Are Diamonds Still a Girl’s Best Friend? December 23, 1999 – Posted in: Press
Guest Author: TOBINA KAHN
Published: December 23, 1999
Skyline News
In Howard Hawks 1953 film “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” Marilyn Monroe sexily and memorably sings her way to mega stardom with “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.”
Since first seeing the movie and then becoming the vice president of the House of Kahn Estate Jewelers, I have often laughingly remembered that seemingly antiquated refrain so removed from the present.
However, with the approach of the spring season set aside for change and rebirth, I’ve noticed this notion is still alive n our culture. There is no gift more symbolic and valuable than a diamond.
A short while ago, I had the good fortune to meet a very stylish and knowledgeable woman who had made an appointment to visit my office at 919 N. Michigan Ave, for the possible sale of her jewelry. A few minutes into our conversation, I realized she was an expert in and had lived through the “retro period of the 1950s”- the days of Marilyn Monroe, old Hollywood, swing bands, Latin Jazz and mambo in New York. These were also the days when big, bold jewelry was in fashion and every night seemed to be a party.
We spoke at length and I was fascinated by the stories this woman told, when my guest finally turned her thoughts to the present, “I almost regretted it. However, opening a large box she showed me a 1950s diamond brooch. These pieces had been given to her by her late husband and she had not worn them since his death 15 years earlier. The memories, she told ne were too painful.
“It was easier to let these sit in a safe deposit box,” she said “Where memories can be put aside.”
Then one day a friend suggested she take a cruise. After seeing the movie “Titanic,” a cruise did not readily appeal to her, but the ideal of experiencing new cultures and visiting other countries did. With some persuasion from her friends, she decided a trip on the state of the art QE2 was just what she needed.
However, the price tag for this adventure would not be cheap. Her friends planned to help with the cost, but she still needed more.
“My Husband always said that these diamonds would be a girl’s best friend,” She laughed. And rather than dip into her savings or sell some stock, she sold these gifts for an amount of money that would be last beyond a world cruise.
“Selling these had put a new lease on my life.” She said, “I will always have my memories and I can neither enshrine them in a safe deposit box, nor keep them locked away forever. The money from these jewels will be used to enjoy the rest of my life and allow me to experience what I may not have been able to had my husband no left me these.”
After my customer left, I looked at the jewelry perhaps more nostalgically then she did. I know for a fact that that when the QE2 set sail on Jan. 5 for its yearly cruise around the world, she was on board. I am anxiously awaiting a post card.