The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1880-04-22
Artificial Pearls

Not only are the wonderful processee
Of nature followed and natural pearls
produced by artificial means, but pearls
are manufactured on large scale with
out the aid of any shell-fsh whatever.
About 222 years ago Noise NJ.
Joaquin, citizen of Paris, bead man
ufacturer, one of those inventive geni-
uses who are not above taking hint
or suggestion from the most casual Cir
cumstances, happened to be walking in
the garden of his country-house near
Paris when bis attention was attracted
by remarkable silver luster on basin
of water. We can imagine NJ. Joaquin,
at once all interest and attention at
what almost any other man would pass,
and which undoubtedly thousands on
thousands had passed without giving
the matter thought.
"Ahciel!" murmers the Frenchman.
III cold give my beads such a lus-
ter! PMy, what has produced this ef-
feet upon the basin of watera"
The old servant who has regarded the
sudden interest displayed in such a
lrife, we can well imagine, with som
contempt as well as surprise, answers
his master, speaking for the whole
world:
master, it is but the fsh; some al
bettes happened to be crushed in the
water; it is nothing"
Nothing Ives, nothing to the stupid
servant, nothing to the rest of the
world; but to practical inventive
genius like that of NJ. Joaquin it is dis
covery, it is fortune, it is an opening
up of new branch of commerce that
feeds, clothes and supports whole COM
munities, and keeps them busy.
M. Joaquin saw that the lustrous shade
he so much admired was indeed pro-
duced by the countless scales of the
little fish called the bleak-Leuciscus
alburnuss He at once began expert
menting. The scales he dried and re.
duced to powder, and this he used as an
enamel, with which small beads OF
waxed alabaster were coated externally.
These, though beautiful, were unsatis-
factory, and he soon began to use hollow
glass beads. He now took the scale
of the fish, thoroughly washed and
rubbed them successively several times.
The different portions of water used in
these washings be suf Tered to settle.
The water being carefully drawn off by
siphons, our pearl-maker found lust
rous matter OF the consistency of oil re-
naming at the bottom. This substance
is called by the French "essence
d'Orient," or essence of pearl. Our
pearl-maker, after sundry Intellectual at
tempts to preserve it from soon becom-
ing putrid, at last succeeded by keeping
it in volatile alkali. The further pro-
cess of pearl-making consists in blowing
this essence of pearl, combined with
melted isinglass, into hollow beads
made of peculiar kind Of fine glass OF
blush tint. These having received
an even and perfect incrustation: on
their inner surfaces, are filed with
mucilage of fine gum-arabic, and, hay-
ing been perforated with needle and
threaded on string, are ready for sale.
For one ounce of the lustrous material
used in coating the inside OF the shells,
no less than 1000 fish are required.
Fortunately this kind of fish is very
abundant, or there might have been
some probability that the bleak, becom-
ing extinct as a fish, would only con-
tinue to exist in the form of artificial
pearls. me