I received a note from the Field Museum yesterday advertising the coming of a new exhibit on gold; and it brought to mind John Huston’s 1948 film ‘Treasure of Sierra Madre’. I’m sure the current speculation in gold was at least in part the impetus for the show; so a few of the lines uttered by the film’s characters may be of interest – particularly as one of them philosophized on prospecting for gold. “Aah,” he said, “gold’s a devilish sort of thing, anyway.” (You promise yourself that you’ll by happy with $25,000 worth) “After months of sweatin’ yourself dizzy, and growin’ short on provisions, and findin’ nothin’, you finally come down to 15,000, then ten. Finally, you say, ‘Lord, let me just find $5,000 worth and I’ll never ask for anythin’ more the rest of my life.’ But I tell you, if you was to make a real strike, you couldn’t be dragged away. Not even the threat of miserable death would keep you from trying to add 10,000 more. Ten, you’d want to get twenty-five; twenty-five you’d want to get fifty; fifty, a hundred. Like roulette. One more turn, you know. Always one more.”

There’s nothing new about ‘gold fever’; and Columbus’ journal makes it clear that he was as obsessed with gold as the paranoid prospectors of ‘Treasure of Sierra Madre’. On December 23, 1492, he wrote, “Our Lord in His Goodness guide me that I may find this gold, I mean their mine, for I have many here who say they know it.” The monarch who financed him, Isabella, was not quite so starry eyed about gold; she was simply interested in negotiable wealth and either by design or accident, pearls topped her list – but I’m getting ahead of the story. In that first blush of discovery Columbus established a colony, La Navidad, on Hispaniola and returned to Spain, a hero, with cotton, some gold and ‘hombres in Dios’ to be baptized – but without pearls. This was the pattern of his next voyage; but in his third voyage he visited the mouth of the Orinoco River and it would undo him.

To his disappointment, he found no gold; but he noticed the natives wearing pearl jewelry in some abundance. Dutifully, he asked where the pearls had been found and they pointed north and west. His sailors, sturdy and pragmatic adventurers, bartered with the ‘Indians’ for pearls to sell on their return to Spain while Columbus ‘talked’. Columbus sailed on; and in honor of the Austrian princess betrothed to the heir to the Spanish throne, named an island off Panama ‘Isla de Margarita’, a name that would haunt him. A revolt (against Columbus) by the colonists of Santo Domingo began to take up his time; and with a head full of politics (and perhaps, still obsessed with gold), he prepared his report to the monarchs, mentioning nothing about pearl fisheries. So it was that ‘innocent’ dispatches and sailors bent on making a killing selling pearls arrived in Spain simultaneously. Of course they did sell them; and of course they made huge profits; and of course, the news got back to Ferdinand and Isabella – who did a slow burn. As they read Columbus’ dispatches, particularly his naming an island Isla de Margarita (Margarita is not only a woman’s name, it was also the common Greco-Latin word for ‘pearl’), they became convinced that the ‘Admiral of the Ocean Sea’ was holding out on them. The revolt was enough a hint of malfeasance for Ferdinand and Isabella to appoint Francisco de Bobadilla a royal commissioner to the New World with powers superseding those they had accorded Columbus. On his arrival in the New World, he had Columbus arrested and returned him to Spain, in chains, for questioning. After a very uncomfortable time, he was able to convince the monarchs of his innocence and returned to the New World in a fourth voyage of exploration; but he had missed the boat. By the time of his death in 1506 wealth had escaped him and the great ‘pearl rush’ was on.

Adventurers flocked to the coast of Venezuela and the Gulf of Panama, soon to be known as the ‘Pearl Coast’, and in each of the 150 years of that pearl rush tens of millions of pearls were brought into the port of Seville. Indeed, the value of the pearls extracted from the pearl coast in that first Spanish century was so great that it exceeded the value of all of the gold and silver mined in the Americas during the same period. Poor Columbus, gold stricken sailor that he was, he failed to realize that when it comes to jewelry (and wealth) gems always outshine gold. Unlike him, Silvio Hidalgo, designer of the eponymous jewelry collection, has come to deeply appreciate the beauty of gems in his most recent, and gem encrusted, offerings of ‘Hidalgo’ stacking rings and earrings. Naturally, as Mr. Hidalgo’s greatest proponents in all ‘Chicagoland’, we’ll be featuring it throughout the autumn; and to kick the season off, we’ve scheduled a huge Hidalgo trunk show for August 13 and 14. Check out the Hidalgo collection on our website, hurstsberwynjewelers.com; then phone us at 708.788.0880 for a show appointment. Don’t miss the boat! We’re Hursts’ Berwyn Jewelers and our pleasure is helping you realize your dreams.

Most modern Americans certainly do value gems; but perhaps we do so in a loss of innocence. That is, while our distant forefathers usually valued gems for their medicinal and spiritual qualities, we, unimaginative drudges that we are, usually value them for only their beauty and rarity. – grouping the medicinal and spiritual qualities of gems with quackery. Fortunately there are some traditionalists, some in traditional India and most assuredly some in modern America, who believe that luck, health, wealth and happiness can be imparted by gems to their owners. Beware, however, that some gems may be more appropriate to you than others.

