Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1881-02-19
BERNHARDT'S BR|LL|ANTs.
A GLANCE ATsoME or THEGREAT
FRENCH ARTIsTE'S DIAMONDS.
Seyeuty.Gve Thousand Doii"rs
worth Of Gems ON exhibition
Remarkable ornaments.
st. Louis Globe Democrat.

gul collection of diamonds and precious |
stones, about which little has yet been
said in the newspapers, A portion OF
the gems were displayed in the show
window Of Mr.. i. Speyers store on
Fourth street and attracted large and
curious crowds. The articles on exhibit
tion are valued at S75, 000 and are but q
fraction ofthe Jewels possessed by Mdlle
Bernhardt. ..
THE MOST REMARKABLE
article in the collection is o stomaeher
of gold and precious stones, to which Is
attached girdle Of blazing diamonds,
the entire piece being worn by the
owner in each performance Of Adrienne
Lecouvreur, and presenting o wonder
fully beautiful and brill ant appearance.
The stomacher is valuable, not only Tor
the metal and gems composing 1t, but
because il is sample Of the old English
or Etruscan work now SO rare and upon
which collectors place q very hISh cSl'
mate. 1t is the product of au art that
was lost centuries ago The stomaGher
is known to be at least 500 years old; it
came originally from India and was in
possession of the royal family of England
until the Prince of Wales, on the oCCa-
sion of Mdlc. Bernhardt's appearance in
London, being dissatisfied with the CIR
die she wore III the role of ddrieRne L.
.COurreW, sent her the stomacher and Cir
die, which the Princess OF Wales after
ward told Mdlle. Bernbardt to keep. The
body of the stomaeher is OF fine gold
wire beaten ont by hand; it is II or Ia
inches in length and in width. Upon
this space are set six cups offiligree gold,
each containing large tnrquoises, emer-
aids and rubies. The girdle is studded
with diamonds. The appearance of the
article is beautiful in the extreme, and
its money value is at least 5000. TO a
collector it would be worth double that
amount.
A diamond necklace of rosettcs, sprays
and leaves is the next piece, The ar
ticle is supposed to present o rustic
scene, and the design is marvelously
wrought ont, every detail being skill.
fully and artistically finished. There
are six rosettes on the front of the neck
luce, each having q 2-carat brilliant in
its center, and the rest of the flower be-
ing richly imbedded with small stones
There are more than 100 diamonds in
each rosette, and the jewels appear like
flowers OF light when seen in o gasillu
minated room. The roSettes are held to-
\ .gether by strings of diamonds which are
plainly seen at the eItds of the necklace
and each flower may be unscrewed from
the chain and used for hair ornament
The value of this necklace is 81 600.
A string of diamords, or, more appro
priately speaking,
A YARD OF DIAMONDS.
is next to be seen.. The string, which il
OF the best gold, is not less than three
feet in length, and diamonds of al
sizes from the smallest up to one cara
in weight. are Undecided in its ful
length. There are over 1000 ditferen
stones in the string, which may be worl
as loose necklace, Outlininuous the shap,
ot the bodice with u contiuus line light
From the string Il pendant, imbeddeC
with diamonds, supports a massiv
horseshoe of diamonds, the emblem o
"guod luck' measuring four inche
across, and the surface of the shoe bein
illuminated with jets of flame troD
5000 stones. All around the shoe Their
is row of seventeen large diamonds
none, lighter than one carat. The valu
ofthe piece is placed at $4,000,
A bracelet Of alternate diamonds AM
sapphires, twelve squares each, wit
four 4-carat diamonds set in each sQuar
diamonds set in each square and sin
gle ; carat sapphire occupying each 6
The other squares. is u remarkably beau
titul and valuable piece of .ewelry. Til
settings are superb, and the appearance
of the bracelet SurpasSes anything i
the line of ornaments that the write
has ever seen. The value of this singl
piece is 5000
Another bracelet, consisting of twer
ty-tour 2-carat diamonds, is ehamin
affair, and is estimated to be wort
$4,000.
A golden crown, four inches long an
two inches deep, with diamond and sal