Madame de
Louise de Vilmorin
由Louise de Vilmorin撰寫並於1951年出版的《Madame de》，是《Dédale》系列的第四部作品。此系列由L'ÉCOLE珠寶藝術學院與意大利出版社Franco Maria Riccis聯合發行，收錄了一些文學巨著以及鮮為人知的罕見文獻，全部皆與珠寶、珍貴寶石以及整個藝術世界有著緊密聯繫。
HK$ 220
L’ÉCOLE珠寶藝術學院與意大利出版社Franco Maria Ricci共同呈獻《Dédale》系列。別樹一幟的《Dédale》系列收錄了多部文學巨著以及一些鮮為人知或罕見的文獻，全部皆與珠寶、珍貴寶石以及整個藝術世界有著緊密聯繫。每本書均配有豐富插圖，以系列宣言開篇，隨後附有特邀作者的序言，以及由L’ÉCOLE珠寶藝術學院專家撰寫的主題導論。此系列每年推出一本新作。每部作品皆提供經典版與收藏版兩種版本。
「她心想，輕率地處置一件傳家之寶或大量平價珠寶實非明智之舉，因為難以解釋它們為何消失不見；於是，在仔細審視所有珠寶盒後，她決定出售一對鑲嵌兩顆心形切割絕美鑽石的耳環。那是她丈夫在婚禮翌日送給她的一份瑰麗臻禮。她親自造訪她的珠寶商。這位珠寶商極其穩重可靠；在許多重要客戶的家中，他早已超脫了珠寶商的身份，更像是交情深厚的好友。她要他鄭重承諾保密，言談間意有所指，讓他誤以為丈夫對此事知情。珠寶商揣測先生有些私人財務困難，他想幫忙，卻又不想讓夫人察覺到自己的猜疑，便委婉地詢問：
『可是，夫人，你要如何向先生解釋呢？』
『噢，』她回答道：『我會告訴他我把耳環弄丟了。』
『夫人如此迷人，無論你說什麼，相信大家都會深信不疑。』珠寶商如此說，然後買下了那對耳環。
夫人償清了債務，擺脫愁雲後美貌更勝往昔，比以往任何時候更加光彩照人。」
“It would be unwise, she thought, to get rid of an heirloom, or of a large number of jewels of inferior value, owing to the difficulty of accounting for their disappearance; so she decided, when she had gone through her jewel case, to sell a pair of earrings made of two superb diamonds, cut in the shape of hearts. It had been a splendid present which Monsieur de had given her on the day after their marriage. She called on her jeweller. He was a thoroughly reliable man; in the houses of many of his most important customers he was as much a friend as a jeweller. She swore him to secrecy, and spoke to him in such a way that he received the impression that Monsieur de was aware of what his wife was doing. The jeweller assumed that Monsieur de had some private money troubles, and wishing to help him without letting Madame de realise what he suspected, he tactfully asked:
“But, Madame, what will you say to Monsieur de ?”
“Oh,” she answered, “I shall tell him I’ve lost them.”
“You are so charming that I am sure people always believe whatever you say,” said the jeweller, and he bought the earrings.
Madame de paid her debts, and her beauty, free of care, shone brighter than ever.”
