Hi there! I’m Dr Sarah McAleer - a jewellery historian, goldsmith, mentor and writer. My fascination with jewellery and history began over three decades ago and has taken me on a journey that bridges art, academia and storytelling.

The Journey

Originally from Northern Ireland, I trained at the Glasgow School of Art in Jewellery & Silversmithing before completing my PhD at the Royal College of Art in London. My doctoral research - Children’s Jewellery in Europe: Traditions & Contemporaneity - resulted in a 140,000 word PhD Thesis that positioned me as the world’s leading expert in this field.

My research traced the materials, meaning, and myths of children’s jewellery back to the prehistoric era - firmly placing ‘the child’ into ‘jewellery history’ for the first time. By weaving together art history, fashion history, anthropology, sociology and the cultural history of childhood, I created a new framework for understanding ‘children’s jewellery history’ within global culture.