While these associations may help suggest a gift, they should not be felt as in any way binding. The desire of the woman, the taste of the man, the discovery of a superb jewel in a shop, or a talk with a designer, may any of them shape the decision and the gift. A flower design, as I have said, is always attractive. And if one comes upon a fine one, why wait for an anniversary? Alice looked up in Wonderland to remark that she preferred unbirthday presents to birthday presents, because there could be so many more of them. An unexpected gift can be a bright surprise, and make any day a rich occasion.
The More Solemn Time
A wedding and a christening form occasions when happiness and piety are intertwined. On other religious occasions, the gaiety gives way to solemnity, or is overcome by sadness. At these graver times, there is a concordant change in the selection of jewels.
Audience with the Pope
A telephone call and a friendly word may admit one to a group audience with the Pope. This may be a happy, but it is also an awesome occasion, for the Pope is the avowed divinely appointed supreme authority of the longest-lasting institution in human history, the Roman Catholic Church.
The procedure surrounding such an audience is set down and long established. A woman who enters the audience chamber does not come to be noticed, much less admired; she is there to participate in a service. The solemnity and significance of the occasion make all adornment out of place, with the exception of very simple jewelry of black jet.
In Mourning
At funerals and for visits of condolence, dark clothing should be accompanied by very few if any jewels. It is a gesture of sympathy to the bereaved to come to them unadorned.
In many countries it is the custom for the bereaved to put away all their bright gems and colored jewelry, for the entire period of mourning. Special jewelry is made for the mourning months. This may include a memorial ring in gold, with some token of the beloved dead. Otherwise, the jewelry for this period will be limited to pieces made of black enamel and jet. During the period of semi-mourning, which extends for the second six months, the more unobtrusive colors may be chosen from the jewel chest, and begin to reappear. But a full year will pass, save for most exceptional circumstances, before the bright constellation of jewels again takes the ascendant.