The Jewelry Lover’s Guide to Literature

Posted by Sarah Fox

[Still from The Great Gatsby 2013, Warner Bros.] 

Do you with agree with Marilyn Monroe that a diamond is a girl’s best friend but ALSO agree that a book is a girl's best friend? Do you look at jewelry on Pinterest in-between chapters of The Great Gatsby?  Do you often imagine what Marvolo Gaunt's ring would look like on your finger (minus the Horcrux)? Imagine us as your literary jewelry Pinterest page, all rolled up in a blog post just for you.

 

The Diamond Necklace from “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant

Do you yearn for a cheap necklace that everyone will think is super expensive? Well, if you dream of the best faux necklace, read Maupassant’s short story.  When Mathilde goes to a fancy ball, she borrows her friend’s diamond necklace. She accidentally loses it, and her family goes into deep debt to buy a new one, all so that the friend doesn’t know about the loss. She later finds out that the necklace was not real; it was made of paste. We say that is a costume jewelry goal. 

 

The Amethyst Brooch from Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Do you want a brooch that is worth ruining a picnic for? Anne will tell you that Marilla’s brooch is worth it. When she sees how much prettier amethysts are than diamonds, she tries on Marilla’s amethyst brooch. Unfortunately, the brooch goes missing right after the incident. Marilla assumes Anne lost it and forbids her to go to the picnic. Fortunately for Anne, Marilla accidentally left the brooch on her shawl, and all is well.

 

The Diamond from “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz” by F. Scott Fitzgerald

We bet you yearn for mountains of diamonds, but what about a mountain that IS a diamond? The Washington family owns a mountain that is a giant diamond. To maintain the value of diamonds (you don’t want to flood the market), they mine a few every year and sell them. The problem? The family has to do really unethical things like keep slaves and kill people to maintain this operation. While the idea of a giant diamond is appealing, it is not worth the abhorrent practices to profit from it.

 

Pearl Necklace from “The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan" by Agatha Christie

This pearl necklace makes an entire hotel staff green with envy. Mrs. Opalsen’s pearl necklace is so valuable that the hotel valet and chambermaid work together to steal it. We're not going to lie—we would love to have a necklace that's the center of a mystery and gets the attention of a world-famous detective.

 

The Ring from Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Forget about a huge rock that will only serve as a status symbol. We are all about the One Ring. It can make you disappear, but there is one major problem: it is pretty addictive. We all are about bling, but we are not so much into clutching it and calling it “my precious.” We only recommend this ring for those who are strong. And have really awesome friends.

Sarah Fox

Sarah Fox

Sarah Fox is an editor, writer, writing consultant, and pop culture enthusiast. Besides regularly contributing to Quirk Books’ blog, she has published an edition of William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. She lives in Washington D.C. with her husband and Pembroke Welsh Corgi. You can find her online at www.thebookishfox.com.