Milan attracted the best European armourers, outstanding goldsmiths and manufacturers of coveted, luxury textiles.

ECONOMIST: The rapier in Renaissance Europe: Jewels to die for | The

In Japan, where there is no native tradition of jewel making, some modern jewellers have resurrected techniques used to decorate Samurai swords. (Historically, the links between jewellers and armourers is close in many cultures.) The distilled and uncluttered purity of new Japanese jewellery is without equal.

ECONOMIST: Contemporary jewellery