In the Brihat Samhita, a first century B.C. text on Vedic Astrology, Varaha Mihira attempted an exhaustive study of gems and their astrological affects, determined by each person’s sun sign, moon sign and birth star as well as his or her birth number’s (numerological) affect on the appropriateness of gems for each individual. “Humbug!” you say; but if your birthday is forthcoming, you must read on.

If diamond is one of your ‘good’ gems, Vedic astrology assures that owning one will make the wearer faithful (a good reason to buy diamond jewelry) and lead to increased wealth. If ruby is one of your ‘good’ gems, possessing one will benefit your beauty, preserve you from bad friends and protect your liver (I have some great rubies!). “Pearl?” you ask. Owning them (take a look at ours!) will help you become wealthy, popular and serene; while a ‘good’ emerald (ours our breath-taking) will strengthen your mind and your pocket. Blue sapphire (ours are the blue you dream of), unless you must avoid it, will aid you in defeating your enemies, strengthen your wealth and your physical and mental health. Both yellow sapphire (we’ve got some great ones) and emerald will be beneficial to your health, wealth and psyche. While there may be no Vedic gems you should avoid in your particular sign of the zodiac, Vedic wisdom counsels that you should wear any gem that is not known to be beneficial for a few days to see how it resonates with your well being (provided it’s not damaged, we’ll give you 30 days to bring it back). With that advice (and a little salesmanship), let’s move on to the nitty-gritty of gems and birthdays from now into December.

If you were born between June 22 and July 23, you were born under the (western) sign of the Crab (Cancer). In Vedic Astrology this would mean the gems that will benefit you are diamond, pearl, ruby and yellow sapphire; but you should avoid blue sapphire and emerald. If you were born between July 24 and August 23 you were born under Leo; so your beneficial gems are ruby, emerald, diamond and sardonyx. Virgos, August 24 to September 23. must possess emerald, pearl, diamond and both yellow and blue sapphire for luck, health, wealth and happiness. Libra, September 24 to October 21, follows; and what a treasure trove of gem lore there is for it, oh bountiful Libra. Diamond, pearl and opal are all good for you; and orange colored stones will yield gain without pain. Be careful if you gamble, however, wearing blue gems will benefit those you play against (Could this be part of the problem for ‘Cubby Blue’?). The Vedic advice for Scorpio, those born between October 22 and November 22, is to wear yellow sapphire or topaz to foster pregnancy, ruby if you want to prevail in court and pearls to succeed in college. Vedic advice for our last sign, Sagittarius (November 23 to December 22) is abundant. Don’t wear ruby! It will make you short tempered and reckless; but emerald will help you become famous and prosperous. Any orange colored gem will bring good luck if you seek assistance from government or travel. So those of you with faith in Vedic astrology (or those of you who just like a good story), consider yourself told.

Now if you want to convert some of your old jewelry into new, beneficial, goodies, come see us. Our jewelry collection is particularly strong in beautiful diamonds and we’re willing to talk trade. That is, you can, with a few dollars more, trade in something you aren’t wearing for a piece or two of fine jewelry that will do you some good. Come see us for a free jewelry consultation so that you’ll know whether you want to ‘hold ‘em or fold ‘em. To give you our undivided attention, it will be best if you make an appointment. Just phone us at 708.788.0880; and if you want a look at our jewelry, check out our website, hurstsberwynjewelers.com. You can’t go wrong. We’re Hursts’ Berwyn Jewelers and our greatest pleasure is helping you realize your dreams.

To Recut or Not to Recut? That is the Question.

I hope the shade of William Shakespeare will forgive the license I’ve taken with Hamlet’s soliloquy; but I had to do it simply because of its relevance. While diamonds are, in fact, older than dirt (how does 4 billion years old sound?), cutting them dates only from the early 16th century; and the question of recutting them to enhance their appearance has been a matter of contention ever since.

A few years back, a friend of ours, Maarten de Witte – an internationally known master diamond cutter (from Urbana, Illinois, of all places) – had a private tour of the Smithsonian Institute’s gem collection. In its course, he had occasion to closely inspect the Hope Diamond. Inspection finished, he observed to the Curator, “This is a real ‘hack’ cutting job.” Then he made his offer, “Let me recut it for you.” The museum’s curator was not amused; but Maarten’s position should be examined. The gem’s history, in Maarten’s view, is a fact of its provenance quite separate from its physical details. To be sure, it would not do to cut the diamond (it weighs 45.52 carats) into a multitude of smaller diamonds; but Maarten sees shaving off 4 or 5 carats in the interest of enhancing its sparkle and color as completely in keeping with its history – a view he shares with the late Louis XIV of France.

The diamond that would become the Hope was brought to France, as a cut gem of 115.16 carats, by French merchant-adventurer Jean Baptiste Tavernier. Tavernier described it as a beautiful violet in color and sold it to Louis XIV of France. Louis, thinking that it didn’t have as much sparkle as he would have liked, gave it to the court jeweler (Sieur Pitau) with orders to improve its appearance. The result was a diamond of a little more than 67 carats; but Louis was not real happy with its modified appearance. Fearing, were he to have it recut again, that he’d lose more weight without any gain, Louis left it alone; and it remained, as the “French Blue”, in the Crown Jewels until it was stolen in 1792. To hide its origin, the gem was recut again (into its present configuration) some time between its theft and 1812. As the late 18th/early 19th century recut was done for criminal purposes, Maarten’s offer has some merit in my eyes; but that takes us a bit afield from the most recent recut of a great historic diamond, the Wittlesbach Blue.

