The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-02-08

World of Finance
Pearl Importations
Double 1916 Record

importation or pearls In the OnIteu
States in 1916 was double in value
that Of any preceding year. A COM
pilation by the Foreign Trade Depart
ment Of the National City Bank of
New York Of the importation Of pre-
cious stones in 1916 shows that it is to
the pearl that that year owes it's rec
ord as that of the greatest importa-
ton Of precious stones.
The value of precious stones i'm
ported in the calendar year 1915 for
the first time crossed the SO million
dollar line. amounting in round terms
! to So millions against 27 millions In
1915, 20 millions in 1914 and At mil
:, lions In 1913, the former high record
year. But this high record for 1916
lis due solely to the popularity of the
pearl, of which the importations of
1916 amounted to approximately IL
! million dollars, against little over
! millions, in the preceding year and
tribe over 5 millions in the former
hsh record years, 1918 and 1912.
Indeed so little was the pearl in ia
J yor among the importers of precious
stones that the Department, of Com
merce did not find it necessary to take
q separate record Of it's importations
prior to 1911. merely including it in
the group "all other precious stones"
In 1911, however, the importations
amounted to nearly million dollars.
in 1912 about millions, in 1913,
millions; in 1914, { year of small i'm
ports Of luxuries) about millions; in
1918 a little over millions; while
in 1916 the total was about IL mill
lions. or more than in any two preced-
ing wears in the history Of pearl i'm
portatiops.
That the pearl is growing in popu-
lar favor more rapidly than the dia-
~unond is evidenced by the facts that
pearls imported in 1916 were one
third Of the value Of diamond I'M
ports, In 1915 about one-fourth Of the
value Of the diamonds and in pre-
ceding years about one-sixth of that
of the diamonds brought into the
country.
The explanation offered by import
ers and dealers Of the more rapid per-
centage Of growth in the importation
OF the pearl is that pearls are more
in favor than formerly. In fact
prices of pearls have advanced even
more rapidly than those OF diamonds.
The average value per unit or guam
tity has increased in diamonds about
20 per cent in the past year while in
pearls the increase has been about 20
per cent. in value per unit of quantity.
Most OF the pearls brought into the
United States are imported from
France, and smaller, quantities from
the United Kingdom, though OF
course these countries, which produce
no pearls, have gathered them from
other parts of the world and put
them into marketable condition. The
chief places in which they are op-
tanned are the pearl oyster fisheries OF
the Sulu archipelago, the Philippine
Islands, the coasts of Australia, Bur
ma and Ceylon, the Red Sea, the Per-
sian Gulf, and the Pearl Islands In
the Bay Of Panama. The diamonds
imported by the United States are
drawn from Great Britain, France,
and the Netherlands, but are chiefly
produced In South Africa
The value 7of precious stones i'm
ported into the United States since
1870 is over $500,O0O,000, Of which
diamonds were about $425.OOO,oOO'
and pearls approximately 40 millions
the calendar year 1916 having mace
the highest record Of all precious
stones with total Of over So million
dollars pearls forming a larger per-
centage Of this large importation of
1915 than in any previous year in the |
history. Of the Importation Of precious /
stones. This high record of 1916 is,
however, due to the large increase In
the importation of pearls, the d1a-
imonds imported in 1916 having been
slightly less in value than in the cal
endar year 1913.
The people of the United States
now own fully two-fifths of the known
diamonds of the world, their value ex-
ceeding those Of any other country;
while the annual Importation for do
nestle use is also greater than that of
any other country.