necklace

According to no less an authority than Napoleon Bonaparte, the events related in "The Affair of the Necklace," a new movie directed by Charles Shyer, were among the main causes of the French Revolution. You will have to take Napoleon's word for it, since this swooshy, bejewelled period melodrama sheds precious little light on the political history of France. This in itself need not be a major failing, since movies set in the 18th century have much to offer besides historical instruction -- women in tight bodices, men in wigs, and elegantly turned-out people.When a breathless Castle McLaughlin called last week to say she had found "the necklace," Gaylord Torrence knew exactly what she was referring to: the so-called grizzly bear claw necklace, acquired by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark during their fabled exploration of the American West. The item had been donated to the Peabody Museum at Harvard University, where Ms. McLaughlin is the associate curator of Native American ethnography, but had been missing since the museum first cataloged it in 1899.A necklace of 235 diamonds and 18 emeralds that had been owned by an Eastern European Jew who hid it from the Nazis was auctioned at Christie's yesterday for $277,500. The proceeds will be used to help provide care for impoverished elderly people in Israel, fulfilling the anonymous donor's last wishes. At the auction, David and Ishiahl Gol -- brothers and international jewelers -- bought the piece and said they would donate it to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Publicity from the sale prompted $385,000 in additional donations to Chaim Sheba.


necklace