And the gemstone measurements required comparison with the original laboratory and restoration records.
For a moment, Diana looked toward Clara.
The older jeweler's eyes filled.
Arun continued.
"I wouldn't make a final attribution without completing the necessary verification."
Diana nodded.
She wanted certainty.
But she understood why professionals needed time.
Then the specialist showed her a high-resolution image of the clasp.
The original maker's mark was absent.
Not concealed by ordinary wear.
Not merely difficult to see.
The construction where it should have appeared was different.
Diana stared.
For several seconds, she couldn't speak.
Then whispered.
"That's not my mother's clasp."
Arun answered carefully.
"It doesn't match the documented original construction."
For Diana, the distinction was small.
But the emotional impact was enormous.
Something her mother created with her own hands appeared to have been replaced.
At 5:38, the independent review reached a preliminary conclusion sufficient to change the evening's plans.
The necklace in the presentation case could not be authenticated as The First Light under its documented provenance.
It had multiple material discrepancies requiring further investigation.
The original's location remained unknown.
Diana stood alone in the collection room after the specialist finished.
She stared at the closed blue case.
For several seconds, she remembered her mother's workbench.
The warm light.
The tiny drawers.
And Evelyn holding the unfinished necklace as though it were a promise.
Diana felt tears rising.
Then her phone rang.
It was the director of the First Light Apprenticeship Fund.
The gala was scheduled to begin in less than two hours.
The event team wanted confirmation that the necklace would be delivered.
Diana took a slow breath.
Then answered.
"We won't be displaying the original tonight."
The director sounded startled.
"Is something wrong?"
Diana paused.
"There's a serious custody issue under review. I don't want anyone describing a piece as authentic when we haven't established that it is."
The director was quiet.
Then asked what they should do.
Diana looked toward her mother's photographs on the wall.
For a moment, she considered canceling everything.
The gala was supposed to celebrate Evelyn's work.
Without the necklace, it would feel incomplete.
But more than two hundred guests were expected.
Scholarship recipients were traveling to attend.
Young apprentices had prepared designs for display.
And the fundraising program supported people who had nothing to do with the company's operational failures.
Diana took a breath.
"We keep the event."
The director waited.
"But we change the presentation. We explain that the original piece is unavailable pending review, and we focus on the students and their work."
The director nodded.
"Understood."
Diana continued.
"No speculation. No unsupported accusations. Just an accurate statement."
When the call ended, she sat down.