We felt American jewelry was a subject that hadn’t been done before in a museum,” said Ralph Esmerian, the curator of ”Masterpieces of American Jewelry christmas links of london ,” a new show at the American Folk Art Museum in Manhattan. ”We were trying to be a little more creative than just taking a chronological or historical look. We’re examining the American character, our way of life and our style. We are not bland.”

 Mr. Esmerian, chairman of the Folk Art Museum, knows a lot about jewelry. He is a collector and fourth-generation wholesale dealer in colored precious stones and vintage jewelry christmas links of london on sale. He is also the founder of Gemcore, a nonprofit lab that authenticates gemstones.

 He selected about 200 pieces of jewelry manufactured and distributed in America from 1760 to 1987 for the inaugural exhibition of the National Jewelry Institute, a nonprofit foundation formed two years ago to educate the public about fine jewelry. The show closes on Jan. 25 and travels to Somerset House in London.

 ”We asked, ‘What is it about American jewelry that is reflective of us?’ ” Mr. Esmerian said. ”We look for that in paintings; why not jewelry? Here, we’ve made an attempt to break it down into themes like nature, humor, patriotism, pastimes and high style Links Charms .”

 For example, the show includes the magnificent gold and enameled orchid brooches designed by Paulding Farnham at Tiffany & Company in 1889 and Raymond C. Yard’s whimsical bunny pins from the 1930’s, in which diamond-encrusted rabbits mimic human activities like sailing, fishing and serving martinis.

 ”In Europe, only the upper class hunted, fished or sailed,” Judith Price, the president of the National Jewelry Institute, writes in the show’s companion book, ”Masterpieces of American Jewelry” (Running Press, $29.95 Links Necklaces ). ”In America hunting and fishing were the pastimes of nearly every man.”