It too has a ‘glamourous’ history, albeit of another kind. It came into the hands of Bavaria’s royal family, the Wittelsbachs, in the early 18th century. It remained in their hands until (probably) 1951; but by 1960 it was in the hands of some ‘upstarts’, the Goldmuntz family. In the 1960s they had the temerity to ask jeweler Joseph Komkommer, to re-cut it! He refused on the grounds of its “historical significance” (Maarten, had he been an adult at the time, would have taken umbrage at this). Komkommer, however, did put his money where his mouth was; and with a consortium of diamond dealers, bought it. They resold it to Helmut Horten, a wealthy German department store magnate, in1964.

He’d met an Austrian gal, Heidi Jelinek, in 1960; and though she was 32 years younger than he, proposed marriage. She accepted. They were married July 23, 1966; and the Wittlesbach was his wedding gift to her. He passed away in 1987; but she (at about 68) remains active – and rated by Forbes Magazine as the world’s 224th richest person. Wealth notwithstanding, however, she decided to sell the diamond. So it was that in early December of 2008, the 35.56 carat diamond was sold to London-based jeweler Lawrence Graff (for about $23.4 million). Graff took the gamble and had it recut to enhance its color. It lost not quite 4.5 carats and was proudly renamed the Wittlesbach-Graff. Then the furor began. World renowned diamond cutter Gabriel Tolkowsky called it “the end of culture,” while Professor Hans Ottomeyer, Director of the Deutsches Historisches Museum of Berlin, compared the recut to overpainting a Rembrandt. Maarten, of course, approved. The recut had improved its color and clarity.

Does the romance intrinsic to any particular diamond change when you recut it in the name of beauty? I’m afraid I’m with Maarten here; I think not. So if you have a diamond that can have its appearance improved, bring it in. We’ll take grandma’s diamond (you wouldn’t wear her wedding dress without alterations, would you?) and let Maarten make it a gem of rare beauty. He can work miracles on most diamonds – except one (just one!) I took in trade – so do come see us. Check out our website, hurstsberwynjewelers.com, then phone 708.788.0880 for an appointment. We’re Hursts’ Berwyn Jewelers; and our pleasure is helping you realize your dreams.

I’d love to have one! Unfortunately, humanity’s long desire to predict the future is not within my grasp; and despite the huxters urging you to buy gold or sell gold based on some ‘predictable’ future, their knowledge of the future is as severely limited as mine. So let’s see what seem to me to be reasonable guesses.

Precious metals, as a class, really owe their historic value to their common characteristics and their relative rarity. They do not readily oxidize, so they can be melted and easily used over and over again (most experts think that a large percentage of the gold currently in circulation was mined before the birth of Christ). Secondly, they are generally malleable; and when you combine their resistance to oxidation with their malleability they’re great for jewelry and coinage. So for thousands of years these unique metals have been attractive to the world’s wealthy – this despite its relative lack of any practical utility. Naturally, this conflict between price and value has led some to be skeptical; and last night an old friend and a client said of gold’s current price, “It’s a bubble, isn’t it?” I readily agreed.

Gold’s use in industry; that is, its practical use, is limited to about 20% of annual production, obviously, that leaves 80% to be used in jewelry or to be hoarded. For centuries India’s farmers have been the biggest consumer of gold for both purposes. They have bought gold when times have been good and sold it to meet their needs for survival when times have been poor. Their gold was usually turned into jewelry (most often of crude design and manufacture), but the purpose of this was two-fold. While serving as a visible sign of wealth, first and foremost, as jewelry, the family’s savings could be under constant surveillance. Naturally, the law of supply and demand applied; so when they wanted to buy gold, its price was usually high and when they wanted to sell it, it was usually low – just like any other commodity. And throughout it all, the price of gold was ‘invisibly’ connected to its demand by the wealthy.

Currently, you can largely count India out of the equation. When the price of gold exceeded $800/ounce Indian gold consumption contracted; and as gold has passed through ever higher milestones to today’s $1200/ounce, plus, that contraction has continued, as it did elsewhere. In the U.S. in 2009 and 2008 the price paid for all gold jewelry was roughly the same; but the actual amount of gold sold as jewelry was considerably less. This was repeated throughout most of the industrialized world; so much so that one might say that jewelry demand for gold has been so sharply curtailed as to be tantamount to a collapse. Inevitably, this points to speculation in the price of gold as the major force driving its rise in price. Equally as inevitable is my first guess. It is that the price of gold will collapse to somewhere between $750/ounce and $900/ounce as soon as the general level of investor confidence has improved. The same may not be said of platinum and diamonds.

