The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-12-21
peARLs OF RARE BEAUTY.
rxna. OF Dollars Worth Held In the
Palm of the Hand.

To- opa brief delicious half minute, re
Gently n rcporter held In the palm OF MS
hand covering a space no larger than s''-
Coz, dollar. $4,000 worth Of pearls oil the
rorest variety. from the inky black, lustrous
CON, 20 the pale. scintllant globe beloved OF
tha san,i .barbarous chieftains OF the Orient.
The gems, which were on exnioition' were
resting on a piece OF jewelers. cotton ana
were OF all shapes ana Sizes
.They form a private collection said
member Of the firm, land are the most beau,
tiful set Of pearls ever saw or handled, ana
Nv. seen and handled manyof them ms
noarl taking up black one between pair
Of jewelers. tweezers, sis worth more than
any diamond of the same size. would uo'
sell II for the best 81, 900 note ever printed
II cano from the Island OF Ceylon, ana Is
-, Hack as Won soc, with distinct luster.
IN. - match this in every respect 1t would
bo difficult 70 procure There, too, Is pins,
pearl. pear shaped, as you see. IL ns
shans as well as the fine color Of thepink ana
rho luster that makes 1t one OF the most valu-
allie in the collection. IL IS worth nearly as
m,,.h as the black pearl just showed YOU
and il came from the same place, "nere oo'h
were procured by divers There Is pearl as
large rs a pea that is also very valuable be-
conse Of the odd greenish yellow simmer IL
nosses.es a rare gem and hard TO match
Contrast il with this delicate, soft pink pearl,
Ike the interior OF sea shell; now put three
small black ones around and the big pink one
aud the black one in the center, and sur
round the whole with three other pearls OF
varying tint, and you will see such COM
bination Of delicate shades and coloring as Is
rarely found in any collection"
The jeweicr did 50 as he spoke, and the
gems glittered, flashed and scintillated In
their soft bed Of cotton with subdued radi-
ance which only pearls can give out aud,
while the exhibit was not 50 brilliant rs so
many diamonds would be, IL was rich spec
tacle and one calculated 20 fire the heart OF a
pasha. Tenderly and lovingly the Jeweler
turned the collection In different directions,
50 that the light caught the sheen Of the
globes and brought out the peculiar CLEAN
and luster that only obtain with this class Of
Jewels Signing, he jealousy returned the
tray 10 the showcase whence he had taken II,
and. looking through tho thick plate & ass IN
admiration, he watched the pearls while he
went on:
1--WE have an order ~ mount the biacA
psarl-the big one, / moan-and will surround
it with diamonds and then an outer row Of
the fine lustered pearls Of small size. IL Will
b. ring Of rare beauty When finished and
turned over to the purchaser he will have TO
give us a check for 5000"
"Who owned this collection Of pearls"
Il cannot tell you that-it would be un-
professional, and. besides, we may want to
do business with the collector again, and he
may object 10 our giving his name. VIII
say this. however: II took him nearly fifty
years 10 make this colle<tion and the gems
represent every known quarter of the globe,
from Wisconsin 70 the East Indies and the
Mediterranean, as well as the Island Of
Ceylon.
1T is said that the pearls worn by bride
on her wedding day represent the tears she
will shed during her married life However
that superstition may be, know that these
pearls represent the lives Of many poor
diver who went down to the oceans depths
10 get them; but" fondly cycling them again
through the show case glass, lit is the finest
collection Of pearls ever saw, and there are
go Of them in all. - Philadelphia Inquirer.