The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-04-02
HALF A MILLION IN GEMS.
MRS. WALLACE's COLLECTION OF
PRECIOUS STONES.


But at the Opening Night of the
Grand Opera She Had on SIS, 1000
Worth of Jewelry.
From the Chicago Journal.
They shall fetch thee jewels from the
deeS.
To no one in the country could these
words of Shakespeare have been more
aptly applied than 10 a fair young woman
who came 10 Chicago from New Hamp-
shire hills in the early COS. Celia Whip
pie she wrote her name when she took up
her abode with Mrs. B. F. Aver.
Perhaps the pretty girl from the East
would have smiled if some wise fortune
teller had pulled aside the curtain of the
future and there at the end of long cy-
Giles of years had shown her a store of
jewels whose magnihcence would have
dazzed a Solomon-would have made a
Croesus blush for his poor gems. But
to-day Celia Whipple-now gray-headed
Mrs. Celia Whipple- Wallace has the
rarest, The most valuable private collect.
ion of jewels in the country.
Her precious stones are worth half a
million dollars.
At the Auditorium, where Mrs. Wallace
has made her home since the hotel was
built, they call her the Diamond Queen"
| But the brilliants form only part of her
| collection. A few days ago she purchas-
ed the celebrated Upham diamond. She
has two others-larger and more valuable
than this gem.
The last purchase was 24-karat stone
hac If -fxKyn Il tc
and one of forty-four karatS. The two lat
! ter are perhaps the second and the third
| largest diamonds this side of the Atlantic
Then there are pearls, with their satin
skins; rich rubies and opals, with their
delicate hues. in her jewel cases.
Around these gems cluster stories into
| which are woven the fate of nations, the
downfall of royalty the vicissitudes OF
| American politics, and the stern, homely
pages of the diamond miners life.
| They are mounted with the best of taste
| and wrought into devices as rare and as
| unique as they are beautiful-watches
| combs, pins, tiaras brooches, and rings
! Mrs. Wallace as a rule wears few of her
| treasures, but there have been exceptions
in her career. Last season she attended the
grand opera opening night, wearing SIS, 0OC
| worth of jewelry, setting off a dress OF
| rare lace. which itself cost $4,000. This
toilette was meant to be seen. 1t was seen.
| The opera singers trilled their most en-
| chanting notes, but Mrs. Wallace was the
| sensation of the evening.
The first-nighters at the grand opera this
| year will behold a costume before which
! the previous one will fade as the moon be-
| fore the sun. Mrs Wallace will wear $3.50,
600 worth of jewels-opals and diamonds
which will set off gown of pale lilac. The
dress trimmings will be of rare lace of
which Mrs. Wallace is a noted collector.
| The lace alone will be worth a small for
| tune
But the browning triumph will be an opal
comb worth $4,000, the equal of which,
| jewelers. say, is not to be seen in this
country perhaps not in the world This
bit of jeweiry is now in the process of
| construction, The center piece is d 100
karat opal. This stone is the largest of
its kind in the world, and also the most
valuable. None of the crown jewels of
| England approaches it either in size or in
beauty 1t glitters in every color of the
rainbow. 1t is more than half an inch
thick and was purchased by Afrs Wallace
through Hyman, Berk & Co, coming orig
inally from Australia.
This stone VIII not be the only feature
Of the comb, which, it is expected, will
cause comment at the grand opera.
Around it will be arranged in twinins
SplaSS d idAC bIhhS TWO Sreens ana TWO
finely assorted white diamonds. In addi-
ton, as sort of lesser satellites, will be
twelve karat of other stones.
To meet her upon the street Mrs. WAL
lace scarcely would be picked out as one
who had surrounded herself with all this
wealth of jewels. She has a quiet kindly
face Gray hair surmounts a face which
is not entirely free from the wrinkles of
time and care. She talks in a pleasant
old-fashioned way. Mrs. Wallace is small