Pragmatism gives gold a new standard

There must be a hidden message or why else would I have received a Tiffany & Co. holiday selections catalog with my very own name and address on the label? Not only a small, teal-colored gift guide, but an order form as well. Santa’s telling me something, I’ll just bet, a surprise something.

Sure, all that glisters is not gold, said Chaucer, but he didn’t receive a Tiffany & Co. catalog showing a Russian Braid necklace in 18-karat gold for $1,426, or a sleek Etoile bangle in 18-karat gold with diamonds set in platinum: price, $2,650. Those glister, believe me.

And so do the diamond necklaces and bracelets, although they’re set in platinum. There’s a Tiffany Lace necklace costing about the same as a good used truck, and the even pricier bracelet, at $9,500, is truly stunning.

Just goes to show you the folks in “The Canterbury Tales” understood quality. “But al thyng which that shineth as the gold nis nat gold, as that I have herd it told.” They couldn’t speak well, but they recognized the value of platinum over gold.

For a touch of platinum and gold, I could choose a Butterfly brooch for $750; or for the same price, maybe a Spider Web cuff in sterling silver with 18-karat rose gold. The spider web cuffs are offered at select stores only, so that might be out of the question, but an alternative is a silver Dragonfly cuff for only $50 more.

Living in Maine, I tend to wear more fish than insects so may choose, instead, Tiffany options featuring the ever-popular starfish. There’s a 16-inch-long Starfish pendant for $325 or Starfish earrings in sterling silver, $150, or 18-karat gold, $475. But the truly exquisite starfish is one specially designed for Tiffany’s: a Starfish brooch in 18-karat gold with cabochon sapphires and a ruby, for $8,150.

But my surprise doesn’t have to be limited to gold. Remember, “Hyt is not al gold that glareth,” repeated Chaucer in “The House of Fame.” Which brings me to the Tiffany diamond cocktail watch for $4,500, or the Cultured South Sea Cercle pearl bolo for $1,400.

In addition, there are lovely Hampton champagne flutes in crystal, or candlesticks or ice buckets or decanters. Or spiral vases in handblown cobalt crystal.

Or a cultured freshwater pearl torsade ($875) designed by Paloma Picasso, or a platinum and diamond necklace ($1,400) designed by Elsa Peretti.

Whatever the surprise, it is sure to be gift packaged in the trademark Tiffany blue box with ribbon “at no charge.”

There’s a message here, for sure, this catalog coming to the house just in the nick of time. But it kind of seems to be a mixed signal since there already is a package for me, half-hidden in the back of the garage, that is marked “Fireplace Set,” $19.99, from Home Depot.