases.
Casa Museu Medeiros e Almeida
Rua Rosa Araujo 41, Lisbon
+351 213 547892
The Medeiros e Almeida Museum is housed in the luxuriant home of a wealthy 20th-century entrepreneur. It contains the furnishings and collections of the owner, including two large cases displaying the mainly 18th and 19th century jewellery of his wife. There are also two cases of snuff boxes, and a large collection of watches of all ages.
Museu de São Roque
Largo Trindade Coelho | 1200-470 Lisbon
+351 213 235 065/449
The Museum of the Church of São Roque contains liturgical implements intended for worship, most of which are representative of Portuguese sacred art of the 17th and 18th centuries. The museum also includes one of the largest and most important collections of reliquaries in Portugal, largely originating from the donation of João de Borja (1533-1606) to the Society of Jesus in 1588 which includes remarkable specimens made of gold and silver and of various types, covering the arts of sculpture, goldsmithery, furniture and decorative arts.
Treasury of Lisbon Cathedral
Largo da Sé, 1 1100-585 Lisboa
+351 218 866 752
Contains liturgical objects of goldsmithing, clothing and sculpture or painting, dating from the 16th to 19th centuries.
Museu do Oriente
Avenida Brasília, Doca de Alcântara (North), 1350-352 Lisbon
+351 213 585 200
Opened in 2008 in a unique building on Lisbon's riverside front, the Museu do Oriente is devoted to preserving the material and intangible heritage of the Portuguese presence in Eastern territories (India, Sri Lanka, China, Macao, Japan and East Timor).
Porto
Casa Museu Marta Ortigão Sampaio
Rua Nossa Senhora Fátima 291, 4440-452 Porto
(+351) 226 066 568, (+351) 226 062 744
House museum of Marta and her husband Armando Sampaio Ortigão Sequeira, designed by the architect José Carlos Loureiro and built in 1954-1955. It was donated to the Municipality of Porto after their death, and opened to the public in 1996. It includes the jewellery collection of the donor.
House of Filigree
Rua do Almada, 10, 4050-030 Porto, Portugal
(+351) 227 662 745
Museum containing a collection of traditional Portuguese filigree and tools, attached to the shop of the Rosas family. It is also possible to see a demonstration of filigree making.
Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis
Palácio dos Carrancas, Rua de Dom Manuel II, 56, Porto
(+351) 223 393770
One of the oldest museums in Portugal, it includes a small room devoted to Portuguese jewellery from the Bronze Age up to the 19th century. In the corridor outside there is a collection of buckles and clasps donated by José Carlos Loureiro.
Travassos
Museu do Ouro
Rua de Aldeia de Baixo, 263, 4830-771 | Travassos, PVL
(+351) 253 943 790
This privately owned museum, installed in a former goldsmith’s workshop, contains a vast collection of gold jewellery, tools, furniture, and books, collected by Francisco de Carvalho e Sousa for more than 50 years. It is mainly dedicated to the filigree industry of the area.
Valbom
Municipal Filigree Museum of Gondomar
Casa Branca de Gramido, 41 | 4420-416 Valbom
+351 224 664 310, +351 932 003 358
The Filigree Museum of Gondomar opened in 2016 in the Tourist Office for Gondomar. It features the Municipal Collection of tools and techniques involved in making the traditional filigree jewellery of northern Portugal, together with some 60 examples of filigree, including the largest filigree heart in the world.
Viana do Castelo
Museu do Traje
Praça da República, 4900-318 Viana do Castelo
(+351) 258 809 306
Opened in 2004 in a former Bank of Portugal building, the Museu do Traje shows and explains the traditional costumes of the Viana region, with their appropriate, and copious, gold jewellery. There is a separate collection of traditional gold jewellery in the old bank vault in the basement.
Viseu
Quartz Museum
Monte de Santa Luzia 3515, Viseu
+351 232 450 163
For 25 years, from 1961 to 1986, there was a quartz mine on Monte de Santa Luzia, exploited by the “Companhia Portuguesa de Fornos Elétricos” from Canas de Senhorim. As a result we have been left with a large crater or, if you prefer, a window allowing us to peer into the earth’s core. This site has recently been used to build the Quartz Museum. The displays are found on two floors and consist of a fascinating journey through the history of planet Earth and a beautiful collection of quartz, aided by hi-tech multimedia displays. With quartz as the main attraction, you can do experiments, look at rocks through microscopes and have fun learning science.
RUSSIA
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad Amber Museum
Ploschadj Marschala Vasilevskogo 1, Kaliningrad 236035
+7 (0)401 246 65 50
Museum dedicated to amber, which was opened in 1979. It is located in a mid-19th century fortress tower in the city centre on the shore of lake Verkhneye.
Kostroma
Museum of Jewelry Art 'Ametist'
ul. Sovetskaya 7, 156000, Kostroma
+7 (967) 684 37 53
The museum, opened in 2013 in an 18th-century building by entrepreneur Andrey Smirnov, is dedicated to the products of the jewellery factories of Kostroma and the Kostroma region, which make most of the gold and silver jewellery produced in Russia. Around 500 masterpieces of jewellery art are included, mostly from the 20th century. A significant place is given to products made from filigree.
