Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-02-07
WOMEN JEWELLERS.
THEY ARE THE MOST EXPERT GEM
Settlers IN MANILA.

Remarkable Taste and Workman.
ship-In shops THAI Are Much Like
Dcns They Turn Out Work That Is
NOt Surpassed Anywhere.
One of the most interesting features of
Manila industrial life is the wonderful
skill and ingenuity of its lapidaries and
gem settlers, who, strange to say, are the
women Of the population, whose taste
and workmanship have far surpassed the
powers of the men.
He who has visited Spain and Morocco
must have remarked the superiority of
the Spanish arti6cer, who has taught all
of the excellence of his craft to the ma
tives Of his colonies. In the case of the
Philippines the pupils have improved on
the teacher, and their art has become
famous throughout the far east.
The shops are small, often mere dens,
with a gloomy interior, which seems a
strange setting for the beautiful work.
Rents are high, and, what is worse, the
Spanish system Of taxation rendered it
imprudent for a shopkeeper to display
much stock. The customer enters, is dis
appointed at the meager assortment
shown and goes away, irritated that he
has been persuaded to leave his name and
address. Later in the day or the next
morning he is invited-nay, urged-to re-
peat his visit, and if he refuses he Is in
weighed there in one mode or another.
Should he still prove obdurate the persist
ent, gentle little brown woman calls on
him or waits patiently on the steps of his
hotel, her wares in a locked box under
her rebosa..
Such sparkle of color and glitter of
treasure! The broiling sunshine sleeps
the streets, and all Manila quivers in the
languor of the tropics, but the tiny shop
IL cool. Before the wonders now exhibit
ed one forgets to remember the thermom-
eter.
Among the treasures Of one Of these
little shops are necklaces of delicate pink
coral, coral balls for the decoration of
grandees' caps, dainty statuettes of coral,
with the body and limbs formed of the
stem and its branches; ~rosaries with
beads like drops of blood, pendants of
pure white pearls, lustrous and pear
shaped; chains of pearls, drop shaped ear
jewels, which the seller assures one are
the offspring of tears and suffering; great
yellow pearls, the favorite purchase Of
the Chinese merchant, and costly strings
of pink pearls of peculiar iridescence.
The saleswoman is astute. Never think
that she does not note the surprise and
admiration Of her visitors face. She
turns i%nsinuatingly and says in her rich
alto voice: every pretty. Look you." One
looks and is lost.
1t does not seem possible that the work
she is showing you can be %gold-only
gold-so fine and lacelike are the pat
terms. There are a chain, a necklace, a
c%hatelaine, a hatpin, a brooch, all of the
deepest yellow gold, from Is to % carats
and Of exquisite handiwork. The chain
looks like a long, yellow braid of hair,
tied at the clasp with a true lovers knot
that it may not unravel itself. The neck
lace is a flexible, delicate veined stem,
from which branch pendants of the dain-
test golden ferns. Anything more grace
full or artistic than this work it would be
difficult to duplicate, except, perhaps, in
the goldsmitheries of Ceylon. The chate-
laine is composed Of solid ropes of gold
exact copies Of Manila hemp rope even
to the threads), with clasps designed like
hshhooks. The hatpin is a miniature
Malay creese, with a water lily leaf for
q handle, and the brooch a golden alliga-
tor or young cayman, the scale work be-
ing a most ingenious imitation of ma
ture.
The sum of 1853 Spanish pesetas $780, 80
gold purchases this entire set Of five
pieces, less than would be asked for the
necklace alone in New York, London or
Paris.
This woman has brought the crude gold
from the country, made her alloys,
drawing out the gold wire and beating it
with hammer and anvil, following, step
by step, the most modern and scientific
processes Of metal smithing.
These metal workers are as skillful
with silver as with gold. Marvellous ban
giles Of chased silver, set with precious
stones, and brooches and pendants Of
quaint design, all manifest the most
thoughtful human labor. One can have
no idea Of how much can be done with
silver until he has seen this profusion in
which it is used.
Very likely the collection will contain
some exquisite breastpins and stickpins
Of rubies, some a lovely poppy red, Others
Of deepest carmine, like drops Of frozen
wine, but the astonishing feature is the
superb taste and ingenuity which these
women, often illiterate and entirely un'
lettered, demonstrate, and many a jewel
er whose designs are monoton0usly con
ventional might learn a useful lesson
A~~.. Al.~a DIsvs--:n. lc-:J.u:or
"Look you'll" says Concha again cher
name is Conception; diminutized, Con.
cha), and she holds out a necklace Of
gold, blue enameled, set with gray pearls,
the harmony Of stone and setting perfect.
"Why not amethyst instead Of pearls,
ConchaY 2" one asks, but she shrugs her
shoulders deprecatingly.
Amethyst looks vulgar with gold
Nina" she answers.
Fewer rings are to be noticed, perhaps
than any other ornament, the betrothal
rings being almost universally enameled
gold, but earrings, necklaces, bracelets,
chains, buttons, small pins and brooches
are abundant.
These lapidaries combine the ability OF
the Moorish gem worker with the pa
thence and originality Of the Chinese and
Japanese craftsmen, because they are
adept enamelers and sacrifice aver design
to color in this branch Of their work, ani
In all of their jewelry a daintiness AND
personality altogether irresistibly attract
i've are felt. The longer one looks the
more he becomes convinced that the dis
play before him is the expression Of
mind, the outcome Of a personal art, and
this belief is wholly satisfying, for, above
all else, a jewel should be unique.-Mary
Chesseborough Lord in Ledger.