Here are two contrasting stories, one about a necklace of pearls, the other about a necklace of diamonds.
Guy de Maupassant's The Necklace is a story of vanity, of two lives blighted by the loss of a diamond necklace, whilst Isak Dinesen's The Pearls is a story of love and fear. Both authors in different ways use the symbolism of jewels to illustrate the human condition.