Black pearl

“ The greater portion of black pearls come from the black-lipped variety of shell, a much smaller shell than gold-lipped or mother-of-pearl. The latter shell averages about the size of a large dinner plate, and varies in colour from a pure white at the hinges to a golden colour at the lips. Gold-lip is only obtained in deep water and by means of diving dress; black-lip in shallow water and by naked natives, skin-divers as they are called. Black-lip is of much less value than gold, but, for some reason unknown to me, always jumps tremendously in price during periods of Court Mourning. ”

“ The colour is ordinarily white, or faintly tinged yellowish or bluish, and somewhat rarely, salmon-pink, reddish, or blackish grey. Perfect black pearls are valuable, but not as costly as the finest of the white. Though not transparent, pearl is to a varying extent translucent, and its characteristic lustre—‘orient’ in the language of jewellery—is due to the same kind of interaction of light reflected from different layers that has been remarked upon in the case of opal and certain other stones. ”

“ Coal-black pearls occur in one of the pinnas, the interior of which is sooty, shot with iridescent purple, and since the pearl, whether produced by oyster, mussel, pinna, or window-shell, is generally more brilliant than the containing shell, that of the black pinna, with the high lights of its environment concentrated, may be a gem of surpassing novelty and beauty. ”

“ A white pearl of very poor color can by such means be changed temporarily into a black pearl which will command a fancy price. This illegitimate doctoring of pearls, whereby defects are hidden and a fictitious appearance of quality imparted to last long enough to make sales at exorbitant prices, should not be confounded with the legitimate improvement of pearls which is now growing to be an industry of some importance. Experts are now able by careful manipulation to restore to some extent the luster which has been lost by wear or age. ”

“ It is smaller than the Australian species, specimens rarely exceeding eight inches in diameter. It yields a large percentage of the black pearls that have been so fashionable in the last fifty years.
Since 1870, the largest pearls have been found mainly in a very 70large species of pearl-oyster, Margaritifera maxima, obtained off the north and west coasts of Australia, among the Sulu Islands, and elsewhere in the Malay Archipelago. In the fisheries for this species, the mother-of-pearl is the principal object sought, and the pearls are obtained incidentally. ”

“ This deposit is also found, however, in some pearl formations, as many of the abalone baroques, especially when they are somewhat flat in shape, are like two pearl blisters joined, with the shell-building process reversed, the rough, black conchiolin being inside, and the nacre [158] outside. Undoubtedly pearls containing hidden qualities which made them once gems are thrown away as valueless, while others found just as nature had covered their earlier coarseness with a coat of beauty, are worn and excite much admiration for their skin-deep beauty. ”

“ The sun beat down on them as they went and the earth was warm beneath their feet and green and soft with grass. Suddenly as she walked the woman felt her blood grow all sweet and languorous in her with the hot sun. And without knowing why, it gave her some deep pleasure to look at the man who walked ahead of her, at his strong pale neck, shining with sweat, at his body moving in the long smooth robe of summer stuff, at his feet in white clean hose and black shoes of cloth. ”

“ In color they range from white to green and lead-gray, and frequently greenish black. Valuable pearls are not common, but occasionally the fisherman is amply rewarded. A letter from the American consul at Panama states that in 1899 a native boy, fifteen years old, fishing in shallow water, as much for sport as for profit, found a pearl which he sold to a local speculator for 4000 silver dollars ($1760) ; this speculator delivered the same pearl to a dealer in Panama for 10,000 silver dollars ($4400) , and an offer of 30,000 francs was refused for it later in Paris. ”

“ Most of them are well formed, but their color is generally inferior and their luster deficient. Many of them are buff or brown in color, some are bright and fairly good, a few are rose-tinted, and others are slate-colored and even almost black. Toronto jewelers report that many Canadian pearls are in the possession of farmers and others in the lower provinces, held by them for higher prices than the jewelers are willing to pay. The Nova Scotia pearls are from a bivalve which has been identified as Alasmodon margaritifera. ”

“ If I don't, Le Drieux will, as you have yourself prophesied. Pearls—especially such pearls as these—are rare and easy to recognize. The world does not contain many black-pearls, for instance, such as that you are wearing. An expert—a man with a photograph that strongly resembles young Jones—is tracing some stolen pearls of great value—a collection, I think you said. We find Jones, a man seemingly unknown here, giving away a number of wonderful pearls that are worthy a place in any collection. Admit it is curious, Uncle John. ”

“ As a rule the fresh-water pearls do not rank so high in value as those from oriental seas, since ordinarily they are not so lustrous. However, some of them have sold at very high figures. A round pearl weighing 103 grains, found in Black River, Arkansas, in 1904, was eventually sold for $25,000; and one of 68 grains, found, in 1907, on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River, was recently marketed at $15,000.
One of the largest American pearl necklaces, brought together in 1904, consisted of thirty-eight pearls weighing 1710 grains in the aggregate, an average of 45 grains for each pearl. ”

“ American fresh-water pearls have had many prejudices to overcome, often because of the natural indifference in regard to anything that is found at home or is easily obtainable. It has been said that, in comparison with foreign pearls, they had less specific gravity; that they were not so hard, and that their luster was not as good. It is certain, however, that the skin is generally smooth, and although they may not have so peculiar an orient, their brilliancy equals that of any known pearls. Sometimes they are translucent and either pink or of a faintly bluish tint, like molten silver. ”

“ Australian pearls are generally a pure waxy white and lustrous, often with a silver-white sheen, extremely brilliant and beautiful.
Nearly all the Venezuela and Panama pearls have a faint golden-yellow tint, very often extremely lustrous, and are especially desired by the darker skinned people and brunettes.
The preference at various times has varied with different peoples: in China and India, golden-yellow and satin-yellow pearls are preferred; from Panama we have the very white; in Bombay the yellow pearls from the Persian Gulf are highly appreciated. ”

