Marianne Ostier

“ The natural movements of the body, even the soft rise and fall of the bosom as one takes breath, suffice to make the tiny stems quiver and the gems at their tips give ever fresh play of light.
Thus a delicate wire may lift a deep red ruby as the stamen of a flower, alive in its motion and varying gleam. Or a diamond on a quivering stem may seem to dance with airiness and light. A spread of platinum angel-fern may move its delicate [193] fronds; a sprig of heather in fine metal and stone vibrate with the lilt of the Highlands. ”

“ Of all the jewels of history, most widespread in time and space, and upon the human body is the ring. From the crown of the head to the tip of the toes, the circular band has been an adornment and a symbol. In the ears, around the neck, tight about the biceps, loose about the wrist, across the chest, around the waist, in iron fetters at the ankle in days of old to indicate the slave or in the self-imposed “slave anklet” of thin gold today: men and women have worn rings of grass, of wood, of bone, of metal. ”

“ Medium brown or brunette hair suggests earclips of pearls and diamonds worn close to the face. The creamy lustre of the pearl and the sparkling brilliance of the diamond form a delectable contrast to the brunette coloring. Turquoises and rubies, as well as corals, are also becoming, close to the face as color accents to the skin. For the less formal occasion, topazes—which run the gamut of color from the golden yellow of honey to the reddish brown of Madeira wine—may work magic for the dark-eyed girl. If not exaggerated, a gypsy style earclip may add an exotic touch to the brunette. ”

“ Each impulse, to hold up clothing, to ward off evil, to enjoy beauty—power, protection, pleasure—may have had a share in the birth of adornment. It is true that there are paintings and statues, in the early tombs, of women clad only in their jewels. But while queens, and the concubines of kings might be thus untrammeled in their quest of beauty, humbler folk at work needed workaday attire. And always the magicians, the medicine men, then the priests, wove their holy spells, with mitre and chalice and ring inscribed with the secret words of power. ”

“ There is no doubt that the five gems—diamond, ruby, emerald, sapphire, and pearl—have grown more fully than all others into our ways of living. They have become, as I shall indicate in this chapter, adornments not only of our persons but of our speech and writing. They are used not only in figures of jewelry but in figures of speech, to express human beauty, or eminence, or virtue. The poet and the orator, as well as the monarch and the lover, have utilized the glamour of the gem.
Diamond
Supreme in human imagination is the diamond, the hardest of all stones. ”

“ It is surprising how, though the stones themselves remain unchanged, remodelling can create an entirely new jewel. Many an old-fashioned piece now in a safety vault, sheltered from all but the dust of time, can be given a beautiful modern setting and restored to an active place in one’s evenings. Modern design not only can give the precious stones a new styling, but can bring out their beauty as it never shone before.
Even the solitaire diamond, simplest of jewels and seemingly most constant in fashion, can be given a helpful face-lifting. ”

“ Under a transparent stone or coat of colorless enamel may be pressed a lock of hair. The jewel itself may be shaped so as to symbolize a family—as a coat of arms; or a people—as the maple leaf worn by Queen Elizabeth II, a gift from and a symbol of the Commonwealth of Canada. The lady who launches a ship receives, from the builders or the owners, a diamond pin that is indeed, to her and those that come after her, a precious memento of a signal occasion. ”

“ One may look at precious stones and magnificent jewels ranged in a museum or in a store. When they are being worn, we look not so much at them as at the ensemble they help to create of a live alluring woman. The Crown Jewels in the Tower of London are imposing. When they are worn on occasions of state, the court regalia combine to keep them imposing still: it is less a person than a position that they adorn. But with the rest of us mortals, as even with queens in less stately hours, the jewels must fit the person and the personality, as well as the occasion. ”

“ Cleopatra killed herself rather than walk in the triumph of Emperor Augustus, but the Emperor’s favorite, Agrippa, we are told, secured the mate to Cleopatra’s pearl. She had this great pearl halved, for the ears of the statue of Venus in the Pantheon.
The vogue of the pearl swept over Rome. This “disease of the oyster,” with its blush of rainbow colors over white, with its tint of beauty and its hint of underwater mystery, had indeed always been regarded as the queen of jewels. The Romans affected it to the degree of vulgar display. ”

