The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1903-11-04

before We're pearls in greater demand
years are at 81 disadvantage. Never
than they are right now, which means,
of course, that they have not depreci-
ated in value. Feminine fancy for the
time being runs to strings Of pearls
rather than to set collars-strings
which lengthen out to ropes according
to the elasticity of the purse of the
man or woman who places the order.
Anywhere from $4,000 to $50, 900 is
paid cheerfully every day for a string
only large enough to go around the
neck. Some Of the ropes cost as much
as 5000. 900, and n ten feet long which
we finished a few weeks ago for a
New York woman. cost s400, 900. 1t is
not every day though that an order
like that is placed.
ut is pretty we'll understood that
many Of the costliest necklaces and
strings of pearls now eXtant are owned
by Americans; but perhaps it is not
so we'll known that each Of these
necklaces, in fact and string Of large,
perfectly matched pearls, represents
sometimes years Of ~atient search of
the most famous pealI fisheries Of ORR
entail countries and Of the jewel marts
Of the world by experts who spend
their time doing nothing else.
Nowadays, as ON people know, 1t
is as much the custom to have certain
rare pieces Of jewelry made to order as
it is to order a dress suit, a carriage or
a yacht. Customers who can pay
many thousands Of dollars for n arti-
Gle of jewelry generally have Individual
preferences which must be considered.
"The ornaments we have in stock
may give them a cue as to style, price,
etc., but the more fastidious are quite
likely to choose to have stones all Of
a certain size or a particular color, or
it may be a combination of stones not
exactly like anything we have made
up.
I'm almost every case we can guar
antee to give a customer exactly what
she wants, but not always at short no
tice. It may take months to get to-
gether a certain desired group OF
stones.
"For instance, the other day we
finished a pendant for a millionaire
who wanted for a Christmas present
for his wife and ordered it more than
six months ago: The most remarka-
bic feature Of the pendant is five ru-
bies, which alone are valued at $780,
900 and are absolutely fiawless and are
perfectly matched.
Zone of the most superb private col
lections Of emeralds in the world is
owned by a New York woman. Every
time she appears in it in public he
fact is chronicled and she is probably
the envy Of every of her ac-
quaintance. No one needs to be told
that to get together such a collection
of perfect emeraldS was a work OF
time.
IT could go on multiplying examples
of the same kind and describe many
wonderful pieces Of jewelry, but most
Of them are in evidence at the opera
any night and the public is almost
as familiar with them as the owners
themselves.
lone thing is certain, that the con-
tents of very many Of the private
jewel cases in New York indicate a
value of more than half a million dol
lars. In some cases they are matched
in value by the collections Of royalty
alone and that only because the lat
ter owe much Of their value TO hlstor-
ical associations.
Indeed, it is not too much to say
that separated from their associa-
tions many Of the jewels worn by
crowned heads are so ordinary that
some American women would probably
refuse to wear them.
II am really surprised sometimes at
the cleverness Of the American women
in discriminating between the indiffer-
ent grades of jewels, and I begin to
think she must have a natural aptl-
tude in that direction. Of course al
most any one but an expert may be
fooled IN precious stones, which &C
counts for the fact that Americans are
slow to buy jewels through n save
we'll known and trustworthy agencies.
The American women dearly loves a
bargain, but she is not willing to run
much risk to get one when it comes
to a question of jewels"
But if strangers are astonished at
the show of jewels at the opera and
elsewhere o'nights in this town, they
are even more surprised at the care
lessness with which New York women
wear the costliest ornaments all day
long-walking, driving, shopping,
indeed on every and any occa-
sion. An English Woman at a morn
ing concert not long ago, was both
astonished and alarmed to see in the
back hair of an American woman IN
front of her a pin containing a row OF
diamonds of first quality.
At the lowest calculation the thing was
worth S. 5000 or $4,000.
"Any thief" expostulated the Eng
fish woman afterward, could snip
that out of your hair as quick as a
wink
"But no thief ever has," was the
rejoinder.
Later en- in the restaurant at lunch
con the English visitor saw at a near
by table a woman with several strands
of almost priceless pearls wound abou
the outside Of her dress collar as II
they had been so many beads, and her
companion wore a long chain made
mostly of diamonds to which was at
tached a lorgnette studded with pre-
stones. Afterward, to the stran-
gers borrow, she saw both women
calmly strolling up Fifth avenue.
American women it seems don't nave
the finest jewels in the world to keep
them in a safety deposit vault and to
substitute for them in public paste I'M
itations as was frequently done IN the
old days in court circles by ladies' OF
high degree. No paste jewels II you
please for women on this side of the
water.
The American buys jewels to adorn
her person and she wears them / sea-
son and, it may be, out of season.
Moreover, she doesn't worry overmuch
about their safety. It seems she mas
reason to.
1.-THE percentage Of losses Of jewels
by theft in this country and especially
in New York" said a leading jeWeler
whose opinion on this subject was
asked, "is so small as to be scarcely