Omaha daily bee., 1902-05-18
PEARLS TRUE AND FALSE
Genuine Gems Of the sea Pre-Bminent for
Natural Beauty.
THEIR FORMATION AND MANUFACTURE
where the Most valuable Are Found
shape and Color Determine
value-MethOd OF Making
Artificial Pearls.

Among all the products OF the sea, says
a writer in the New York Times, the pearl
IL pre-eminent for natural beauty, and
rivals In splendor and value the choicest
gems OF the earth. Unlike the latter, 1t
requires no aid from art to reveal it's
beauty and l~ustre, and doubtless for this
reason IL met with highest favor among
the a~neients. Love for the pearl has been
universal, shared alike by civilized and
unciviliEed people and 1t is more frequently
spoken Of in history than any other Jewels
combined. For ages 1t has been an emblem
Of purity and beauty. finding favor in the
eyes OF the simplest savage as we'll as
those OF the most cultured.
The formation of pearls has been a SUBJ
tect OF much speculation. II was formerly
attributed to drops of dew falling into tho
pearl oyster when the shell was open. The
natural inquiry as to how the dew fell
Into the oyster" is met with the explana-
tion that the oyster hoated to the surface
Of the water and thus caught the dew. At
present the pearl is considered to be the
result of a small foreign substance, as a
grain Of sand, a minute parasite, or even
an ava Of the mollusk, which has acct
dentally penetrated under the mantle and
i~rritated the animal. Unable to rid itself
Of the foreign substance the mollusk
deposits over It layer after layer OF secre-
lions Of lime interstratihed with animal
substance, and thus covers the irritating
substance with lustrous nacre or mother
of-pearl, resulting In a pearl. However,
some naturalists claim that the choicest
pearls are not formed by the mantle, but
are concretions Of the kidneys, being
simply urinary or nephritic stones. In
either case their formation Is an abnormal
condition, while the formation Of mother
of-pearlU is a natural process. While there
is no outward indication Of the existence
Of a pearl, they are more frequently con-
tained in irregular and distorted shells
than in regular and smooth ones.
shape and Color.
The value Of pearls depend on their form,
size, color, texture and orient. As regards
form. they are spherical. p~ear-shaped. but
ton-shaped. ovate, conical and irregular or
baroque. The perfectly round pearl is gen
orally the most valuable, other things being
equal. Those over 200 grains in weight
and Of fine orient are scarce, and are usually
profitable investments, the price gradually
increasing on account OF the enhanced de-
mand and the exhaustion Of the fisheries.
They are most commonly employed to form
the center Of necklaces. The button shaped
pesris Ihnk second In order OF valuation
and then come those pear-shaped. A but
ton-shaped pearl is worth only about one
quarter as much as a round pearl Of equal
weight and quality, and a pear-shaped pearl
only about one-sixth or one-eighth as much.
A perfect pearl should be without irregu-
~larities OF surface whatever its form. The
irregularly shaped pearl-Iike formations
known as bGroques are rarely OF much value
unless unusually lustrous. They are used
for the formation Of unique and fancifui
objects OF jewelry, advantage being taken
OF the odd resemblance which they bear to
common objects Of everyday life, some re-
markable examples Of which have been
produced. They have very little value apart
from their estimation in the eyes Of adj
mirers Of the curious and unusual.
Pearls are Of many coIors.. The choicest
In the estimation Of Europeans and Ameri-
cans is generally Of q silvery white, slightly
blue, or more properly, azure tinted. Black
pearls Of perfect form and luster fetch very
high prices, frequently exceeding the sill
very white pearls in value. 1t seems that
black pearls were little esteemed by the
ancients. nc mention Of them being made
by medieval writer's. Even as recently
as 1850 they were slightly valued. At
present, however, they are quite fashion
able. and owing to their scarcity the mar
ket price Is very high. This fashion is
said to have been established by the EN-