Unlike the price of gold, that of platinum nosedived with the economic meltdown. Why you ask? The answer is simple; its price is driven by the automobile business – in normal times it uses more than half of the world’s annual production of platinum in catalytic converters. As the automobile business soured, industrial demand for platinum declined greatly. This year, as the U.S. automobile business has been on the rebound and, significantly, as China has passed the U.S. as the world’s number one market for cars, the price of platinum has climbed by about 25% over its recent market low. Currently, I think that at a little over $1500/ounce, its utility is so great that it’s still undervalued. Incidentally, it’s a superb jewelry metal; but price constraints limit jewelry consumption to about 25% of annual production. Diamonds? Chinese demand for diamonds and the absence of any recent diamond finds to offset that demand has caused DeBeers to ‘ration’ its diamond production into the foreseeable future – and the company has said it will increase prices for its rough material by 5% in each of the next three years. My crystal ball says buy platinum and diamonds now; it’s not likely that they’ll be cheaper in the near term.

I can’t tell you whether today’s buyers of gold are ‘the peasants’ or ‘the wealthy’; but last week I spoke with a designer who participated in a jewelry auction limited to shareholders in a very prestigious mutual fund. His conclusion, the wealthy are buying fine jewelry; so with prices for diamonds and platinum as good as they’ll get into the foreseeable future, perhaps you should consider a platinum and diamond purchase – particularly as a celebration of life. Celebrate your anniversary or a birthday with a diamond gift; and don’t wait for one of those ‘big’ numbers. Life isn’t certain; so when your feelings are, spell them out with a beautiful statement of your love. Naturally, feeling as we do about the beauty that is part of our humanity, we won’t sell you a diamond that is a disappointment. We’ll only sell you something that says ‘I love you’ as perfectly as the spoken word. Check out our website, particularly the collections; it’s hurstsberwynjewelers.com. Now call us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment. We’re Hursts’ Berwyn Jewelers; and we’ll help you realize your dreams.

While at jewelry trade shows in Las Vegas last week, our Kathy was fortunate enough to attend a round table that included Kathy Rose. If you’ve heard of her, I’ll bet it was in connection with Bravo Television’s fashion reality show ‘Launch My Line’. If you’re not familiar with her name, let me tell you a bit about the show and her.

The premise of the first nine week installment of ‘Launch My Line’ was that, with proper guidance, a professional person from outside the field of women’s fashion could demonstrate enough imagination and skill to create a successful line of women’s clothing. The winner would be rewarded with a big chunk of cash to start his or her new business – launch his or her line. To help them deal with any technical deficiencies, each of the ten contestants was partnered with a professional fashion designer – in Kathy Rose’s case, Emil Gampe (of EMIL Couture); but the designs were all theirs. Ms. Rose’s inspirations were mixed, with influences from animals (both land and sea), Native American culture and the palate of colors open to her. With it all, however, she insisted that jewelry and attire had to synchronize with one another; and she was successful – and her use of jewelry, helped bring her to that jewelry forum in Las Vegas.

In fact, as a former partner in a now closed Los Angeles boutique, Ms. Rose’s background had been in jewelry; and it was this background that impelled her into the contest. “Cuts on clothing,” she allowed, “never take jewelry into consideration.” In her perception, jewelry “stars” in the daily drama of “what shall I wear?” In Ms. Rose’s words, “(speaking of jewelry) I want it to surround and protect and lead.” To this end, her necklines were open and often deeply “Veed”, the better to showcase a pendant or necklace; and of course, to showcase bracelets, wrists were never covered. Judges called her work “cohesive” and “totally wearable.” There, of course, is the nugget of information that you might profit from.

It seems imperative that the core of your jewelry collection should be purchased strategically. That is, jewelry that you may only visit is much less enjoyable to own than jewelry that can be worn often; so your jewelry purchases should be considered from the standpoint of how they will work with one another and with the clothing you wear. In a word, you will want a “cohesive” look; and without verbalizing it, Kathy Rose has said that jewelry is, or should be, the durable part of your wardrobe. This certainly makes sense to one who knows the jewelry business; and while there are basics to consider – diamond studs, pendants and bracelets – it doesn’t exclude fashion. With one proviso, nothing is so forgiving of personal idiosyncrasies as jewelry.

The proviso? It’s a variation on what the late Duke Ellington once said of music – “If it sounds good, it is good.” In jewelry the question is really that of whether or not you love it; it is so durable that “like it” is not enough. In a practical sense this means that the pendant you love, but only wear occasionally because the chain is wrong (too long or too short) for most of your clothes, needs a different attachment. This would be a simple, and often inexpensive, addition to your jewelry wardrobe that would allow it to go places currently denied it. This also means that the diamond ring you don’t wear should be restyled. The rub, of course, is that doing this will not be cheap; so it should only be done when you know your diamonds will be showcased in something you see as beautiful. That piece of fine jewelry you find to be homely and without sentimental meaning? Trade it in for something that you will wear and enjoy. It’s not a matter of money, it is a matter of value. After all, what value is there in a piece of jewelry you won’t wear?

Of course, that brings us to the jewelry we sell. We won’t buy gold ‘over the counter’; but we will let you trade it against the purchase of new jewelry. We don’t buy diamonds ‘over the counter’; but provided that we can use them, we will take them in trade against more expensive diamonds. If you have a homely diamond with sentimental value, we can tell you whether or not it is the cut that’s the problem. If it is, one of our friends is an internationally known master diamond cutter; and his shop can make it sparkle. Restyle your diamond? We do that sort of thing every week – to rave reviews, I might add. Advice on what to do to enhance the wearability of your jewelry? It’s free. If it’s fine jewelry, we do it; so check us out on line at hurstsberwynjewelers.com, then phone us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment. We’re Hursts’ Berwyn Jewelers and we’ll help you realize your dreams.

