Bijou

“ Whether the diamonds are uniform, that is, all of equal size, or graduated around the neck with the largest centered in front, nothing should be allowed to interfere with the incomparable beauty of the gems. No medallions of precious metal should be allowed between. The one concern of the jeweler should be to achieve the flowing sequence of perfect solitaires, in one accordant interplay, a cascading river of brilliance and sparkle. ”

“ They wear a great many gold rings, and their ear-rings are often costly and beautiful. They also have gold armlets and anklets and charms encircling neck and waist, and the higher ranks now wear gold girdles with jewelled clasps. The jewelry is of odd and unique designs—snake-bracelets; necklaces of gold turtles, fish and flowers, set with gems; dragon-headed rings, with diamond, emerald, or ruby eyes, and a tongue that moves. Some rings have little birds poised upon them, with out-spread wings and sparkling with jewels; golden elephants, and many other rich and costly designs.... ”

“ A jewel, or a piece of jewelry, is a costly ornament, especially of gold, platinum, or precious stones; or of stones set in one of these metals.
A precious stone is one highly prized for human adornment. Its value is measured mainly by its beauty, its rarity, and its durability. The precious stones are, by general understanding, limited to the diamond, the ruby, the emerald, and the sapphire. The pearl, though strictly not a stone and far less durable, is nevertheless, because of its beauty and the rarity of superb specimens, included among the precious gems. ”

“ The Frenchman has a natural love for the beautiful, and the French jeweler shows his taste in the arrangement of his window. A large space, covered with diamonds, set and unset, of fine gold jewelry, artistic designs in rubies, pearls, opals, or emeralds, is in itself a beautiful sight, but when they are all arranged so as to show them all to the best advantage, then the effect is marvelous. ”

“ A little further on you may meet with a jeweller’s, where ornaments the most rare and costly are to be found: massive old necklaces of amethyst or emerald, in which the ungainly setting bears such a contrast to the value of the stone—rich clasps of pink topaz or ruby, for the collar of a cloak—sword-handles all paved with precious gems—and signet-rings, that have circled the fingers of proud Counts of the Empire, and, mayhap, sealed with their impress many a dark and gloomy record. ”

“ Short dinner gowns, colorful cocktail dresses or separates are best enhanced by jewels of light texture. Jewelry of twisted gold wire conveys this effect; or the gold wire used as setting for diamond or pearls. Like the flowers in colorful profusion around, jewels with stones of different colors are in good taste, providing of course that the colors are in harmony. An all-white costume will not do justice to diamonds; if a woman looks attractive in white, she should wear with it colored stones or pearls. Sapphires, however, may be combined with diamonds, most pleasantly with a fair complexion ”

“ In addition to a good jeweler, there should be another male more nearly concerned, whose opinion is valued. But the woman herself has to face the world with her jewels. They are her adjuncts and intimate accessories to beauty. In the final choice she must remember that the necklace, most prominent of her jewels, must capture her own personality and tastefully proclaim her character. ”

“ Even when enamels cover the various parts of jewels in a wondrous harmony of colour, the artists of the period contrived with extraordinary tact to leave small portions in gold: the hair of the figures, manes of horses, armour, weapons—glittering points that enhance the beauty of the whole. ”

“ Gold should be seen on the jewels, accented with a few diamonds. Pearls with diamonds are also effectively in place. Always there is distinction, as I have said, in one earclip with a black pearl, one earclip [218] with a white, while a black and a white pearl are set together in a finger ring.
For a White House cocktail party, jewelry with diamonds and multicolored stones may be worn. Still more appropriate, with the simple cocktail dress, is a parure. An especially effective set is a pearl necklace with a diamond clasp on each side, and matching earclips, bracelet, and ring. ”

