The New York herald., 1922-01-14
PEARLS IN SUIT MAY
Be GEMS OF RUSSIA
Believed to Be Loot Missed by
Soviet i'm ConfiscatiOn
After Revolt.


against divulging the identity OF their
patrons is prevailing in the matter OF
the ownership of the s1.50o,000 pearl
necklace purchased within recent
months from Cartier. Inc, by an Ameri-
can woman living out of town.
The best guess-and it Is only guess
lis that the necklace was bought in
Paris from some member of the Rus
sian refugee colony whose fortune was
wrecked in the revolution, but who
managed to keep from the clutches Of
the Bolshevki priceless, historical
heirloom which laetr found its way to
this country.
Credence is lent to this by the fact
that Leopold Benguiat, one of the broth
ers who is suing Cartier. Inc. for $780,
015. as the alleged unpaid portion Of
their share of the transaction, Is now In
Paris, and the common knowledge in the
jewolry trade that great deal of this
firms business is transacted in that
city.
Paul Cartier and his colleagues in the
y
terday to discuss either the origin of the
necklace or It's American purchaser. IT
has been policy of the I'm for eighty
years, they said, to maintain an un-
swerving silence with regard to clients
and customers. and that policy would
be continued regardless of the amount
or public interest aroused over the suit.
Czarine Theory Belittled.
BY an ever SO gentle Gallo shrug of
the shoulders. however. Jacques Car
tier one of the junior members Of the
firm. intimated that little belief could
be placed i'm the theory that this neck
lace came from the vaults of the Ro-
manoffs when the revolutionists stormed
the walls of the Winter Palace in Pet
rograd and confiscated a great deal of
the royal family's most treasured pos
sessions. That it is of Russian origin
it bears on it's clasp the likeness of
Catherine the Great-nobody would
deny, but that it once graced the throat
of the last Empress remains u moot
question.
Vitali Benguiat-the only man per-
haps who would be willing to divulge
the ownership of the million dollar
trinket-is i'll i'm bed in New York
hotel, and his brother, Benjamin Ben
guiat proprietor of an antique shop at
East F'ifty-sixth street, would not
have him disturbed.
"He is oill,' he said. land there are
so many calls upon him. 1t Is better
that you should wait until we establish
our claim in court. Perhaps, though,
you might see the lawyers
The fact that an American woman
was able to purchases necklace of
ooa 80 dina tad q
five strands and looped with a likeness
of n past sovereign without creating
ripple in the jewelry market of Maiden
lane and Fifth avenue lent piquancy
to the transaction. ewelers follow such
purchases closely; keep tabs on prices
and the Withdrawals of pearls from
tbe omen market in the same manner
that stock brokers watch the ticker.
but two experienced traders working
quietly i'm conjunction with great
iewelry house were able apparently 10
d,snose of fabulousIy priced article
without any one being the wiser.
Late History of Pearls.
Reconstructed from the best reports
available. II would appear that the Ben
guiat brothers obtained the necklace in
Paris, brought 1t to this country ana
sold il through Cartier to an unknown
third person. 1t was not until the
action was filed Thursday tnat the saie
became known.
wne Benguiat brothers allege that an
agreement was made with the Fifth
avenue firm whereby the piece was to
be sold on commission at the best price
obtainable above $500, 900. and that in
stead of the necklace being sold by
Cartier. Inc, for $S25.O00. as stated by
the firm, II actually brought $500, 900.
Although the Benguiats have received
already $616.575, they claim $3SO,07s
more is due them on the alleged ad-
vanced price.
The Cartier firm declares that this
statement has absolutely no foundation
i'm fact, and that complete answer
to the charges will be filed by their
attorneys within short time. Maurice
Leon, OF counsel for Cartier, produced
n letter yesterday written 10 Judge
David Leventritt. counsel for Benguiat.
in which he protested against the Ben
guiat suit, contending that IL had been
brought to cause annoying publicity to
the Cartier firm. and was virtually an
attempt to frighten his clients into COM
plying with the demands. One paragraph
of the letter read:
"We can only deduce from the in
clusion of such manifestly unfair state
ments in the complaint that II is M.
Benguiats purpose to seek 10 exert
pressure on our client by causing TO be
published this defamatory matter In the
hope that he will thereby induce our
client to comply with money demands,
which they regard as entirely unjusti-
fed
One OF the contentious OF the Ben
guiats IL that information OF the sale
by Cartier was withheld from them
for some time. II Is admitted by coun-
sci for Cartier that the news did not
reach the two brothers Immediately.
Mr.. Leon explaining .hat they were
both absent In Paris. had left no nd-
dress and had no representative in this