Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-12-31
9ai1g = Eag1e
PEARLS OF RARE BEAUTY.

Thsusands of Dollars Worth Held in the
Palm Of the Hand.
For one brief, delicious half minute, re-
cently, q reporter held in the palm OF his
hand, covering space no larger than sill
~ dollar, $4,000 worth of pearls OF the
rarest variety, from the inky black, lustrous
gem to the pale, scintfslant globe beloved Of
thesemi bar barous chieftains Of the Orient.
The gains. which were on exhibition. were
resting on piece of jewelers. cotton and
were Of all shapes and sizes.
"They form a private collection" said q
member Of the firm, land are the most beau
tiful set of pearls ever saw or handled, and
I've seeu and handled many Of them. This
pearl, !" taking up a black one between q pair
of jewelers. tweezers, sis worth more than
any diamond of the same size. would not
sell it for the best 81, 600 note ever printed.
1t came from the Island of Ceylon, and is
pure black, as you see, with distinct luster.
! One to match this in every respect it would
be difficult to procure There, too, is a pink,
pearl, pear shaped, as you see. 1t Is its
shape as well as the fine color Of the pink and
the luster that makes it one of the most valu-
able in the collection. 1t is worth nearly as
much as the black pearl l just showed you,
and Is came from the same place, where both
were procured by divers There is q pearl as
large as pea that is also very valuable be-
cause Of the odd greenish yellow simmer it
possesses, rare gem and hard to match.
Contrast it with this delicate, soft pink pearl,
like the interior of a sea shell; now put three
small black ones around and the big pink one
and the black one in the center, and sur
round the whole with three other pearls Of
varying tint, and you will see such a COM
bination of delicate shades and coloring as is
rarely found in any collection"
The jeweler did so as he spoke, and the
gems glittered, flashed and scintllated in
their soft bed of cotton with subdued radi-
ance which only pearls can give out, and,
while the exhibit was not SO brilliant as so
many diamonds would be, it was rich spec
tacle and one calculated to fire the heart of a
pasha. Tenderly and lovingly the jeweler
turned the collection in different directions,
so 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 to the showcase whence he had taken it,
and, looking through the thick plate glass in
admiration, he watched the pearls while he
went on:
pearl-the big one, ] mean-and will surround
It with diamonds and then an outer row Of
the fine lustered pearls Of small size. 1t will
be ring of rare beauty When finished and
turned over to the purchaser he will have to
give us q check for $1,000"
who owned this collection of pearls?"
II cannot tell you that-it would be I'M
professional; and, besides, we may want to
do business with the collector again, and he
may object TO our giving his name. will
say this, however,: 1t took him nearly fifty
years to make this collection, and the gems
represent every known quarter of the globe,
from Wisconsin to the East Indies and the
Mediterranean, as well as the Island of
Ceylon.
ut is said that the pearls worn by bride
on her wedding day represent the tears she
viii shed during her married life. However
that superstition may be, J 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, sit is the finest
collection of pearls l ever saw, and there are
$40 Of them in all. - Philadelphia Inquirer.