The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1885-10-24

Inc Jdue SIlll WdlnLdlnS us reputation
in China on account of the superstition
attached to it, though the wealthy man.
darins often wear diamonds of great val
ne. The ruby, emerald and sapphire are
not often seen in the shops of the Far
East, and the pearl, owing to the failure of
supply in Ceylen, has also almost entire
" disappeared In Siam, one of the
principal sources of supply of the sap
phire, this gem is worn by the nobility
either in its rough state or rudy cut.
Nearly all the emeralds, rubies and sap
phires which supply the demand of the
world, come from Siam, Burmah andCey-
lon, and anywhere in the immediate
nelghborhood of these regions any one
disposed purchase can find q good bar
gain if he has the means aud is a con-
noisseuer in the wares offered. The Eu-
ropean residents of the East adhere to
the old fashions, and show little taste in
personal ornament. The Kings of Siam
and Burmah, following the example of
Eastern monarchs, have stored up
a large part of their personal wealth in
the three kinds of gems most easily ac-
cessible.
The turJuois is now only found in
Persia, whose monarch is said to have
the finest collection in the world 1t is
astone that is worn by persons of rank
in the Mohammedan countries about the
Mediterranean, and has not yet fallen
into disesteemin any continental country
in Europe. In France and Italy it still
enters into the making of every kind of
ornament worn on the person, and is
considered of such value that it is every
where extensively initiated. The French
and Italians also show considerable skill
in initiating the cat s-eye, which is often
as handsomely and richly set as the true
gem. But the French and Italians are
not so fastidious in respect to their orna-
ments. Their garments may be of fine
material and fashionably cut, but their
personal decoration seems to be regarded
of secondary Importance. A French
man or Italian, but especially the latter,
of eminently respectable appearance,
will often be seen wearing ring set
with onyx, carbuncle, or even carne-
liam. His watch seal will have the same
setting, and it is attached to very mod
est watch of gold or silver, by silver
chain. An American who was supposed
to retain his self-reSpect and certain
degree of national pride would be NOR
titled indeed to display silver watch in
public, and if he were obliged, from the
force of circumstances to carry one;
would try and disguise its identity with
a gold or gold-plated chain. 1t is but
natural that proud American citizen
should assert his superiority to the
modest subject of an etfete monarchy.
This modesty of personal ornament is
also characteristic of the French as a
nation, though as they are richer and
not SO simple in their modes of life, it is
less noticeable than in Italy.
From the demand for rich and taste
full ornaments in America, extravagant
or otherwise, has come the superiority
which the American goldsmiths have
achieved in the manufacture of jewelry.
1t is one of the first things that the OBJ
servant travelling American remarks
when he looks into the shop-windows of
any European city, unless it be Paris,
and Paris even is scarcely an exception.
There is no apparent reason why the
French should not excel che Americans
in taste and ingenuity of design in this
respect. They have the time; they have
the skilled workmen, and wages are low.
They certainly excel in toilet articles
and in all that kind of ornamental work
classed as articles of Uertu. But in jew
elry they have been content with their
old fashions. The designs which pleased
their ancestors continue to please them.
So in Paris even, but more especially in
the shop windows of the large provincial
towns, may be seen the stones that
Americans have ceased to regard with
favor, and even limitations of them hon.
orably treated to solid gold settings,
with rings, pins, brooches and watch
chains in ancient and tawdry patterns
long since discarded on this side the At
lantic. The display of antique jewelry
is usually paralleled by that of watches.
There is no ingenuity shown in their ex'
ternal decoration. The cases bear the
tasteless enclosing or cutting of curves
and senseless flourishes put upon them
by the grandsires of the present genera
ton of manufacturers. The average
American watch is not only the superior
of its European congener in correctness
and durability, but as work of art it i;
externally beyond comparison.
Italy is still more primitive, its indus.
tries being in later period of develop.
ment. 1t treats old fashions in gold anC
precious stones with even more rever
ence than they are treated in France
Naples is the center of the coral marke
OF the world, and NO matter how this
once fashionable commodity may b,
discredited elsewhere, here it has it
: special shops, its petty merchants OF
every steamer that enters the harbor
and demand that makes it necessar,
to keep a supply in the best jewelry es
adjustments in the city. Little taste i
shown in mounting it and the gold i
always of suspicious quality Fin,