The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1910-11-19
.STRINClNG PEARLS
A Difficult Task That Calls For
Skill and Judgment.
CORDED ON SURGEONS SILK.

\ Soft, Round Strand Of Pure White
Woven Thread Is Employed, and an
Intricate System OF Knottne Guards
the Gems Should the String Break.
Every now and then a story is print
ed about the loss OF a valuable string
OF pearls through the breaking Of the
cord on which they were hung and
their slipping or and scattering over
The door or sidewalk. Those who
know anything about the stringing Of
pearls, however, always read these
tales with incredulity. because nova
days. as a general thing, only false
pearls or those Of small price are
strung without knot being tied be-
tween each OF them. so that If the
cord breaks 10 more than one can fail
Off.
II is common belief that because of
their great value pearls are strung on
something durable. like catgut or wire.
4 As matter of fact such material is
never employed There is no beauty
70 string OF pearls that looks wiry
or stiff. 1t must be flexible to the
highest degree. otherwise all its grace.
tul effect will be lost Up to the time
OF the Introduction of surgeons silk
for pearl stringing nothing had been
found chat would absolutely meet the
requirements Of strength and tiexi-
bility.
That the most valuable pearls are to.
day strung on cords OF surgeons silk
Is due TO the suggestion Of a woman
employee of New York jewelry
house.
Surgeons silk-the thread that is
nsed for sewing up cuts and wounds
is soft round strand of pure white
silk which is woven. not twisted The
weave, when viewed under magni-
tying glass. closely resembles that Of
iiue silk braid and is capable of only
small degree of expansion. This
thread is produced in several diam
eters or grades, which makes it all the
more desirable for pearl stringing,
These are numbered instead Of being
Iettered like ordinary sewing silk and
are wound on small cards like darning
cotton.
When the young woman's idea was
first adopted ii seemed as though il
would prove impracticable owing to
the quantity Of surgeons silk manu-
tactured being insufficient TO meet the
new demands from the jewelers.. II
was also very expensive But the idea
was such a good one and the surgeons
silk was SO much superior to anything
ever tried before that in time it was
found possible to secure it in sufficient
quantities and at wholesale prices.
The principal safeguard against loss
however. is in the method of string
ing An intricate system of knotting
the thread between each pearl is EN-
ployed. This prevents the escape of
more than one jewel should the thread
break. This knotting is done with
tweezers and is a task that requires
great skill. There must be no insight
/ y gaps between the knots and the
/ pearls, and the whole when finished
must be immaculate in its whiteness
The tiny knots ms cad of detracung
from the beauty of the necklace en-.
hance it, for they look like seed pearls
alternating with the larger ones. Knot
ting lengthens the necklace also and
is often resorted to for that purpose.
When a strand of certain length is
desired and the number of large pearls
4 is not sufficient imitation pearls of the
I exact size and color are often substi-
tuted Some of these limitations will
deceive the Of any but the most
expert
1t often happens that the largest
pearls have the smallest bcles drilled
through them, for every grain that is
taken from the pearl reduces it in
weight. In such cases. however, the
risk OF the cord breaking is increased
owing to the slenderness Of the thread
and the sharp edges of the pearls cut.
ting through it quickly.
Srringing pearls is never done with
needle. A needle is not yielding
enough TO pass through very small
holes, and the doubling of its diameter
at the eye makes its use impracticabe
Therefore the end of the thread is
sharpened to a very fine point. which
is waxed stiffiy enough to be used ex-
actly as needle would be-
Ordinarily pearl stringing is me-
chanically difficult and also requires
taste and judgment The pearls may
have TO be rearranged in order TO i'm.
prove their general appearance. IN
the laying out OF collarets especially
great deal of skill is required 10
the first place. the colaret must tit
exactly. This seems comparatively
easy, but it is not pattern is al
ways fitted beforehand, but it is rare
ly the case that the result is satisfac-
tory the first time. Some necks re-
quire Straight collars and others
Slightly curved. The same care is CIV
en- TO the fitting OF colaret MS to the
set OF an expensive gown. and it has
to be tried on and changed and ad
justed as many times.
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