Kraznoselskaya Jeweler Museum of Contemporary Jewelry
ul. Sovetskaya 49, Kostroma
+7 (910) 192 21 29
In 1969, the year of its 50th anniversary, The Kraznoselskaya Jewellery Works was renamed and later became a real museum. It presents the best examples of jewellery in various techniques: filigree, enamel, chasing. The exhibit contains around 6,000 pieces.
Moscow
The Moscow Kremlin
Aleksandrovsky Sad , Moscow
+7 (495) 624-55-03
The Armoury Chamber contains ancient state regalia, ceremonial tsar’s vestments and coronation dress, vestments of the Russian Orthodox Church’s hierarchs, the largest collection of gold and silverware by Russian craftsmen, West European artistic silver, ceremonial weapons and arms, carriages, horse ceremonial harness.
Moscow State Historical Museum
Krasnaya Ploshchad 1/2, Moscow 103012
+7 (095) 692 37 31
The museum charts the development of Russian civilization, from its ancient tribal beginnings, through the formation of Kievan Rus, to the downfall of the Tsars. Includes jewellery from all periods and regions.
The State Museum of Oriental Art
12a, Nikitsky Boulevard, 119019, Moscow
+7 (495) 691 82 19
Includes costume and jewellery from all the eastern districts of the former USSR, including the Caucasus and Central Asia.
St. Petersburg
The State Hermitage Museum
Dvortsovaya Naberezhnaya 34, Saint-Petersburg
+7 (812) 571 34 65
The Hermitage has a considerable collection of jewellery. It includes European jewellery formerly in the possession of royal and aristocratic owners or acquired from nationalised collections in 1918; over 3,000 objects from Asia covering the period between the 1st century BC and the 20th century; a small collection from East and South America; and Scythian jewellery found during archaeological excavations on the Northern Black Sea coast, above all objects from the area of the Bosphoran Kingdom on the coast of the straits of Kerch (former Cimmerian Bosphorus).
Fabergé Museum
Shuvalov Palace, 21, Fontanka River Embankment, St. Petersburg.
+7 (812) 333 26 55
The privately-owned Fabergé Museum opened in 2013 in the Shuvalov Palace and contains more than 4,000 items of Russian decorative and fine arts. The collection includes nine Imperial Easter Eggs, formerly in the Forbes collection, as well as objects from all areas in which the House of Fabergé operated: fantasy objects of all kinds, jewellery, precious haberdashery, silverware, interior and religious objects. In addition it includes works by his contemporaries, including famous Russian jewellers and silversmiths such as Sazikov, Ovchinnikov, Khlebnikov, Rueckert and many others.
Russian Museum of Ethnography
4/1, Ulitsa Inzhenernaya, 191011, Saint-Petersburg
+7 (812) 570 52 28
One of the largest and richest museums in Russia, including costume and jewellery of the ethnic culture of more than 150 peoples of Russia and its neighbours.
Yekaterinburg
State Stone-cutting and Jewelry History museum
Lenina Ave, 37, Yekaterinburg 620075 Sverdlovsk region.
+7 (343) 371 13 17
Founded in 1992, and located in the early 19th century building of a former mining drugstore, the museum celebrates the mineralogical riches of the Urals, from the 18th century work of the Yekaterinburg Imperial lapidary factory up to the present day.
SERBIA
Belgrade
The Museum of African Art
Andre Nikolica 14, 11000 Belgrade
+381 11 2651 654
The Museum of African Art is the one and only museum in the region of South East Europe that is wholly dedicated to the arts and cultures of the African continent. It includes an extensive collection of African jewellery
SPAIN
Figueres
Dalí Theatre-Museum
Gala-Salvador Dalí Square, 5, E-17600 Figueres. Catalonia
+34 972 677 500
The exhibition includes 39 gold jewels and precious stones from the Owen Cheatham collection, 2 jewels made later on and 27 drawings and paintings on paper that Salvador Dalí made for the jewellery designs. Dali Jewels, which represents an extensive collection of works made by the artist between 1941 and 1970, illustrates perfectly the various phases of his artistic evolution.
La Bañeza, León
Museo de las Alhajas en la Vía de la Plata
Currently closed
Calle Juan de Mansilla, nº 10, 24750 - La Bañeza (León)
+34 987 655 192
This museum contains more than 3,000 items of 19th century Spanish traditional costumes and 16th-18th century jewellery from the Silver Way and the province of Leon. Spread through seven rooms, it is perhaps the best collection of traditional jewellery in Spain, an art almost lost because almost all the pieces that constituted it have disappeared over the centuries.
