Seed Pearl Necklace and Bracelets

[James]

With all due respect, Laurie, you are just wrong about the seed pearl jewelry being worn to the inaugural ball. You said quite clearly that a seed pearl necklace would never be worn atop a lace collar such as that depicted in the dag image. It is thoroughly documented that Mary wore the lace collar in tandem with the blue silk gown to the ball. This is supported by contemporaneous newspaper accounts as pointed out in previous posts on this thread. There is absolutely no corroborative evidence to support the claim by you and other respondents on this subject. We all know Tiffany's had a stellar reputation for record keeping and their own records indicate a purchase date of April 1862. Had either of the Lincolns taken possession of the jewelry nearly 14 months prior to this purchase date, it would have been documented.
If in fact the mission statement of the broader Lincoln community is to engage in "dedicated research designed to seek out the truth" and to "secure documented history for future generations", dispelling this myth about the seed pearl jewelry would be a good place to start. It would be simple endeavor for those of you with access to the historical resources necessary to achieve this.
Earlier, you alluded to the fact that the Abe and Mary dag "continues to rankle" the Lincoln community. It would appear that the debate about the seed pearl jewelry has the same effect.