Joanna Hardy Launches The World’s First Online Jewellery School with Learningwithexperts.com at Masterpiece Fair

Look out for the timeless pear-shaped diamond drop earrings at Hancocks

Joanna Hardy School of Jewellery

London, June 29th, 2017. Acclaimed global jewellery specialist Joanna Hardy has launched her own online jewellery school at Masterpiece this year. The school features an interactive online classroom where you get personal advice from Joanna and is powered by award winning internet company, Learningwithexperts.com. You can book Joanna’s courses from today, wherever you are in the world. Joanna’s lectures include unseen and unique footage filmed at Masterpiece, as well as at top London jewellers and on location, so that students will learn what to look for in a good quality piece of jewellery. During your course Joanna answers your questions and marks your assignments.

Joanna commented: “My intention is to create a world class online jewellery school, where enthusiastic amateurs or professionals can be introduced to the world of jewellery. I’m expecting people ranging from interested hobbyists, career changers, professionals wanting to improve their knowledge – right through to members of the boutique high-end jewellery trade. Through my course I can teach you wherever you are in the world. I’m anticipating students from Europe, the US and Asia. I’m doing this because I’m passionate about sharing the real stories behind jewellery and ensuring future generations are appropriately educated the world over in this fascinating subject.”

Joanna’s first jewellery course within the school is: The Magic of Jewellery.
Students will learn the following:
• An appreciation of jewellery for the discerning student
• A story which involves and excites the student and immerses them into the heritage and context of jewellery and its properties
• An introduction to knowing what to be aware of and how
• How you select jewellery in an informed way
• What you need to consider
• The story behind their own jewellery
• Practical and technical considerations about the pieces

The format of the course is that you will watch video documentary style lectures with Joanna, who teaches you the secrets and stories of her trade. You are within an interactive classroom online watching your videos, with your classmates of up to 20 people at a time. Joanna will set you an assignment, and Joanna and her office will critique your response. She will also be on hand in the classroom to answer your questions throughout the course.

This course is not:
• A valuation course
• A one-way communication like Youtube
• A ‘how to’ course

Founder and CEO of Learningwithexperts.com Elspeth Briscoe commented: “We have been planning this project for several years now, and are delighted to be able to bring jewellery enthusiasts access to a true specialist wherever they are in the world. Masterpiece was the perfect event for us to announce the school at – it’s been an incredible experience already working with Joanna sharing her knowledge with enthusiasts from all over the world at this year’s fair.”

Joanna added: “The wonderful thing about Masterpiece is that it consistently showcases such a variety of pieces, both in their designs and histories, and the diversity amongst the jewellery exhibitors is especially evident this year. "Look out for the timeless pear-shaped diamond drop earrings at Hancocks", which are such a great contrast to the innovative and mesmerising new creations by Wallace Chan. Every exhibitor has something that catches my eye, but particularly look out for the timeless pear-shaped diamond drop earrings at Hancocks, which are such a great contrast to the innovative and mesmerising new creations by Wallace Chan. Amongst the stones shown this year, I was drawn to the incredible blue spinel, set in a diamond ring, exhibited by Boghossian; it’s so rare to see a stone of such deep and lively colour! With so much to see and learn, I hope you enjoy seeing these pieces, whether at Masterpiece or online, as much as I do.”

Hardy concluded: "Jewellery is my passion and has been a major part of my life for the last 30 years. It gives me enormous pleasure to see jewellery being appreciated for its artistic merit and craftsmanship and if I can help to broaden people’s awareness and help them become discerning jewellery appreciators and collectors then my mission has been accomplished. Please make sure you ask me as many questions as you like in the classroom, I look forward to having you in my classroom soon.”

Book A Course with Joanna Hardy Today

Notes to Editors

About Joanna Hardy

Joanna Hardy F.G.A., D.G.A., F.R.S.A
Joanna has over 30 years of experience working with jewellery, beginning her career as a goldsmith before becoming a rough diamond valuer and grader for De Beers. Joanna then went to work in Antwerp and became one of the very few women polished diamond dealers trading in Antwerp, Tel Aviv, Mumbai and New York, before joining Philips the auctioneers in London. She then moved to Sotheby’s in Bond Street and for fourteen years was their senior jewellery specialist and auctioneer, where she was responsible for jewellery auctions in New York, Geneva and London. Joanna is an independent fine jewellery specialist conducting jewellery masterclasses and lectures worldwide. She is a published author, with her books Collect Contemporary Jewelry, Emerald and Ruby published by Thames and Hudson, and a contributing author for Cartier Panthère, published by Assouline, and GRAFF, published by Rizzoli; she also writes for many international publications. Joanna curates contemporary jewellery selling exhibitions, is an accredited Arts Society lecturer (formerly NADFAS), a Fellow of the Gemmological Association, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Freeman of the City of London, a Liveryman of the Goldsmiths’ Company and is a regular jewellery specialist on the BBC Antiques Roadshow.

About Learningwithexperts.com

Learningwithexperts.com was founded by Elspeth Briscoe (eBay, Skype) and has taken £1.5m investment from VCs and angels in 2015. It now serves students from over 50 countries worldwide, their most far-flung students come from Argentina, New Zealand and Indonesia. They have delivered thousands of hours of lessons to students and well over a million users have visited their sites. The Gardening and Photography schools at learningwithexperts.com have won The Good Web Guide Awards three times and are partnered with many highly respected industry leaders, such as The RHS, BALI, APLD, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian.

The learningwithexperts.com community of enthusiasts values the convenience of online learning, wants trusted and acclaimed experts, but needs a more in-depth, interactive experience than other forms of online learning like Massive Online Open Courses. MOOCs have a course completion rate of 10-20% MyOnlineSchool has completion rates of 80-90%. Learningwithexperts.com is bringing back the concept of ‘tribal learning’ where expert tutors pass down their learnings in small tribal groups online to future generations.

For more information please email georgina@joannahardy.com. For a spokesperson from Learningwithexperts.com please email juliette@myonlineschool.co.uk or call Elspeth Briscoe CEO/Founder www.learningwithexperts.com) 07884263706. High res images available.