Pearls Explained

Pearls are in a sense the purest of all gems, since they alone require no polishing or cutting at the hands of workmen, but are found in nature in their most finished form of perfection. They have been known and prized since long before the Christian era. They are said to have been known in China four thousand years ago. The gems occur more or less extensively in almost every country where oysters or mussels are found. The pearls of the greatest value are the Orientals, found in the Indian and Pacific oceans. The famous fisheries of Ceylon furnish a large percentage of fine pearls, although the gems found there are seldom of large size. The Ceylon oyster is comparatively small, only about four inches in length and with a thin shell, while the oyster of the South Seas, Australia, and the Philippines is very large and thick. From these large pearl oysters comes the beautiful Mother of Pearl much used in commerce.

The fresh water pearls are found in streams, lakes, and ponds in nearly all parts of the temperate zone. American fresh water pearls are found largely in the Western rivers, and are generally of irregular shapes, either button or baroques, although some fine pearls have nevertheless been found there. In fact, some very fine American pearls have been discovered which have commanded a large price.

The value of a pearl depends first on its luster or orient, as it is termed in the trade; second, on its shape, round being the most valuable, next drop or pear shape, and lastly on its texture or skin. The skin of a fine pearl should be free from any wrinkles, scratches, or spots. Pearls increase in value in proportion to an increase in size much faster than does any other gem, and are figured unlike any other gem.

For a long time pearls had a far greater sale in Europe than in America. All jewelers of much prominence abroad carried very large stocks of pearls. But the pearl business in America is now very large and continues getting larger.

The increase in value of pearls has been going on during the last one hundred and twenty years very rapidly, and the increase has been far greater than is the case with diamonds or even with emeralds. The causes for this advance in price are better known than in the case of diamonds, and the probable value of pearls in the future can therefore be more definitely forecasted. Regarding these points I will draw largely from a personal letter from Mr. Ludwig Nissen, of New York:

In brief, then, the cause for the advance in price of pearls is simply that the supply is now absolutely inadequate to meet the demand. The supply is chiefly from two sources, the fisheries and the accumulated stores of the great Indian rajahs. The fisheries, the only primary source, are gradually being exhausted. At the time this letter was written, statistics show that there was not an average of ten million dollars' worth of pearls from all the fisheries combined, while much more than ten million dollars' worth of pearls was sold annually in New York City alone. This exhaustion of the fisheries has been accelerated by the methods used. In former years divers went down to the bottom of the sea to pick out and get the oysters which they thought might contain pearls, but since the demand has so largely increased, divers are no longer employed. Grapples are used in their stead and are operated in the same way as dredging machines, scraping up everything, large and small. When these small oysters are opened and seed pearls taken, there is obviously no chance for the pearls to grow larger. In this manner the pearl fisheries are being robbed instead of being conserved, and the supply will continue to decrease.

Drilled pearls were practically the only ones found on the European market at the time of this letter, and this fact points to the second source gradually accumulated and held for centuries by the pearl loving princess of India. New pearls from the fisheries were never drilled both because the gems may be desired for other purposes than for necklaces, and also because the moisture otherwise held within the hard outer skin can, in the case of drilled pearls, ooze out between the skins, the pearl little by little dries up and becomes lighter. The old pearls of the Indian princes were always drilled so that they might be strung and thus carried with greater security by the owner. The fact that a lot of the pearls on the market are drilled shows again that we are dependent for our supply on these accumulations which are the result of centuries of pearl fishing, and some years ago large numbers of these old pearls were lured from their ancient owners by the large prices offered. But now even this supply, limited as it must be, is beginning to dwindle. Lastly, great difficulties are now encountered in securing pearls from these sources. A pearl syndicate has been formed which collects all the pearls it can secure in all parts of the East, ships them to London and Paris, and then demands such high prices that often a whole year must be consumed in dickering before a bargain can finally be reached. Taken together, all these reasons explain why pearls have advanced so rapidly in price, and also why fine large pearls have increased most rapidly in value. It would also appear from this, that since the supply is so inadequate to the demand, pearls, and especially fine ones, must inevitably advance greatly in the future.

In conclusion Mr. Nissen says that "the coming into the market of a really fine twenty to twenty five grain pearl is almost as much a sensation in the pearl market as the discovery of an unknown Rembrandt picture."

The skin of an oriental pearl is formed like that of an onion, and very highly skilled workmen can sometimes remove the outer layer of a pearl with bad skin and thus produce a smaller pearl of good skin. This is very seldom done in America, however, and at best it is always a gamble whether the risk should be incurred. Fresh water pearls, on the other hand, are not formed in layers, but in sections, and cannot be peeled.

Pearls vary greatly in color and shade. Those of pure white or white with a rose pink tint, with good luster, are the most valuable of the regular colors. Creamy white is also desirable. Of the fancy colors black pearls of fine skin and shape are very valuable, as are also fine pink pearls. Button pearls are those with one side flat, while baroque pearls are always of odd and irregular shapes.

Pearls may be injured by acids or by being scratched, but are not harmed by pure water. A string of fine pearls should always be carefully wiped and put away in soft cotton after being worn. They should be restrung quite often.

As is well know, gems and particularly pearls have from remote antiquity been regarded as of great value and have, therefore, been eagerly collected by kings and princes. Many pretty legends have arisen from this fact, especially among the rajahs of the East. An interesting example of this spontaneous and interesting literature of gems has been handed to me by Mr. Nissen, and is as follows:

The Princess of Travancore, who was stolen by a Rover of Kandy and lost in the storm called down upon his ships by a potent Brahman, is the heroine of the tale. Her body was recovered and with it came a great gift, as the legend thus relates.

Now, when the elements were at peace again, the King gave orders that certain fishermen of his people who were expert divers should explore the bottom of the sea where the ships of the Rover were destroyed. One of these discovered the body of the Princess and brought it to shore. And when they prepared it for burial the women found fastened upon one of the hands a shellfish, the two shells of which had closed upon a finger when it fell between them as they gaped. And when the shells were pried apart there rolled from between them a round bone, white and shining, and yet of a luster so soft and beautiful that no man had seen the like. And the Brahman, when he saw it, said: "Herein are the tears of Heaven which fell into the sea, congealed and have become a gem which is beyond price." And he named it "Pearl," and carried it to the King. Then the King, after he had heard the story of it, sent for the chief man of them that worked in gold and commanded him that he make for the pearl a setting most precious, and when it was done, he gave it to the Prince, his son, saying: "Above all things let this be first among the jewels of Travancore forever." And the Prince, when he looked upon it said, "The beauty of it is like the brightness of her eyes when they veiled themselves before my passion," and he prized it more than all the diamonds and rubies in his treasure house.