I know it may seem hard to conceive of jewelry as a simple gift; and in some ways it’s not. On the other hand, the best of jewelry gifts usually signify love, a simple gift we gladly give to others. Take, for instance, the following story.

Back in February one of our long time customers came in to the store, greeted me, and after a little social discourse, revealed his purpose. He wanted to celebrate the tenth anniversary of his marriage by “upgrading” the center diamond in her engagement ring. As the beneficiary of long experience, I said, “I wouldn’t do that without checking with her first.”

Somewhat perplexed, he asked, “Why not?” I responded that she may well have strong sentiments attached to it. He acknowledged that he’d not thought of that; and after a little more conversation, he left. A week later he returned, saying, “You were right. She doesn’t want a new diamond; so what do we do now?” At this point I offered my analysis of the problem. He wanted to make a vivid statement of the success of his marriage, his love for his wife and his personal economic success. He had no inhibitions about an obvious display, she was more modest. In this light, I suggested that (as she did not have a matching wedding ring) I could make a wedding ring ‘jacket’ for the ring that would meet his need for a statement while not offending her sentiments. Intelligent and shrewd man that he is, he said, “I think you’d better talk to her about it.” That was a lot harder than it sounded. Business soon put them into Phoenix for a month or so; and this meant that I had to carry on my interview with her over the phone and via e-mail.

In the initial interview she made it clear that she didn’t want something that was ‘flashy’ – too ‘blingy’. In response, I asked her what kinds of things she thought were beautiful. She responded, “Flowers.” I then asked her if it were possible for her to e-mail me a picture of her ring next to a ruler (I’d not seen it in years) so that I might prepare some sketches for her. A day or so later a shaky (she’d done her best with what she had) cell phone camera picture arrived in my e-mail. From it I was able to get an idea of the general character of her engagement ring and (roughly) the sizes of the gems with which it was set. I submitted three rough sketches to her and she picked one, a pair of wedding rings set with teardrop shaped diamonds that would snug up to her round center diamond in a floral arrangement. I then suggested that we use some natural yellow diamonds in the arrangement to ‘soften’ it and add interest to it. After some thought, she agreed; and I knew at this point that I’d nailed her husband’s desire for a statement piece. Now the questions were that of assembling the diamonds, agreeing (with the designer who would execute the job) on the details of the design and doing it all in such a way that her appreciation of beauty would triumph over her her natural modesty (the ring I had envisioned would extend over a good 3/4ths of an inch down her finger) . Glarch!

The first problem was assembling the fancy yellow diamonds in the size I needed; and with a huge jewelry show going on in Hong Kong at the time, most of them were there. I persevered and managed to get a lovely suite of four matched fancy yellow teardrops with less trouble (it only took 10 days) than I’d imagined. The two larger ‘colorless’ diamond teardrops were harder. While this may seem odd to you, the fact was that they not only had to match one another in over all appearance, they also had to match her center diamond well enough for a critical eye to see the three as a seamless continuity. More perseverance was called for, but I was finally able to assemble diamonds I could be proud of. So the next step was the designer.

To my dismay, the designer (a charming man and an artist) was in the process of getting married (to a very nice woman, I might add)! This slowed the whole thing down. Then my client’s father became ill! (How easy is it to celebrate when a close member of the family is grievously ill?) Thankfully, the designer, after a false start, put together the ring I’d imagined and sketched; and the client’s father got better. So I delivered the ring a week ago. He was delighted with the ‘statement’; she was stunned at the sheer display. But it was (and is) beautiful; and its beauty swept all doubts before it. They left happy and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Some simple gifts are simple for the giver, but not always simple for those who labor to produce them. Nonetheless, I derived great personal pleasure from the ‘exercise’. It was, and is, jewelry that can travel proudly into any company; and this is as it should be. This is why we celebrate Hearts On Fire diamonds and offer them to you as simple – and stunningly beautiful – gifts to celebrate your love. Check out our website, hurstsberwynjewelers.com; then call us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment that will start us, and you, on our next great adventure in romance. We’re’ Hursts’ Berwyn Jewelers; and we have the stuff of dreams waiting here for you.

As you may recall, Edward, Prince of Wales, abdicated the throne of the British Empire to marry a divorced American, Wallis Warfield Simpson. It rocked Britain in the 1930s; and as recently as November of last year, news about Edward – claiming that he had sought to deny Elizabeth II the throne – made the British press. A, perhaps, more interesting story, however, emerged in 1987 when Sotheby’s sold jewelry belonging to Edward and Wallis – the Duke and Duchess of Windsor – at auction.

The Duke had died in 1972, but it took another fourteen years for the Duchess to expire. Childless, or at least apparently so, the Duchess’ will left the proceeds of her jewelry collection to the Pasteur Institute in Paris. Since that time several books about famous jewelry collections or the Windsors have included descriptions of her jewelry and a couple of books on her collection, alone, were published shortly after her death. While most of the jewelry was remarkable for ‘the Windsor Style’ one rather humble piece, a charm necklace, has sparked a ‘conspiracy theory’. Ironically, it was purchased by Mohamed Abdel Moneim Al-Fayed, an Egyptian businessman and father of Dodi Fayed, killed in the same automobile accident that took the life of Princess Diana. There are twelve charms on it, and the theorists contend that at least four of them are sentimental mementos of the Duke’s child by Wallis. As with all such ‘conspiracy’ theories, it rests on strictly circumstantial evidence; but for what it’s worth, the charms and the interpretations placed on them follow.

