The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1910-09-06
STRINeINCPEARLS
4 Difficult Task That Calls For
Skill and Judgment.

Skill and Judgment.
CORDED ON SURGEONS SILK.
A soft. Round Strand Of Pure White
Woven Thread 10 Employed. and an
intricate System OF knottina Guard.
the Gems Should the String Break.
Every nov aud theu "a story Is print
ed about the inss of q vainah l.. string
of pearls through the breaking Of the
cord on which they were hung and
their slipping OF and scattering over
the door or sidewalk. Those who
know aByt hing about the strinsfng OF
pearls. however. always read these
tales with Incredibly. because nova
days. as a general thing. only false
pearls or those of small price are
strung without a knot being tied be-
tween each OF them. so that If the
cord breaks no more than Que can fall
o1F.
1t Is common belief that because OF
their great value pearls are strung On
sonnet hing durable. like catgut or wire
A. a matter of fact such material is
0ever employed. There Is no beauty
to string OF pearls that looks wiry
or stiff. 1t must be flexible to the
highest degree. otherwise all its grace
tut effect will be lost. Up to the time
Of the Introduction OF surgeons silk
for pearl stringing nothing had been
found that would absolutely mee, the
requirements of strength aud fexi
bility.
That the most valuable pearls are to-
day strung on cords Ut surgeons silk
- due to the suggestion OF wu,uun
employee of New York jeweiry
house.
Surgeons silk-the thread ina, IL
| used for sewing up cuts and wounds
| 70 q soft, round strand of pure white
sllk which is woven. not twisted. The
| weave. when viewed under Il u,iyni-
fytng glass. closely resembles that OF
due silk braid aud IL capable OF only
q small degree of expansion This
thread Ia Produced III several diam
eters or grades. which makes il all the
more desirable for pearl strinrins
These are numbered instead OF being
)ettered like ordinary sewing silk and
are wound Oh small cards like daruins
cotton.
| when the young WOmaD'S idea was
0rst adopted II seemed a. though il
would prove impraclkcabie owing to
the quantity Ut surgeons silk manu-
featured being insufficient to meet the
new demands from the jewelers. 1t
was also very expensive. But the idea
was such u good one and the surgeons
silk was SO much superior to anything
ever tried before that In time ii was
found possible to secure II In sufficient
quantities and at wholesale prices
The principal safeguard against loss.
however. IL In the method Of string
ing. An intricate system of knotting
the thread between each pearl Is EN-
pl0yed. This prevents the escape ut
more than one jewel should the thread
break. This knotting Is done With
Itwee1ers and IL q task that requires
great skill. There must be no insight
~ gaps between the knots aud the
pearls, and the whole when finished
must be immaculate In it's whiteness
The tiny knots instead of detractiny
from the beauty of the necklace en-
hauce 1t. for they look like seed pearls
alternating with the larger ones. Knot
ting lengthens the necklace also aud
u often resOrted to for that purpose.
/ When q strand of q certain length Is
desired and the number of large pearls
II not sufficient Imitation pearls OF the
exact size and color Nre often substi-
tuted. Some of these hnitations will
deceive the eye of any but the most
lexpert
1t often happens that the largest
pearls have the smallest holes drilled
through them. for every grain that Is
taken from the pearl reduces II IN
weight. 10 such cases. however. rhe
risk Of the cord breaking Is Increased
lowing to the slenderness ct the thread
and the sharp edges of the pearls cut
ding through 1t quickly.
Stringing pearls Is never done with
q needle. A needle Is not yielding
enough to pass through very small
holes. and the doubling Of It's diameter
Therefore the end of the thread Is
sharpened to q very fine point. whirh
II waxed stiftly enough to be used ex
actly as q needle would be-
Ordinarily pearl stringing Is me
chanicaIly difficult and also requires
taste and judgment. The pearls may
have to be rearranged In order 10 im
prove their general appearance In
the laying out OF cOIlarets especially
q great deal Of skill Is required In
the first place. the collaret must tit
exactly. This seems comparatively
easy, but 1t Is not. 4 pattern is al
ways fitted beforehand. but 1t Is rare
~ the case that the result is satiSfac-
tory the frst tine Some necks re-
Quire straight collars and others
slightly curved, The same care Is Civ
en- to the fitting OF a collaret IA to tn.
Get OF an expensive gown. and II has
to be tried Oh and changed and ad
1usted as many times
Dividers are used to gauge the exact
position in which the vertical diamond
bars that support the strands OF pearls
, should be placed Endless care and
| As>A- 4, 1,S~