The record-union., 1892-09-24
DIAMONDS BY THE PECK.
Rich and Rare Jewels Worn By
New York Danes.

ANSW VI u OdhkS.
5000, 100000 in Diamonds Worn by
the Women of New York-A Daz-
zling Array That Is Not, Perhaps,
Equaled in Any Other City In the
World-Pearls, Rubies and Gems
Galore.
Diamonds!
Heaps of themi
Quarts and pecks and bushels of them,
and right here in New York.
Diamonds, and beside them pearls and
| rubies, purple-gleaming amethyst or any
other precious stone you may wish, all,
or nearly all, in the possession of wealthy
DANES who dwell on this island of Man
haitian.
The ransoms of kings and. princes are
as nothing when you consider the aggre-
gate of diamonds and other precious
| stones owned in New York City.
Indeed, there are single stones among
them that have before now ransomed
prince and princess. just as there are other
articles that have tempted men and
women of high and low degree to crimes
that one may well shudder to hear even
mentioned.
There are in the various collections
diamonds that have adorned the ugly
persons of tyrannical Indian raiahs; there
are opals from Mexico and topazes from
the Ureal Mountains; emeralds that the
Sultan himself might wish to own, and
| rubies worth most of the modern Eu-
| ropean municipalities now in pawn.
In her days OF greatness the Empress
Eugenie's jewels were the wonder of all
Europe. Some of them are here in New
| York, and on festive occasions like that
OF the Patriarchs or the Charity ball glis-
| ten on the neck of a female member of
| family, the first important head of which
was not too proud to supply the motive
power to rowboat ferry to this town or
to open CLAIMS for living on Staten
| Island.
Diamonds last long time, and in the
course OF their career it is their lot to be
owned now by an emperor and now by
thief.
But there are two things about dia-
mond that you can but admire. These
are their honesty and consistency. They
VIII shine as brightly and fearlessly on
the neck of grimy beggar maid as on
the shoulders of a pampered princess.
This may account for their popularity,
but doubt it.
| asked a large dealer in precious stones
the other day how much he thought the
diamonds and other jewels of that sort
worn by the wealthy women of New
York would represent in cash.
Leaving out the cheap stones, some
thing like S9O0,000,000, and owned by
an ar.a4i vol fam
staggering reply.
just think oft! Almost billion of
dollars.
Moore wrote:
Rich and rare were the gems she wore.
But no one among the swell females
that Moore knew during his life in Lon
don wore such gems as are worn by our
stately DANES OF to-day.
1t is said upon good authority that the
diamonds and other stones owned and
from time to time worn by the female
members of the Vanderbilt family aggre-
gate in value 100000.
In this collection is one of the most
valuable articles in all that wondrous
collection Of jewels that Eugene owned
and wore at the period of the second en-
pre-, before sorrow and misfortune
claimed her as their own
1t is owned by Mrs. William X. Van
derbllt and is pearl necklace, perfect
rope of gems some forty inches long and
valued at $4,000. In wearing it in order
to show it fullest, it is necessary to wrap
it several times about the throat. Even
then it falls in rows down the breast. A
history has that same necklace and one
can but recall some portions of it, There
are those who can remember when it
sparkled at Versailles and in the palace
of the Tuilleries upon the neck of an en-
press and one of the fairest women in all
Europe.
Fortunes wheel has turned The EN-
press is an Empress no more, but a bent
and stricken old woman, bereft of hus-
band and the son of her heart, and only
waiting for death to bring her comfort.
| The necklace, as brilliant as ever, shines
upon the throat of the wife of an Amer
lean millionaire. Kismet. 1t is fate.
Mrs. Frederick w. Vanderbilt also
| owns remarkably fine gems, among them
being diamond necklace-full value is
not exactly known, but which is certainly
one of the most valuable in the world.
The other members of the family, in
Guiding Mrs. William H. Vanderbilt,
Mrs. Elliott f. Shepard, Mrs. Webb and
the rest, have vast collection of rings
and breaches and bracelets and hairpins
and necklaces Of great value, and some
of which are rarely worn in public
Mrs. Frank Leslie, or. as it should be
now, Mrs. Frank Leslie Wilde, has a
great collection of gems that she has
picked up from time to time, and in all
sorts of places. Her greatest pride, per-
haps, is q decoration presented to her by
the Republic of Venezuela. It is a golden
medallion surrounded by brilliants set in
star rays, and is attached by golden
buckle to ribbon representing the Ven
ezuelan colors. She received this for her
service Tin the cause of humanity, CIV
ilization and progress"
Har nt her Jewels are MANY of fhopo Of
greater intrinsic value. She has pair of
diamond solitaire earrings each weighing
thirty carats, and of perfect color She
has one viviere necklace Of single dia-
monds finely cut and graduating from
one splendid stone in the center, and an
other Of nineteen stones exactly alike
The ,Astor family's assortment of preci-
Gus stones of all sorts is certainly equal in
value to that of the Vanderbilt's, even if
it is not more valuable. The writer can
not tell how the matter stands, but men
and women who claim to know a good
deal about such things say it represents a
good deal more than 5000, 600. The late
Mrs. Jacob Astor, it will be remembered,
was always OF the opinion that the Astors
formed the leading family of America
and that the wife of the head of the house
Fwas in her own way sort of hereditary
queen.
1t will be remembered that on public
occasions she used to wear tiara that
was one of the most magnificent things
that has ever been seen in New York. It
was like one OF those wonderful affairs
we read of in oriental tales, or such as the
Empress of all the Russias might wear.
The stones SO flashed when the wearer
moved that her head seemed encircled
with fire.
Mrs. William Waldorf Astor not only
is the possessor Of fine gems, but she
knows their value and is in her way an