“ In the deeper tints they are more uniform in color, and as they are apt to be less lustrous and transparent as the shade deepens to red they show less plainly the distinguishing wavy lines, and may be easily mistaken for pieces of coral cut to the shape and polished. They are very [96] delicate and therefore easily fractured or cracked. As the natives usually obtain the pearls by cooking the fish, for which they have a great liking, a large proportion of the few which come into the market are cracked. It is claimed also that the color fades with time. ”

“ Probably the most interesting assortment of American pearls is the Morgan-Tiffany Collection in the American Museum of Natural History, New York. The excellence of this collection lies, not in the high cost of any individual pearl, but in its illustrating in a comprehensive manner the great variety, colors, and forms of American pearls. Not only are the many varieties of fresh-water pearls represented, but likewise abalone pearls from the Pacific coast, conch pearls from the Gulf of Mexico, and a good assortment of pearly concretions from edible oysters and clams of the Atlantic coast. ”

“ SCOTCH PEARL RIVERS
167The British pearls are in great variety of colors, but most of them are practically valueless on account of the absence of orient or luster; for one possessing the white pearly luster, fifty may be found of a dull color and devoid of value. Many of these opaque pearls are dark, lusterless brown, and handfuls of them sell for only a few shillings. A large percentage are of a grayish or milky color, or of a bluish white tinge; these seldom attain much value unless aided by excellence of shape and purity of skin. A few are of a dark, fiery tint and of great luster. ”

“ While the Vologne pearls are of good form and of much beauty, they do not equal oriental pearls in luster. The color is commonly milky white, but some of them have a pink, yellow, red, or greenish tint. In size they rarely exceed 4 grains. ”

“ The magical loss of color in the presence of impending danger to its wearer is the ruby's prerogative, but, though pearls may lose their charms by exposure to heat, gas and rough usage, the wily orientals of remote or later ages provided no traditional recovery more wonderful than the prosaic method of feeding them to fowls and cutting them out of the gizzard an hour or two later. ”

“ Many fine white pearls are found however, though they incline frequently to a waxy luster and are often marred by chalky spots. Great quantities of baroques, notably beautiful for color and orient, are found. Round pearls with a china-like skin in many colors are also quite common. The average size and quality is not equal to those of the Indian waters, though it is much better than is generally credited, as the traders in this country for some inexplicable reason have an idea that Venezuelan pearls are necessarily poorer than others. ”

“ Nevertheless, even if pearls were cultivated as they should be, and people cared for the mollusks as the oyster-gatherer does for his crop—by planting it, guarding it and gathering it systematically—still, the ever-increasing demand would more than balance the greater supply. As we have said, at no time since pearls were worn have they enjoyed such favor; and while they have always increased in value, this increase has never been so rapid as in the past ten years. They are jewels which can be worn by young or old, and which adapt themselves to every fabric that man or woman can use for attire ”

“ Many pearls taken from the small thin-shelled varieties of the ocean mollusk, as for instance those of Venezuela, are devoid in part, or wholly, of the nacreous luster and instead have a china-like or waxy luster, or a dead chalky skin. A large proportion of the Abalone pearls and baroques are lustrous only in part, one section having an earthenware appearance. Many appear to be formed of interstratified [117] layers of nacre and conchiolin. ”

“ A pink pearl of eight grains was admired by all who saw it; by reflected light this had the color and translucency of a drop of molten silver. Many of the pink pearls found in the Little Miami and its tributaries were of the most beautiful rose-petal pink; pearls of this peculiar color have never been found in any other waters.
From Ohio the industry gradually extended westward and southward, and new fields were developed, pearls to the value of about $10,000 annually coming on the market from such widely separated States as Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Texas, Washington, etc. ”

“ She sought relief in action on the floor of the lagoon. There were several oysters, but they were scattered. It was necessary to travel far and remain under a long time—a very long time. But there was a pearl in every one, and were they not her children, hers and Ah Fang's? A pearl in every one! The refrain sang in her ears. Her sleek body left trails of phosphorescent light as it darted here and there in the inky water. A pearl in every one! ”

“ The usual legend is, that at certain seasons of the year, the pearl-oysters rise to the surface of the water in the morning, and there open their shells and imbibe the dewdrops; these, aided by the breath of the air and the warmth of the sunlight, are, in the course of time, transformed into lustrous pearls; but if the air and the sunlight are not received in sufficient quantities, the pearls do not attain perfection and are faulty in form, color, and luster. ”

“ Some Oriental peoples do not draw such fine distinctions, and the Chinese prefer the creamy yellow to any other.
The "blue" pearls, or "Panama" pearls as they are sometimes called in the trade, must not be confounded with the blue white pearls just mentioned. "Blue" pearls are of a dingy, slaty blue tint. They have a dark appearance and the luster is seldom good. As many of this character are found in the Panama waters such pearls are often sold as "Panama" pearls. ”

“ So probably, in countries where they were found, pearls have risen with the evolution of a great nation out of a primitive race, from the rude favor of toilers of the sea, to a high place in the esteem of the princes of a cultivated people. It is quite probable that when the Aryans from the north spread over India, they found pearls among the possessions of the natives of the Madras and Malabar coasts, if not of the interior and north, as Spain found them among the natives of South America. ”

“ A question often raised, and which by its periodical revival seems to be a favorite with newspapers and magazines, as well as, to the general public, is, "Do pearls live and die?" It originated probably in observations of certain changes that occasionally take place in pearls which could be readily construed by a speculative or imaginative mind to mean death. Sometimes with pearls the brilliancy of youth fades and passes and the clear skin of early days takes on the hue of age. ”