The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-07-15

I selected a beautiful stone and wished t.
have II cut in a design of my own.
You should have heard the lapidary's
objection. Because 1t never had been done
before anyone would nave thought that
was asking him to break a sacred law
That is my experience at every turn; be
cause a design is out of the ordinary they
try to argue with me that 1t Is wrong.
Looking at it from one way | cannot
wholly blame them. Even the best of us
like a precedent. Now the ring of which
this Is q Photograph was made for the
Shah of Persia. 1t is by nc means either
the most beautiful or the most expensive
ring that I have made, yet I AVE seer
myself rise perceptibly higher in h esti-
nation Of some of my best patrons when
they CHANGED to learn that I had made a
ring for the Shah.
1T came about In a very everyday sort
of way. A Persian official returning home
wished to take the Shah a ring of Ameri-
can make. and. thinking that having the
ring made by a woman might give it an
additional interest, he came to see me and
gave me the order.
at was a handsome topaz set in twenty
two karat gold. At the bottom of the
stone I carved the characters which mean
God is all glorious These could only be
seen when looking down into the stone.
Then they stood out clear and distinct. In
the carving of the setting | used two other
Persian symbols, the rose and the night
ingale. The settings on the two sides were
different.
THAT Is one thing that I will not do. I
will not make two articles alike. To me
a piece of jewelry should be as individual
as a gown or hat. Then, too, 1t wears on
my nerves. to make duplicates-ft takes
away the pleasure of creating.
mot lonn orO 7 naoda a ring that Infpr-
ested me and at the same time afforded me
a lot of amusement. A girl came here with
one of my regular patrons and became so
enthusiastic over my work that 1T was
really embarrassing. She must have some
thing and finally settled on a ring.
what sort of ring? She could not de-
eide and finally | was called on to help her.
Now I knew nothing about the girl except
what I had seen and heard while she was
here. I had been impressed by the Idea
that she was going at a rather rapid pace
and the thought flashed through my mind
that unless she was more careful some day
her wings would be scorched.
When asked for a suggestion I said,
Well, you remind me of a moth She
seized on the idea at once and declared
that she wanted a big beautiful moth.
That was what 1t was, a ring that looked
like a big, beautiful moth resting on her
finger.
"She had well-shaped, plump hands,
beautifully white. and If I thought a life
time l could not lave found a ring more
becoming. That Is the way l like to do
work. I like to have 1t come as an inspira-
ton and be completely worked out.
II recommend jewelry making as espe-
cially suited to women not only because
1t is dainty work. requiring skill rather
than strength, but because 1t can be done
at home. I do all of my work right here,
and there is nothing like as much litter at
the end OF a weeks work as there would
be at the end Of a days sewing.
There is. so far as 1 am able to OBJ
serve. "a good field here in New York for
a woman to devote herself to stringing
pearls. A woman to succeed in this must
have a quick eye for color and her care
fulness must be above suspicion.
Another field In which women here in
New York might make a good living is in
making spoons. I couldn't tell you how
many orders I have had to refuse for
spoons. You see, my designs are all modi-
f~cations Of the old spoons that our grand
mothers used. Yet because they are sim
pie and graceful and without that tinny