Chronologically, the first is a simple plate with a red enamel numeral ‘3’ on its front and on it’s obverse, three dates – 9/4/34 March 12th,1934 and 14/5/34. The conspiracy theorists see the ‘3’ as symbolic of Wallis’s putative pregnancy and the dates (remember, they were Europeans, so the first number is that of the day of the month) they see as veiled references to significant dates in their relationship and her ‘pregnancy’. The second is a hinged notebook engraved and enameled on the inside with the (then) Prince of Wales initials. It is dated: June 1934 1st-4th; and the theorists insist that the Duke had given it to Wallis in memory of her stay in a hospital giving birth. The third is a heavy, oval charm reading ‘OK’ while it’s reverse side is engraved ‘I doo too July’. The conspiracy theorists see this as a reference to ‘the baby’; but it beats me how that connection was made. Finally, the fourth charm is a locket dated “April ’35”. The inside of the locket, insist the theorists, is a ‘hair compartment’ (designed to hold a lock of hair and common in 19th century England); and it is engraved ‘Wallis-David’. In fact, this charm is connected to a bit of ‘provenance’ – at least it is if you subscribe to the conspiracy theory. It is, the theorists insist, a ‘coded’ reference to Wallis being a mother (the ‘real’ message hidden in the form of underlined letters). Pay attention, here, the point of all of this analysis of the meaning of the Duchess’ jewelry, of course, leads to a question, “What happened to the baby?”

Secret British files opened in 2003 revealed that the romance between King Edward VIII and Wallace Warfield Simpson had been closely monitored by detectives from police ‘Special Branch’, who, incidentally, reported that she was two-timing Edward with another man. The revelation that there had been secret government behavior set the theorists off and running (What would a conspiracy theory be without secret agents?). Wallis and Edward, they insist, were told that their child had died at birth. Unbeknownst to Wallis and Edward (conspiracy theorists always have a lot of ‘unbeknownsts’), however, their child, a daughter, had been spirited away by the British Government and given a new identity in – of all places – Marietta, Ohio. Now, I’ll leave all further investigation of this conspiracy theory and any questions about the fate of ‘ Elizabeth Marie Francis’ to you.

Rather than secret messages and dark stories, the best of our contemporary romances are played out in the open; and while jewelry does play a part, it is joyously above board. Hence the beauty of the Hearts On Fire diamond. It is the world’s most perfectly cut diamond; and that means that its beauty is simply without peer. No diamond equals it; so when you give it as a gift it very obviously carries with it the most joyous of messages – “I love you and I want everyone to know it!” Check out our Hearts On Fire collection on line at hurstsberwynjewelers.com; then phone us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment to select the very most perfect diamond for the love of your life. We’re Hursts’ Berwyn Jewelers and we’ll help you realize your most beautiful dreams (even if we don’t have any ‘black helicopters’ at our disposal).

I’m not sure what a guy nearly 84 years old has to do with jewelry, other than the fact that we have (on short term consignment) a pair of 14 karat gold cuff links Tony gave to Bob Hope as a “thank you” gift. It was in recognition of the huge lift Hope had given his career.

Born in 1926, (in Queens, New York City) Anthony Benedetto’s early life was not easy. His dad, an Italian immigrant, died after a long illness when he was 10 years old, leaving behind an impoverished widow, Tony and two other children. In 1942, and unsurprisingly in an America at war and short of labor, he dropped out of high school to help support his family. Working a day job as a copy boy and runner for the New York office of the Associated Press, he also made a modest beginning of his career in music working evenings as a singing waiter in several Italian restaurants. In November, 1944, World War II intervened more directly in Tony’s life.

Like many an 18 year old, he was drafted, given a very brief basic training and shipped off to Europe as an infantry rifleman – an experience that was in many ways formative. He arrived in France in January, 1945, and was assigned to the 255th Infantry Regiment of the 63rd Infantry Division. It was destined to go into combat in March, for combat infantryman Tony an experience he later described as a “front-row seat in hell.” It was house to house fighting until the German Army finally collapsed; and it so impressed Tony that he later wrote, “Anybody who thinks that war is romantic obviously hasn’t gone through one.” But peace finally came and Tony became part of the American Army of Occupation. This too was formative.

He became an entertainer again, this time without carrying a tray of chicken vesuvio. As part of a pick-up Special Services band he entertained nearby American forces – until he broke a taboo. In 1945 the U.S. Army was segregated; and his innocent dinner with a black friend from high school took him out of entertainment. He was demoted and reassigned to Graves Registration Service duties. The assignment didn’t last forever, however; and he subsequently sang with the Army again (as “Joe Bari”), working with several musicians who would enjoy successful careers in post war America.

Between his war-time experience (his regiment liberated a Nazi concentration camp) and his first hand look at racism, he matured as an open hearted adult. In 1965 he participated in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches; and later he refused to perform in apartheid South Africa – but that’s getting ahead of the story.