Madrid
Galería de las Colecciones Reales
C/ Bailén s/n, 28013 Madrid
+34 91 840 38 83
Includes the Treasure of the Virgin of Atocha, made up of a head-dress, a nimbus and two crowns, for the Child and the Virgin, which were an ex-voto offering to the Virgin from Queen Isabella II after she survived an attack on the palace unharmed, and a large collection of relics, kept in luxurious reliquaries carved in gold, silver and bronze, and decorated with precious stones, coral, ivory and valuable woods.
Museo Nacional de Antropología
Calle Alfonso XII 68, 28014 Madrid
+34 91 539 59 95 / +34 91 530 64 18
Some examples of Filipino jewellery
Museo del Traje
Centro de Investigación del Patrimonio Etnológico, Avenida Juan de Herrera, 2 (Ciudad Universitaria) 28040 Madrid
+34 91 550 47 00
The Clothing Museum brings together numerous exhibits showing of the evolution of clothing in Spain through history. An exquisite selection of clothing items from times gone by is combined with traditional dress from every region of Spain, as well as examples of contemporary fashion design. Designers like Fortuny, Balenciaga, Pertegaz, Hannibal Laguna, Ailante and Torretta, among other masters of haute couture, are represented in this unusual museum, which also displays pieces of jewellery and items from the home.
Saragossa
Museum of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar
Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, Plaza de la Seo s/n 50001 Zaragoza
(+34) 608 21 95 66
Small museum in the Basilica contains four cases of mainly 19th century jewellery presented to the shrine.
SWEDEN
Lund
Kulturen (Kulturhistoriska föreningen för södra Sverige)
Tegnérsplatsen 6, 223 50 Lund
+46 (0)46 35 04 00
Open-air museum in the centre of Lund. Contains important collection of Skãne traditional jewellery.
Malmö
Malmöhus Castle
Malmöhusvägen 6, 211 18 Malmö
Includes Druvan hoard of around 300 pieces of jewellery dating from 1677
Stockholm
Historiska museet (The Swedish History Museum)
Narvavägen 13-17, 114 84 Stockholm
+46 (0)8 519 556 00
The Gold Room displays many gold treasures from Sweden's past, including the Viking Age which even today is known as Scandinavia’s Gold Age. These include the 1500 year-old gold collar from Ålleberg which was made so skilfully that today’s goldsmiths still can’t work out how it was done.
National Museum
Södra Blasieholmshamnen 2, Stockholm
+46 (0)8 519 543 00
The museum has been collecting contemporary jewellery over a lengthy period, but never previously actively acquired older objects. Consequently, in recent years significant complementary acquisitions have been made. Visitors can now make a close-up study of substantial parts of this collection. Jewellery is traditionally associated with women, but the exhibition also has a selection of accessories for men, ranging from canes to medals.
Nordiska museet
Djurgårdsvägen 6-16, Stockholm
+46 (0)8-519 545 62
Sweden's largest museum of cultural history celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2023. Contains around 1,000 pieces of traditioanl jewellery from all periods and styles.
The Royal Palace
Slottsbacken 1, Old Town (Gamla Stan), Stockholm
+46 (0)8 402 61 00
The treasury in the Royal Palace contains the Swedish crown jewels, including Gustav Vasa´s sword of state, Erik XIV´s crown, sceptre and orb and Lovisa Ulrika´s crown, as well as several of the Princes' and Princesses' crowns.
SWITZERLAND
Geneva
the Patek Philippe Museum
Rue des Vieux-Grenadiers 7, 1205 Geneva
+41 (0)22 707 30 10
Inaugurated in November 2001, the Patek Philippe Museum houses one of the world’s most important and prestigious horological collections, including around 2,500 watches, automata, precious objects and portrait miniatures on enamel. The museum also has a library with over 8,000 publications on time and time measurement.
Musée d'ethnographie de Genève
Boulevard Carl-Vogt 65, CH - 1205 Genève
+41 (0)22 418 45 50
Includes several cases of Saharan jewellery
Lucerne
Gübelin Gem Museum
Haus zum Stein, Schwanenplatz 7, 6004 Lucerne
+41 (0)41 417 00 28
This multifaceted location offers visitors an opportunity to experience more about the creation, origin and fascination of coloured gemstones as well as the history, pioneering spirit and innovations of the Swiss, family-owned business, founded in 1854.
Zurich
Schweizerisches Landesmuseum (National Museum)
Museumstrasse 2, 8001 Zürich
+41 (0)44 218 65 11
Includes the Koch collection of over 1,500 contemporary and historical rings, as well as Swiss traditional costumes and jewellery.
UKRAINE
Simferopol
Central museum of Taurida
Ul. Gogolya 14, Simferopol, Krim, Ukraine
+7(3652)25 25 11
The Gold Treasury hall contains important material excavated in the territories of the Ukrainian Crimea. The displayed items – gold and silver earrings, tiaras, coins, horse harness elements, ceremonial items, fibulae, belt decorations, and the famous eagle head buckles dating back to the second century BC up to the 15th century AD – show the uniqueness of the local barbarian Gothic, Alanic, and Sarmatian cultures and present the high level of jewellery development at the time.