“ Fixed upon the velvet ribbon, and drawing it together just above the cross is a slide or coulant, in the form of a bow, rosette, or heart, and of the same style as the cross itself. In many provinces of France, such as Savoy, gold is reserved exclusively for married women—custom having it that all their jewels should be of that metal. Silver, on the other hand, is often employed solely for girls' jewellery, possibly because it is considered the natural symbol of virginal purity, just as in ancient times it was consecrated to the virgin goddess, Diana. ”

“ A jeweler can't say exactly how he gets on the track of fake stones. He can feel them. He can almost smell them. I worked with a jeweler once. That's how I got my knowledge of jewels. But, if you mean, can I prove what I say about this necklace, that's easy. There's no deception. It's simple. See here. These stones are supposed to be diamonds. ”

“ At the height of mid-century necklace fashion is the addition of the single drop. This should not be long, like a pendant, but rather one large extra stone, clipped on close to the collier to add chic and smartness. It may be a pear-shaped diamond, a grey or a black pearl, an emerald, or indeed any stone that harmonizes with the necklace color—though most frequently such a drop is worn on a necklace of diamonds or pearls. The single stone is set with an almost invisible clasp and can be attached to the necklace at any point desired. Resultant effects can be startling. ”

“ Here a woman may display her most colorful jewels. Rubies and sapphires will be resplendent, but colored stones of all sorts will brighten the scene. A pearl necklace may be becomingly worn. Long earrings, however, and diamond necklaces should [211] be reserved for the party that will follow the race. Particularly if the wearer’s horse has won.
If a horse of one’s own is entered in the race, this may be made a part of the design of the jewels. An imposing pin may be set with precious stones in the colors of the stable. Or the horse itself may be designed in diamonds ”

“ An untitled woman privileged to be present will wear nothing but diamonds and precious and semiprecious stones; imitation jewelry is out of place. If she has a large diamond necklace, with pendants, there will be diamond earclips; if the necklace is a choker, the earclip may have pear-shaped diamond pendant or emerald or pearl drops. A beautiful diamond bracelet and ring will complete the regal costume. ”

“ The jewel worn as a personal ornament may be merely decorative, such as the aigrette or the pendant, or it may be useful as well as ornamental, such as the brooch or the girdle. Gems and precious stones are not jewels, in the present sense, until the jeweller's skill has wrought and set them. This definition will be found to correspond with the term minuteria adopted by Italian writers on the goldsmith's art for objects in precious materials employed for the adornment of the person, as distinct from grosseria—those fashioned for household use or ornament. ”

“ He then commences the operations belonging to his department or art; which is to arrange, display, and set the gems so as to produce the best effect, and present the most striking and captivating appearance, according to the nature of the ornament required: whether it be an elegant groupe, richly combined, a necklace, an ear-drop, a ring, or a pin. The setting should be as little shewn as possible, for it is by concealing his art that the jeweller displays the gem to the greatest advantage. ”

“ For there, on the white satin, sparkled the most wonderful pair of emerald ear-rings,—each a big, beautiful stone set around with lovely diamonds,—a pair of bracelets set with emeralds all around, two immense emeralds set in rings, and a necklace of the same stones most beautifully matched and finished with a diamond clasp. ”

“ At the opera the more elaborate jewels can be enjoyed from farther away; by most, any one person’s jewels are seen but for a glance or at a distance. But here, there is opportunity to observe the matching of stones or of the balanced jewels in a parure. While one jewel may contain stones of various colors, there should not be such variety from jewel to jewel; to be avoided, for example, are such combinations as a sapphire bracelet with a ruby brooch or an emerald necklace with a turquoise bracelet. And the colors of the jewels, as always, must harmonize with one’s gown and one’s complexion. ”

“ They may be set around a large central diamond; or they may be the center stones, with smaller diamonds of different shapes set around—so that the brilliance of the one and the deep color of the other will interact in a fireplay of beauty. Of course, the stones must be of a color that will harmonize with the gown—in all likelihood, the gown was ordered to harmonize with the chosen gems.
It must be repeated that elaborate jewelry does not mean a quantity of jewels. One brooch, which may be a large rose, will suffice ”