Out of the Army and back in New York, he studied bel canto singing (the discipline would prove to keep his voice intact to this day) and supported himself, again, singing with a tray of food in his hand. In 1949 he had two “breaks.” Pearl Bailey heard him sing and asked him to open for her at her next appearance in New York. Then she invited Bob Hope to the performance. Hope was impressed, but didn’t like his stage name. “What’s your real name?” he asked. When Tony replied, “Anthony Dominick Benedetto” Hope said “Let’s Americanize you and call you Tony Bennett.” Tony took the suggestion; Hope took him on a tour; and this led (in 1950) to a recording contract with Columbia Records. Beginning 1951 with “Because of You” (it sold more than a million copies), he became a solid part of the American pop music scene until the “Beatles” arrived in 1964. His career declined after that; and like many who have known success in entertainment, his life bottomed out as well – until (in 1980) his son, Danny, took over as his manager. By the mid-80s Danny was making sure that Tony was being heard again; and after Tony’s appearances on David Letterman and other late night shows his career again took off with “Grammys” back to back in 1992, ’93 and ’94. At 68 Tony was back and continues to perform to this day.

Now about those cuff links; we have them until 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 13, 2010. They are 14 Karat yellow gold; and Tony gave them to Bob (as a thank you for the big break Hope had given him) when “Because of You” went gold. Appropriately, each is round and resembles a record; and even more appropriately, Tony had each front engraved “Because of You”. It’s a great sentiment and coupled with the message engraved on the back of each, “To Bob Hope from Tony Bennett”, it says it all. Come in and see them because they’re what jewelry is all about, emotion. Nothing can say it better nor so permanently.

Naturally, when you’re in the market for a diamond it should be Hearts On Fire; as the world’s most perfectly cut diamond – and a raving beauty as a result – no other diamond can say “I love you” so perfectly. Check us out on line at hurstsberwynjewelers.com; then phone us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment to select the perfect gift. We’re Hursts’ Berwyn Jewelers and we have the stuff of dreams waiting for you.

More than century ago Mark Twain quipped that “It is every man’s secret ambition to be able to outsmart fish and women.” In acknowledging that men and women, though sharing a common language, are often separated by (for men, anyway) a gulf in understanding, his wording was classic; but the idea was far from original, as demonstrated by Donizetti’s 1832 opera, “L’Elisir D’Amore” (currently running at the Lyric through February 22). In brief, Nemorino was smitten by Adina (wonderfully played, respectively, by Giuseppe Filianoti and Nicole Cabell) to the point of seeming the simpleton. Coquette that she was, she ignored him (women will probably understand why, but I don’t); so when “Doctor Dulcamara” came to town with his medicine show, Nemorino saw him as a godsend. The old con-artist claimed the nostrum he was hawking would cure a multitude of illnesses, improve complexions, remove wrinkles and more; but that’s not what Nemorino sought. He wanted a love potion so that he might win the distant Adina; and with a sucker on the line, Dulcamara provided one. The story developed from there. Nemorino remained gullible; a rival complicated his problem; and the alcoholic nature of the nostrum didn’t make it any better. Adina, however, got the point of Nemorino’s antics, decided she loved the twit, anyway, and all ended happily. As Kathy and I watched the opera unfold the other night, it was clear that both genders loved it, but I wondered. I know from experience that sometimes the elixir of love isn’t so exotic that it need be provided by a charlatan; sometimes it can be as simple as ice-cream.

A few years ago Kathy and I were driving along; and as we passed a strip mall she asked (out of a clear blue sky), “Do you want an ice cream cone?” In complete innocence, I replied, “No,” and continued driving. To my fulsome bewilderment, within a very few moments her face clouded over and it was clear to me that she was put out. Naturally, I asked what might be bothering her. “Nothing! (the exclamation point is illustrative)” she replied. To be honest, I was so obtuse (my Nemorino to her Adina) that she had to explain (after she’d settled down a bit) that she had espied an ice cream store in the mall we had driven by and SHE wanted an ice cream cone. In this case, the ice-cream cone (ignored) may well have been the elixir of love; but in my defense, a guy would have said, “Hey! How about an ice cream cone?” ‘Hey!’ while neither ladylike nor gentile, would have gotten my Chicago born and bred masculine attention, thus setting me up for the all important question, “How about an ice cream cone.” I confess that even with the question brought to my attention, I might have failed in the communication; but I’d have had, at least, a fighting chance at understanding the real demand for an ice cream cone. Needless to say, therefore, it is my conviction that both Donizetti and Twain had found themselves in similar circumstances – and one wrote a comic opera. Others, men and women, have entered (on line at hurstsberwynjewelers.com) our February love story contest. If you check them out, you’ll see that even there gender differences in communication are obvious.

One entry, in particular, is a paradigm of masculinity. In brief, “The Story: So before we were married my wife dated the founder of” (an on-line match making service). “As a joke he put her profile online; they used to joke about the losers that would email her. Then I came along, wrote romantic and clever emails. She dumped him and married me!” Forty words or so and that was it. Needless to say, other stories in our contest have been much longer and some have struggled to meet to meet our 200 word limit. In varying degrees, however, they reflect our times and are worth a read (on our website) and, after Valentine’s Day, a vote. The voter’s favorite (at the end of February) will win a $500 gift certificate and each story submitted will reward the writer (only 1 to a person!) with a $50 gift certificate. So tell us your love story.