“ The endless shape of the ring reminds us of eternity, and that we are all journeyers through time to eternity. The number of rings equals the four virtues that comprise constancy of mind: justice, fortitude, prudence, and temperance. The metal signifies wisdom from on high, which is as gold purified by fire. The four stones are an emerald, green emblem of faith; a sapphire, blue emblem of hope; a garnet, red emblem of charity; and a topaz, bright emblem of good works. ”

“ Diamonds will naturally flash and sparkle, elegance will prevail; but amid the brilliants there is opportunity for the display of other precious stones. As always, the central factor from which other considerations radiate is the wearer’s complexion. This has already determined the choice of emerald, ruby, or sapphire as the gem around which to build a parure. The choice of the parure leads to the color of the evening gown, which, even if mainly white, may well be touched with the chosen color. A matched necklace of the chosen precious stone interspersed with diamonds is admirable. ”

“ It may be that a simple pin or pair of earclips will be a gift to each bridesmaid; such a jewel should of course be worn. If any necklace is worn, it should be small. Pearl or gold earclips, without pendants, should be chosen to blend with the person and the costume, not to stand out. A small gold clip, with perhaps one precious stone or a small pattern, will not be too conspicuous. There may be one gold bracelet, not wide. Such jewels will preserve the individual grace of the bridesmaid while softening her into the harmony of the whole, as a background of youth and loveliness for the bride. ”

“ The precious stones that Cleopatra wore for the admiration of three monarchs still hold their pristine fire, and no doubt sparkle on the throat and hand of some fair lady of today. If the cost of a jewel is measured against the duration of its usefulness—even apart from its beauty, its small bulk, and its ready possibility of resale—it is clear that there is no better investment. Nor is there any monotony in a precious stone. It takes new glow in various lights. ”

“ Although we have approached beauty through these somewhat solemn reflections, we must not forget that the best reflection of beauty is in the admiring eye of the beholder. It is a mutual pleasure; but it is a personal, an individual task. For it is every woman’s duty—not merely to herself but to those around—to present her fairest aspect to the world. ”

“ Just as there may be secrets caught into a gift to a woman, as when the jewels spell out a sentiment, so a gift to a man may have its values multiplied by a hidden message. That bar on the key chain, for example: who but the two concerned know that it can open and reveal a tiny picture of the beloved? Inside the ring may be their linked initials. In many ways which will suggest themselves, according to the events in the particular couple’s life, a secret shared in the gift keeps the love twinkling. ”

“ Saturn was the father and first king of the gods; his stone is the king of gems, the diamond. Saturday crowns the days of the week, as the diamond crowns the family of the gems. In a man the diamond marks gravity, fortitude, constancy. In a maiden, it may betoken a certain giddiness, a flighty [87] fancy that has not yet found its destination; but in a woman it marks perseverance and constancy. The woman of the Saturday diamond knows what she wants, and works unfaltering to attain it. ”

“ No woman should wear a leather strap for a wrist watch with an evening gown. It would completely break the spell of elegance. If no watch with matched strap of bejewelled metal is in the treasure chest, the watch should be kept at home or—for sheer utility—in the purse. The watch for evening wear has its functional aspects concealed. Its face is almost hidden in precious stones, or may be so encased that the jewel must be opened. It is worn less as a timepiece than as a bracelet, or perhaps a brooch. ”

“ At its best, the ruby is resplendent on a Tuesday.
Wednesday
Although Woden was king of the Nordic gods, his name is used to translate the Latin for the day of the fickle and thievish Mercury, who was placated on this day. The emerald is its precious stone. The color green may mark jealousy when it flickers in a woman’s eyes, but in a gem it is a token of change. In a man it betokens joyousness, quick-soaring but transitory. In the woman, with the Wednesday emerald comes a spontaneous, childlike delight in passing things, a love of variety. ”

