Jewelry has always sparked the imagination and fancy of people. A new book by Aja Raden called “Stoned” explores several noteworthy pieces that have, quite literally, changed the world. Each of them has a story to tell. Here are a few to get your imagination going.
Mary's Diamond
The New York Post noted that Mary's Diamond could be the very reason diamonds hold such a high place in human regard. Princess Mary of Burgundy is the first person to ever receive an engagement ring and it is by her example that diamond company De Beers, 3 centuries after Mary's time, spun the spectacle into a global phenomenon.
Mary's diamond is an M-shaped ring with diamonds all around. It was presented to her by the Archduke Maximillian who would later become the Holy Roman Emperor. The ring, apparently, was made to impress Mary's father using the latest diamond cutting technology at the time. This was in Bruges, a region Maximillian owned.
De Beers, in a few words, used marketing by agency N.W. Ayer and Son to make sure this love story would capture the hearts and wallets of couples from all over. With a tag line “a diamond is forever,” De Beers' monopoly of the not-so-rare diamond was sealed.
Elizabeth's Pearl
La Peregrina or “The Wanderer” is arguably the world's most famous pearl. It was once owned by Elizabeth Taylor as a Valentine's gift from Richard Burton. Raden describes it as a “perfectly pear shaped natural white pearl.”
La Peregrina, however, used to be the stuff of war. Previously owned by Mary of England as a gift from King Philip of Spain to make her agree to marry him, it projected a message of wealth, power, and global dominance.
When Mary the virgin queen died, Philip quickly proposed to her despised younger sister Elizabeth I. She refused the marriage but wanted La Peregrina, something which Philip naturally did not give. When this happened, pirates pillaged Spanish ships and Elizabeth turned a blind eye. Infuriated, Philip sent the Spanish Armada to take England. The fall of the Spanish navy ushered in England's Golden Age.
Mikimoto Pearls
Japan grew to global dominance from an isolationist power to World War II power in just 50 years. This was, in very large part, due to the fact that Japan was the world's sole exporter of perfectly round pearls.
Koichi Mikimoto, a noodle maker, perfected the oyster seeding with a smaller pearl to form the perfectly round pearls that have now become world-famous. In 1916 these were patented as “cultured” pearls.
The Mikimoto pearls were a way to enrich the nation as well as project Japanese heritage into the mainstream of the world. Japan maintained their national integrity and, as Raden puts it, a “seat at the international table.”