The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1901-09-20
OPALS ARE IN VOGUE.
STONE OF WEIRD TRADITIONS
FAVORED BY FASHION.
Plays Most Prominent Part In Latest
Designs In Jewelry-GOld and Silver
Cleverly Combined In Beautiful De-
slgns-Dragons for Adjournment.

In all ages jewels have possessed
fascination which few women can sue
cessfully resist; even the unset gem,
lacking the accessories which the skill
of the silversmith has devised for the
better exploitation of it's beauties, eX-
ercises a potent spell. The modern
woman seeks to fill her jewel box with
the rarest and loveliest specimens OBJ
tainable of diamonds, rubies rich and
warm, pearls softly radiant and opals
which burn or glow or in milky opal
escence, full of a charm which some
of the more stately Jewels lack. 1t is
not surprising that these curious prod
ucts OF nature should attract attention
and figure in song and story. There
is about them a glamour which chem
istry cannot dissipate. fascination
for which science cannot account, a
witchery which tempts one to believe
in uncanny spells and weird traditions.
Whether people are outgrowing the
minor superstitions which attach
themselves to gems and such things
that is not troubled with qualms of
doubt regarding the powers of dark
ness, one fact remains certain-the
opal is in fashion. Whether set in the
quantity fashioned lace pin or in the
diamond set ring it plays prominent
part in the new jewelry, particularly
in that which follows the "Lalique
models" A lace pin which is a charm
ing conceit has a fiery opal imbedded
in mass of reddish gold wrought into
the curious arabesques of Egypt The
trailing filaments of drawn gold which
radiate from this glowing center fade
into pale yellow prongs the extreme
point of each being set with the small
est imaginable splint of a diamond.
just large enough to give light TO the
outline of the design The opal in the
center is surrounded by tiny diamonds
placed irregularly, and these in turn
have small emeralds arranged to cor
respond, the whole finished with a
Gordon of small pearls. The various
stones reproduce the coloring of the
opal, leaving the CLEANS Of red and
blue to stand out in greater promi-
nence against the Pickering lights of
the small stones. Opals somewhat ir-
regular in shape appear in belt
buckles, in combs, in rings. and vary
from the fiery, many-colored gems to
the milky, softly tinted stones which
show comparatively little play of col
ors. Gold in the new jewelry plays a
special part and is handled with great
skill by the modern silversmith. Sill
yer in combination with the more
precious metal is used to great adj
vantage, and some of the ornaments
intended for the adornment of card
cases and pocketbooks are exquisite in
design and workmanship. card case
which shows the excellent result OBJ
tainable in the working of the two
metals has a woman's figure raised
from the leather surface. The face is
of silver so treated and so worked as
to present a wonderful play of light
which gives variety to the expression
and delicgcy to the beautiful outlines
of the face. The hair is worked out
in the reddish gold and the waving,
flying locks are so perfectly portrayed
as to give the peculiar lightness of
floating tresses. Now men paint with
metals as well as pigments and YER
liable works of art may be had for the
asking. Simpler effects in lace and
scarfpins show female heads with star
studded hair-sometimes the full face,
sometimes the profile only is shown,
but in all faces there is the same in
scrutable expression of knowledge or
of witchery, of something outside the
pale of everyday life, and one stands
fascinated. Curiously irregular pearls,
rubies and sapphires, emeralds and
familiar semi-precious stones are
woven together in a network of col
ored gold, producing something lovely
yet elusive. The moonstone set with
small brilliants also appears, and the
silvery sheen of this stone is thrown
into strong relief by the glittering
little brilliants which surround it.
Sometimes the surface bears the pro-
file or full face of the traditional Man
in the Moon" sometimes the family
suggested face of a woman The
dragon plays a leading role in the new
designs in gold. The modern dragon
has. however better taste than his an
cestors and more just appreciation
Of the values in life, for instead of
feeding upon luckless travellers the un-
canny beast carries in it's mouth
pearl. a diamond, ruby, a sapphire or
some other equally pleasant little gift.
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