In the years before Mikimoto perfected cultured pearls, perfect natural pearls were costlier than diamonds. It took years to create the exquisite strand of perfectly matched, graduated, pale pink pearls that are the heart of this story. The value of the necklace in 1913 was $650,000-750,000 (about $18 million in today's dollars). The theft of this necklace from a London broker by Joseph Grizzard (the King of Fences) and his confederates was "the crime of the century." The newly formed detective force of Scotland Yard, led by Inspector Alfred Ward is charged with the task of locating the pearls and bringing the thieves to justice. With the help of decoys posing as potential buyers and intense surveillance of the suspects by the police, the criminals were eventually brought to justice. This is a very readable, well researched account.
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