Sapphire Necklace

The Sapphire Necklace is a gift from Dorian to Esme whose meaning changes from adornment to memorial. Its striking design marks a moment of intimacy, but Dorian’s uneasy visions attach a foreboding to it; after Esme’s death, the necklace she wore that night rests on her casket as he turns toward vengeance.

Appearance and Gift

Dorian buys the necklace for Esme and brings it to her apartment. Before giving it to her, he flashes away to his penthouse and sees three visions of her wearing it. Two seem fine, while the third gives him pause, despite its very low likelihood of occurring. The memory of Jasmine’s broken body rushes back, and anger displaces what he had begun to feel about Esme’s future. He tells himself that Esme will be fine and returns with the box.

Dorian places the heavy necklace around Esme’s neck without asking permission. A string of diamonds circles her neck and accentuates her collarbones; a large, teardrop-shaped sapphire, described as the size of a quarter, hangs just above her breasts. Esme touches the jewel, while Dorian admires how it looks on her. The necklace’s physical detail makes the gift more than a box exchanged between them: it becomes something worn against her skin, conspicuous in a scene otherwise shaped by Dorian’s hesitation and his determination to give it to her.

Foreboding and Esme’s Death

The visions establish an uneasy association before the necklace is given. Dorian knows that one possible future gives him reason to stop, but he does not allow himself to think through that reason. His recollection of Jasmine’s broken body helps explain the force of his reaction, while his insistence that he will not fail this time sets the gift against his fear of another loss. The evidence does not specify what happens in the troubling vision; its importance lies in the way it unsettles Dorian even though he considers it unlikely.

The necklace later reappears as the one Esme wore on the night she died. Dorian draws it from his pocket and places it swiftly on her casket, then leaves without offering anyone a glance. Its return connects the earlier gift to the loss Dorian had tried to ward off: what once rested against Esme’s skin is now left with her coffin. The gesture precedes his turn toward plans and retribution, with rage replacing his blood and giving him fuel to fight.