The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-09
THE LATEST FAD.
wealthy Men Make their Female Rela-
twas Happy with Diamonds.


ives Happy with Diamonds.
NEW YORK, Jan. z--Wealthy men in
,o.;atv have adopted something new in the
.,a,, Of gifts for their feminine relatives.
rrtoso are IS substantial as bank notes or
1.ocl.s whereas, in beauty, they are as
..+;.tic as any that could be designed. They
- taken the form OF precious stones. and
10 70 particularly diamonds. Recently |
..ae shown collection of unset diamonds
,,bich a wealthy society lady had received
t,on, her husband, who Is a prominent
tIhIsician in this city. There were thirty
I, The collection. and they represented New
Vear and birthday gifts. They varied IN
.sze from one carat to five carats, and were
~ tho nures water As the lady unrolled
tban in their chamos covering they blazed
Ike 80 many little electric lights.
INV husband she said, believes in Civ
,,,o me such presents as will retain their
vaiue and in case of need, can always be
disnosed Of In this queer world Of ours,
SCbere fortunes rise and fall when least ex-
,,acted. such collection as this is always a
Em1bstontial thing to rely upon. OF course
bacould have given me real estate, or stocks,
% bonds or many other substantial and
raluable presents, but all of these are liable
70 Auctlate in value, whereas diamonds,
esnecially when not set, are as valuable
lars after they have been purchased as
fhev were at first. My husband has a
written guarantee from the Jeweler for
each diamond that he has bought for me, in
which the jeweler agrees to pay ninety per
cent. of their cost at any time that we wish
10 dispose of them"
Diamonds, according to the leading jewel
ers, make one of the safest forms of invest
,nent. They never lose in value even when
they are worn. A guarantee is given with
them to assure the customer that he has not
naid too much fer them. There are very
few kinds of property, either personal or
real. that man can say as much for. In
every case diamonds can be sold for eighty
per cent. at the very least, of what was
naid for them. 1t is only recently that
wealthy people have learned this fact
Although it was always known that dia-
mouds would at any time possess a certain
value. it was not known that there was so
little depreciation. The custom among
Jewellers to give guarantee Is the outcome
of the custom on the part of the wealthy
people to buy diamonds as investments and
not as ornaments.
1t is said that many prominent society
women, like the lady have already spoken
of, have snug fortunes in unset damon IS
which have come to them in the way of
gifts One great advantage is that they can
easily be disposed of to the same jeweler from
whom they were bought, whenever the fair
poSsesSor desires to get a little extra PIN
money. Wealthy society women who have
such collections can always feel certain OF
raising a snug sum of money at pinch III
this way. It IS to them as agreeable a Gus
tom as any hitherto devised.
1t is getting to be the thing now when
wealthy ladies call upon each other for the
hostess to show hsr guests the progress OF
her collection The gems are discussed,
criticised and fondled. The fair ladies' are
getting to be thorough critics in the matter
Of diamonds and could give points to many
ie yelers. They have learned to Judge their
values at a glance, and take great deal of
pride in their collections. The lady who
can show the largest and the purest jewels
is the envy of all her friends
am told that parties where men are eX-
Guided are frequently gotten up for the pur-
pose Of comparing collections Each guest
brings hers along After the usual saluta-
tions they gather in the library and each
brings out her little case. Swapping is some
times indulgedin, and the trading Is carried
on with as much keenness and shrewdneSs
as the husbands or fathers display in their
own business dealings
The desire of the ladies is to get a collec-
ton in which the diamonds shall harmonic
in purity and also in size. They are spread
fected by jewelers. in their display of
precious stones. Some of the collections are
very valuable, and several New York
women are reputed to have received several
hundred thousands of dollars in this form
The diamonds are kept in cases of beauti-
full and elaborate design. Nearly every
lady has private safe in which to lock
them. Some, however, who are more timid,
and have a wholesome fear of burglars, keep
their diamonds in safe deposit vaults, whence
they are taken only when occasion requires.
Among the owners of these collections, are
some Of the best known and most prominent
society women. The ladies of the Vanderbilt
and Astor families are known 60 have large
collections, as is also Mrs Belmont. AS
much as possible the ladies keep the knowl-
age Of their collections from the general
public for fear of being uncermoniously
relieved of them by thieves.
CHARLES J. RoUBAULT.