While not the elixir of love, the happy statement punctuating many a love story is an eternal diamond in an engagement or a diamond anniversary ring; and in its perfect beauty, Hearts On Fire is the perfect diamond to make that punctuation. While other diamonds merit only a “.” (reflected in her saying, “that’s nice”), Hearts On Fire always earns a “!” (reflected in her gasp of pleasure and tears of joy). No other diamond is cut to the perfection of the Hearts On Fire, the source of its blinding beauty; so no other diamond can say, “I love you” as beautifully and completely as the Hearts On Fire – and you won’t have to speak a word. Check out our Hearts On Fire collection on line at hurstsberwynjewelers.com; then phone us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment to select the very best diamond there is for the perfect person in your life. We’re Hursts’ Berwyn Jewelers and we have the stuff of dreams waiting here for you.

As a reader of this column you are unquestionably alert to the fact that our English language is constantly in flux. Nonetheless, I was somewhat taken aback the other day to hear “redact” (an anglicization of the past participle, “redactus”, of the Latin verb “redigere” – meaning to collect or drive back) used in place of the English “edit”. Of course this may be excused, as edit is a relatively new word in English dating from the early 1700s, a back formation from “editor”. The origin of “editor”, however, poses a problem or two as well. It dates from 1649 as a description of someone who manages (including making policy) a publication of some form – at the time, usually a periodical. Like the more contemporary in jargon, “redact”, its origin is Latin as well; and in some sense, a more “poetic” word, being derived from the Latin “editus” meaning of places lofty or elevated. Can’t you just see the editor of a 17th century publication sitting at a high desk overlooking the desks of those lesser mortals, the writers? With that said, I don’t know whether it is better to say that I’m about to give you an edited or a redacted view of Valentine’s Day; but for better or worse (that’s not an original locution on my part), here it is.

The good news, if you’re religious, is that our February 14th recognition of Valentine’s Day was initiated as the Feast of St. Valentine. This commemorates the Saint Valentine (in Latin, Valentius) who was buried north of Rome next to the Via Flaminia, the most important route from Rome to the north; but that’s all we know about him. In fact, we’re not even sure whether the feast is in honor of one man or many. Saint Valentine did not appear in the A.D. 354 list of Roman martyrs usually known as the “Chronography of 354” or the “Calendar of 354”, but interestingly enough, the list was written for a well to do Christian Roman named Valentius. Whether or not there is a connection between the Chronography’s patron and the saint is unknowable since the feast was not established until A.D. 496. In that year Pope Gelasius I, somewhat ambiguously, proclaimed the feast citing Valentine to be among those “… whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God.” That ambiguity led to some problems for Saint Valentine.

In the Catholic Church’s 1969 revision of the calendar of saints, Valentine was omitted from liturgical commemoration, though he remained among the list of saints proposed for veneration. It would seem that the ambiguity of Gelasius’s proclamation made it likely that he knew nothing about Valentine, not even whether the name applied to one martyr or many. Retrospectively, Gelasius’s ambiguity stemmed from the lack of a clear and unequivocal written record and from the fact that there was a super abundance of men named “Valentius” (it was derivative of “valens”, meaning worthy) in the late Roman Empire. So how did Saint Valentine become associated with Romance? A vigorous redaction follows.

In 1382, to commemorate the first anniversary of Richard II’s engagement to Anne of Bohemia, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote (in Middle English) “Parlement of Foules”; and in it he cited “Volantynys Day”, a day “ Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make”, as the engagement’s date. Obviously, this established “Valentine’s” connection to romantic love; but since the engagement was May 2, not without a problem for February 14 as Valentine’s Day. An explanation may be found in the fact that May 2 was the feast day for Valentine of Genoa, an early bishop of Genoa who died around A.D. 307. The conflation is both understandable and obvious, a Valentine is still a Valentine; and maybe Pope Gelasius deliberately helped establish the connection between romance and Valentine in his choice of February 14 for the Feast of St. Valentine. The date coincided with ancient Rome’s Lupercalia, a very popular festival devoted to fertility; and Pope Gelasius abolished it. Whether it was his intent to supplant a celebration of the physical with a celebration of the spiritual or to co-opt the celebration as it was in the hope of “Christianizing” it is unknowable; but between Gelasius, Chaucer and the romantic 19th century we have Valentine’s Day as we now know it. One last word.
We’re putting together a love story contest; so keep checking our website, hurstsberwynjewelers.com, and our Facebook account for details to appear.

Diamonds are so ancient (more than 3 billion years old!) that their very existence is a statement of durability. They’re the “forever” gift; so shouldn’t it be perfect? Think about it. There is no better way to say “I love you” than with the most beautiful diamond there is – the perfectly cut Hearts On Fire. So this Valentine’s Day, or for a birthday or anniversary, or just because, there can only be Hearts On Fire. Check out our Hearts On Fire collection on line at hurstsberwynjewelers.com; then phone us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment to select the perfect gift. We’re Hursts’ Berwyn Jewelers; and we have the stuff of dreams waiting here for you.