Vintage B David Rhinestone Jewelry The Breakup

Have you ever wondered what event or special occasion inspired the original owner of your vintage jewelry to purchase it?  I hadn't really given it much thought until I acquired this B. David set that was still in its original box and in mint, unworn condition. You have to wonder why a set this pretty wasn't worn very much, if at all. It wasn't until I examined the box itself that I found out why.

Carefully folded and tucked under the box liner was a handwritten letter on hotel stationary, a small envelope containing a greeting card that would have accompanied a bouquet of flowers and a large tag from the florist shop with the name and address of the unfortunate recipient. First though, the jewelry.

The necklace itself is beautiful combining faux pearls with sparkling aurora borealis rhinestones in both round and marquise cuts. The matching bracelet has the same combination of rhinestones with faux pearls and is just over 1/2" wide. Like Sherman, it has a hidden clasp with safety chain. The clip earrings, although not a perfect match, were made using a combination of round and baguette rhinestones with a generous 2" drop. All pieces are signed B. David, and are in excellent, unworn condition preserved in the original B. David case. Now the history behind the purchase of this pretty rhinestone jewelry!

The stationary was from a hotel in a small town in Georgia and was written by a married man to his mistress. It starts out "Dear Darling" and he begins by apologizing for hurting her stating that his love for his children is the reason he can never leave his wife. He tells her that he was jealous of another man she was seeing and was very hurt by that. He reaffirms his love telling her he wishes he could make her his wife but that it can never be. He writes that someone once told him that one day he would get hurt by losing someone he loved dearly and that this was that day. Of course he ends it with the standard "I'll always be around if you ever need me" line that we've all heard before.  He signs it "Loving you always".

Accompanying this letter was a bouquet of flowers with an old-fashioned cardboard insert with three deep red roses "Love John" and this B. David rhinestone jewelry set. Personally, I thought the letter sounded a lot like something out of the movies from the 40's or 50's, the last scene in Casablanca with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman comes to mind.

So there you have it, the reason why this pretty set is in mint, UNWORN condition.  I certainly wouldn't want to set eyes on it again if I were her and those flowers would have found themselves either in the trash or mangled from hitting him over the head. Because I purchased this set online, I have no information about "Maggie" or what happened to her after "John" ended their affair (not their real names).

In my version, "Maggie" meets a tall, dark, handsome and SINGLE man who sweeps her off her feet.  They travel the world together and he showers her with precious jewels and magnificent Sherman jewelry (of course!!!!).

She lives a wonderful and exciting life and doesn't give "John" a second thought until 45 years later when she finds this box of B. David jewelry tucked away up high in the back of her walk-in closet. She chuckles to herself when she sees it relieved to have made such a lucky escape.  She carelessly tosses it over her shoulder and in to the pile of her discarded designer clothing. From there it makes its way to a charity auction where it was purchased and then sold online to me. 

Here's looking at you, "Maggie"!!!!