Precious Stones Quotes

“Holmes took up the stone and held it against the light. "It's a bonny thing," said he. "Just see how it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and focus of crime. Every good stone is. They are the devil's pet baits. In the larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a bloody deed. This stone is not yet twenty years old. It was found in the banks of the Amoy River in soutern China and is remarkable in having every characteristic of the carbuncle, save that it is blue in shade instead of ruby red. In spite of its youth, it has already a sinister history. There have been two murders, a vitriol-throwing, a suicide, and several robberies brought about for the sake of this forty-grain weight of crystallised charcoal. Who would think that so pretty a toy would be a purveyor to the gallows and the prison?”
― Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - a Sherlock Holmes Short Story

“We've decided to wake a miss for you because you are nice. We want a booby as roomful as ours."
Everybody had seen the Hobgoblin laugh, but nobody believed he could smile. He was so happy that you could see it all over him -- from his hat to his boots! Without a word he waved his cloak over the grass -- and behold! Once more the garden was filled with a pink light and there on the grass before them lay a twin to the King's Ruby -- the Queen's Ruby.”
― Tove Jansson, Finn Family Moomintroll

“Little girls liked charm boxes. He had seen them at the markets on Saturdays, lining up at the craft stalls, looking for little cases in which to keep their treasures. He would make one for her, Lauren's daughter, and he would decorate it with all of the items that meant the most to him; the stone, too, for it had found a new child to protect. It wasn't much, but it was all that he could think to do.
And maybe, just maybe, if he did it right, when he gave the gift to her, he would be able to imbue it with the same powerful idea, the same light and love, that the stone had held when it was given to him.”
― Kate Morton, The Clockmaker's Daughter

“She picked up the wide sleeve and studied the beading: imitation pearls and small rhinestones interspersed with a few of glistening colors: watery blue and aqua, palest rose and coral.”
― Diane C. McPhail, The Seamstress of New Orleans

“It was such a shame that our stones were bought dirtcheap then set in designer jewellery overseas and sold for exorbitant prices. Neither Pakistan nor Swat were ever mentioned in the end-credits of the product”
― Reham Khan, Reham Khan

“...here (in India) the diamond is the king of the gemstones. But if we use value and beauty as our criteria it is certain that, for us, emeralds hold first place, then rubies.”
― Garcia da Orta, Colloquies on the Simples and Drugs of India

“Learn to recognize your value and never undervalue yourself, because the sum total of precious stones in this world cannot compare to your value as a person.”
― Gift Gugu Mona , Dear Daughter: Short and Sweet Messages for a Queen