Weigh in: Diamonds or pearls?
For me, it’s diamonds. That’s why Jessica’s necklace in my Christian Romantic Suspense, Deadly Intent, is diamonds.
I based Jessica’s necklace on an actual necklace from Tiffany, the Jean Schlumberger “Lynn” necklace. The photo is copyrighted so I can’t post it on my blog, but you can see the necklace online here.
Isn’t it lovely?
Tell me which you prefer, and post pics/links to your favorite jewelry!
Hi Camy—I've loved all your comments you've been making on BLB! (by the way, what an exceptional course!) But I have to say, that I LOVE pearls far more than diamonds, though diamonds are an absolutely marvelous substance. In my mind, pearls are truly a miracle. In my yet unpublished historical fiction novel, The Stone Cutter, one of the minor characters is a wise old Chinese pearl trader named Rongyu Shu, and he gives a rich soliloquy to my protagonist about the wondrous nature of what pearls are. Let me quote the last portion of his explanation—
ReplyDelete"...I believe the truth of the miracle is far more compelling. I believe it is to be found at the very center of what a pearl is. We commonly think of a pearl as an object of consummate beauty—and that is certainly so. But if a costly pearl were split open—and I shudder to imagine that—we would see at its core, something tiny, and unsightly. A grain of sand, a piece of broken shell, perhaps a small parasite. None of these has a beauty or wonder in itself. They are ugly, malignant, destructive. In the normal course of life, these things may invade the protected home of the shellfish. The invaders work themselves in between the shells and into the soft flesh of the animal’s delicate body, producing irritation, disruption, perhaps injury.
“To protect itself from the invader, the animal then begins the miraculous work of containing, isolating the alien contaminant. It uses the same process as for producing its home, its shell. The soft tissue of the animal secretes a substance that becomes the nacre—the crystallized essence of clouds, rainbows, and moonlight. The animal wraps the dark, broken, grit and filth of living in an envelope of the highest form of beauty. Month after month, and year after year, it adds layer upon layer upon layer of nacre, ultimately developing a depth of glowing luster that could never be imagined, if not seen first in a high quality pearl.
“This is certainly a miracle of the highest order. I believe that, somehow, whoever imagined and created all that we know, has enabled this wondrous process to tell us something wonderful about themselves. It must be a picture in miniature of who they are, and what they are about."
So there you have it, Camy. My take (or at least my character's take) on what pearls really are!
Your writing is so beautiful! I love it!
DeleteAnd of course, no discussion of pearls would be complete without at least a mention of the first queen of Italy—Margherita di Savoy, the Queen of Pearls (and yes, Margherita is actually here given name, and means "little pearl" in Italian!). She wore pearls, extravagantly, nearly every day of her life (well, maybe not when she climbed the Alps). She is a simply fascinating character of history that one day, I hope to write a novel about. She loved fast cars, climbed mountains, was the "Princess Diana" of Italy in the 19th century, and even invented the "Margherita" pizza. Hey, you interested in co-authoring a romance about her, down the road? Anyway, here she is— http://gogmsite.net/_Media/1901-published-margherita-2.jpeg
ReplyDeleteThat’s fascinating! Alas, I do not have time for any co-authoring, but I think you should write that book! It would be wonderful!
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