Most Stylish Staircase, Jewelry Display, Museum Gallery, Architect...

I never quite imagined myself writing about a staircase but then again the staircase I discovered is not your average pinewood suburban staircase, rather it is the spectacular glass staircase new to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The spiraling glass structure connects the two floors that make up the museum's new jewelry gallery.

Named after it's soul benefactors (who gifted the museum with $14 M), The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery was designed by Architect Eva Jiricna, with the intention of upping the ante on display standards. Not only is the gallery a magical diaphanous jewel box, it is a multi-media experience like no other. The gallery is sprinkled with rotating images and computer screens making the experience truly interactive.

This "crystal palace", as marked by the International Hearld Tribune, is an awe-inspiring experience of glass, crystal, glitter, and shine, as the extensive collection of 3,500 jewels, some dating back 800 years, literally, gleam off the walls.

For those who can't make the trip to London to visit the gallery, the book published to mark the opening of the gallery, Jewels & Jewellery, may suffice.

Photo: iht.com