“ Their taste in jewellery is remarkably restrained. The rich wear silver or gold buttons in their ears. Of the poorer classes some confine their personal embellishment to copper nails and others wear a plait made of coloured threads which falls over their shoulders. We sometimes noticed bracelets on the wrists of some of the girls. This ornament serves to remind its wearer of the temporary vow of chastity which she has taken to guard her against some danger or cure an illness. ”

“ It is urged against them that they are crude, incomplete and imperfect in execution. The truth is, these two artists—whom I bring into conjunction, although their work is dissimilar, save from their common regard for freedom in the use of materials—have, above all, a love for natural forms. Out of a flower, a piece of seaweed, or any humble motif, vegetable or animal, they construct jewels in gold or oxidised silver, discreetly relieved by stones, which, if of no great intrinsic value, are nevertheless highly decorative. ”

“ The abundance of gold in the country was amply testified by the fact that all adorned themselves more or less with ornaments, such as belts, bracelets, armlets, or necklaces, made of the metal, many of the women wearing, in addition, small plaques or bosses of hammered gold stitched to the hems of their dresses, while others wore a kind of coronet, formed of hammered or chiselled gold, in their hair. ”

“ To note, analyse, and value these jewels and compare them with their own; at times to smile in triumph, or enviously, or really bitterly, according as their own jewels succeeded in being superior, equal, inferior, or very inferior to the others. Their eyes seemed not to rest on the pearl necklaces, on the rivières of diamonds, the diadems of pearls and diamonds, the emerald solitaires, and the ruby sprays. ”

“ The beads were of various forms, sometimes round or oval, and at others, rectangular or oblong; besides the stones in general use, such as the emerald, carnelian, agate, lapis lazuli, amethyst, rock-crystal, beryl, jasper and garnet, beads of gold, silver, glass, faience, and even of clay and straw, were employed. To complete the efficacy of the necklace, small images of the gods and of the sacred animals were added as pendants. Even on the mummies and mummy cases such ornaments are painted in imitation of necklaces or collars of precious stones, with flowers, etc., as pendants. ”

“ Gems of various colors may be combined on a single piece, but it is inharmonious to wear two jewels of differently colored stones. Thus a tiara of rubies will clash with a necklace of emeralds; a sapphire bracelet will war against a pair of ruby earclips. The colors may not be at odds, but the jewels instead of blending will vie with one another; the effect will be of discord instead of harmony. Sets of matching jewels enhance one another, and ameliorate the wearer’s measure of beauty. ”

“ These fine compositions, when formed of precious stones, show knots and interlacings for clasps, pendants, and earrings, in which diamonds are fully displayed in rose-cut forms. As models for objects not composed entirely of stones, we find seals, rings, bracelets and chains decorated with ribbons and bows mingled with monograms, and emblems, such as death's-heads. Together with these appear tasteful arrangements for enamel-work in the form of natural flowers of great charm and delicacy. ”

“ While the necklace is the most conspicuous jewel in a woman’s parure, and the earclip does more than any other to make subtle alterations in her appearance, the finger ring is beyond compare the most popular of all jewels. There seems little to be said about the purchase of a ring except that one should select a beautiful jewel, and yet there are many ways in which the ring can not only contribute to the overall effect of the personality but actually beautify the hand. ”

“ The jewelry I made myself, from wooden beads painted the right colour and in the rue de Rivoli I found just the right Egyptian charms and figures of blue earthenware to hang on the necklace. My wig maker could not seem to satisfy me, so I finally took a short-haired black wig, and braided into it one hundred strands, made of lustreless wool. ”

“ At her feet were flaunting daffodils in silver vases, and row on row of blazing candles at various heights. She was covered from throat to waist with superb jewels, strings of pearls, diamonds, and sapphires. Her wrists were laden with bracelets, in her hand she carried a lace pocket handkerchief. ”