“ The desire of the woman, the taste of the man, the discovery of a superb jewel in a shop, or a talk with a designer, may any of them shape the decision and the gift. A flower design, as I have said, is always attractive. And if one comes upon a fine one, why wait for an anniversary? Alice looked up in Wonderland to remark that she preferred unbirthday presents to birthday presents, because there could be so many more of them. An unexpected gift can be a bright surprise, and make any day a rich occasion. ”

“ Some of them gaze upon it to induce that trance-like state in which the future spreads before one like a great mirage; better than a crystal ball are the incessant interplay of colors and the endless iridescence of the stone. An opal on a ring increasingly gives the wearer a view of the future. Unlike the man who considered augurs boring, I confess to a keen interest in what makes them tick, or click. Usually their powers are linked to a special stone, which, like as not, is an opal. ”

“ For a formal dinner at the White House, marked by the presence of the President, diamond jewelry is the only kind to wear. The guest’s prominence and influence may be emphasized to the fullest degree in the elaborateness of the jewelry chosen. And this is one of the rare occasions when a woman need not be worried lest she outshine the boss’s wife. The President, after all, is the servant of the people.
The glamour and the resplendent brilliance of such a dinner must come mainly from the guests. ”

“ Remembering the “before” and beholding the “after,” a woman’s eyes will light with a new recognition. The old jewels were, in the main, massy with metals. The new ones are graced with an airy technique of jewel design. It is no commercial slogan but experienced truth that the light modern patterns make the jewel more beautiful and the wearer more gracefully young. And the husband, who was last to yield and permit that “waste of time and money” called a remodelling, will be the first to sense the new beauty and importance of the jewel, and to extend his admiring praise. ”

“ Being the most prominent article of personal adornment, the necklace requires considerate care. Poorly chosen for the particular individual—no matter how attractive the jewel in itself—it may make a woman seem overdressed. Stones of the wrong color may make her skin look sallow. A heedlessly selected style may emphasize wrinkles in the neck. With proper thought, however, the right necklace, well fitted, not only presents its own beauty but adds youth and beauty to the chinline and neck of the wearer. ”

“ And every stone-age child knew that the agate protected one against thunder and against tiger bite. If the agate was ringed like an eye, especially a tiger’s eye, it could outstare and drive away the fiercest fiend. ”

“ Misery, they say—or at least Shakespeare said—acquaints a man with strange bedfellows; and democracy acquaints a woman with strange costumes. The variety of “casual clothes” is limited only by the panorama of color and the ingenuity of the designer. Yet, whatever garments a woman may have chosen to put on, the probability is that she will wish to add to their harmony the grace notes of a jewel. ”

“ Without regard to the loss of weight from uncut stone, jewelers are now shaping diamonds in many fancy cuts—which only the most flawless gems can sustain—for the sake of the pattern of the entire jewel.
The potentialities of the abstract design are far from being exhausted, and a jeweler who is a genuine artist has here a fertile field. If a woman has selected a jeweler as carefully as she has chosen her coiffeur, and finding him good has continued to seek his counsel, he should be able to suggest or to create a clip that will both express and illuminate her personality. ”

“ The saying that a woman is as old as she looks gains further truth from the powers of jewelry to contribute to the color of the skin and the lines of the body. The lines that curve upward from the shoulders to the head have much to do with the general impression of youthfulness, vigor and health, or of drab weariness, fatigue, and age. And it is along these lines that even the most beautiful woman draws on the aid of the necklace and seeks not just the beautiful but the beautifying jewel. ”

“ Whatever one’s complexion, it can be embellished by earclips of appropriate gems. Almost any complexion, however, will be flattered by the soft red glow of the ruby or the sparkle of the diamond. If a woman—because it is her birthstone or for other reasons of taste or sentiment—is partial to a stone that does not suit her complexion, it can be joined with rubies and diamonds so that it will do lovely things for the skin. ”