Pair of Fancy Colored Diamond and Diamond Earclips 彩色鑽石 配 鑽石 耳夾一對

Behind this collection is one man’s attainment of the American Dream and the grace he showed another struggling to achieve his own.

Romauldo DeChicchis emigrated as a child to the United States from Italy in 1907. A highly successful geologist, he moved to Texas to work in the oil industry where he met and married the consignor’s aunt, Mildred, in 1935. The consignor’s father, TJ, was the youngest of ten children who, from an early age, enjoyed the double-edged escape of a drink. In need of direction, he served in the military for four years before returning to Texas to become a roughneck. The idea of a ‘roughneck’ has become romanticized in American culture, but it’s a life of physically taxing days, often followed by booze-fueled nights. For TJ, these nights could turn into days lost to both him and his family. Wishing to remove his brother-in-law from this aimless cycle, Romauldo hired TJ and taught him about the oil business beyond the rigs. TJ occasionally fell into old habits, but Romauldo never gave up on him. It was this fatherly patience that allowed TJ to become a very successful and respected businessman in his own right.

Romauldo took great pride in bestowing jewels upon Mildred. The pink and blue diamond earclips, ring and pendant were created by Linz Brothers, once one of the oldest and most prestigious jewelry firms in Texas. The jewels were inherited by TJ and his wife and subsequently passed down to the consignor.