New-York tribune., 1918-03-08
max in the Invention or the famous
Tecla pearl

max in tho Invention or the famous
Tecla pearl.
About 1900 Goldsoll who was born in
Cleveland, the son Of an-Jcwish
merchant, became a bookmaker One
day during a meeting at one of the
in bets at long odds on horse that
happened to win. He vanished.
The next heard Of him was in Bcr-
lin. where he and book making partner,
Emile Hertz, gained an introduction
into the Nineteenth Century Club,
gaming rendezvous for all the gildcd
junkcrs Of Prussia. In the course Of
one sitting he and Hertz were credited
with cleaning up a million marks, or
about $25O.000.
There was a police aftermath to that
affair, a reward, it is said, having been
offered for the apprehension at least Of
Hertz
Maiden Lane men say that part of
that German money was brought TO
the United States to finance what in
its way was as profitable as the 10
cent idea which built the Woolworth
Building Goldsoll and his brother
Louis believed that with little win
dow dressing and plenty of electric
gilded tin, would go as we'll in the
United States as they once had in
Darkest Africa.
And they did. New Workers who re-
member the retail districts as they
we're fifteen or sixteen years ago will
recall the brilliant store windows gilt
tering with Sarctccora and Brazilian,
and later Montana. diamonds. From
scores of such stores. scattered from
New York to San Francisco, Bostot
to FL Paso, millions Of dollars were
i &l,o al ont
went to England. leaving $200.000
owing to the makers Of the iewery.
Creditors Consented
The creditors consented to the ar
rangemcnt The motto Of the paste dia
mond trade WAS "Sell quick and move
quick" Louis Goldsol promised to
sweep all the loose money in England
/ into the Saretecora trade. and the cred
itors, realizing what a boon he had
been to them in this country. began
! counting on world market.
But while Louis was getting cstab-
lshcd in Great Britain the brother
went to Paris and there showed that
! the Sarctccora game was. after all, 4
mere piking trade
Early in 1905 the Paris edition Of
"The New York Herald printed an
article. the main point of which was
the statement that pearls could not be
produced artiiclally.
Promptly "The Herald received a
letter challenging that statement 1t
was written On The stationery Of the
Hotel Ritz. and was signed Count de
L. The count declared that a
friend Of his. "a wonderful alchemist.
Professor IA" had just perfected
& process by which he had produced
perfect pearls. Then came another
letter asking. "Where may such pearls
be obtained?"
Tecla pearls had not yet been placed
on sale. But soon there appeared in
the European press flaming ADVERTISE
ments Of the Tccla pearl. reminiscent
OF the American days of the Brazilian
and Montana diamonds
Thus with such cleverly engineered
preliminary advertising began what Che
Paris, Amsterdam and London gem
trade chambers later described as the
most colossal jcwelry fake in The his
tory of jewelry
Goldsoll claimed the Teclas were
pearls as real as those produced in
the shells Of oysters. IN 1906 he was
hailed before the Commercial Tribunal
of Paris. Meanwhile the Count de
l.. or de Lambert was sought An
inquiry at the Ritz 'clicited a state
Mcnl that during the period covered
by the Tocla pearl letters in "The
Herald there had been no Count and
Countess de Lambert at the hostlcrv,
but that there was a Ny. and Mrs.
Frank J. Goldsoll.
Then the tribunal wanted TO know
'hc whereabouts of the Professor
Jccla VINO in France was described as
, a great American chemist and in tho
United States as q famous Frcnci,
/ scientist.
Produced Gem Inventor
Goldsoll actually produced a man
who admitted that he had invented the
pearl, and this is said to have served
as a basis for an appeal which kept tho
case open for five years until it was
asccrtainod that the stock in trade
Of all the Godsol stores in France.
Germany, Austria and Great Britain
I came from the Partisan firms of lie
I Roy, Iapart, Paisseau Fell and Par
nicr. These firms had supplanted the
; american tin jewel men as manufact-
urers by special warrant to the King
of Sarctecora.
It WAS not until 1911, the year that
, Coldsoil became naturalized French
, citizen. that the case was finally dis.
, posed OF. Goldsoll was fined hv tho
t Tribunal and required to advertise the
fact IN French papers H. was also
, ordered that tho stock in all his stores
IN France be properly labelled "imita
? ton
z Meanwhile. the journal Of tho Am.
slerdam diamond merchants published I'd