Historical romances, set in and around 1850’s Europe, especially those that focus on fancy dress balls as part of courting rituals, often contain references to the jewels that adorn the necks, fingers, hair and earlobes of the lovely debutantes. The diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds added sparkle to any lady’s attire, and are described in great detail, especially if there is a debutante ball in the story. Often, these were passed from mother to daughter.  Most of the precious and semi-precious jewels found in America were imported from Europe.