XIII VALUES AND COMMERCE OF PEARLS

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A pearl,
Whose price hath launch’d above a thousand ships,
And turn’d crown’d kings to merchants.
Troilus and Cressida, Act II, sc. 2.

To trace the markets of the pearl is to trace the routes of commerce from early times. The first routes from the Far East seem to have been two: one by the Persian Gulf and the Euphrates to Babylonia and Assyria, and thence by caravan through Damascus to Tyre and Sidon; the other by the Red Sea and Suez to Egypt. As regards the former route, Sir George Birdwood furnishes positive evidence that the Phenicians visited India as early as 2200 B.C. It seems highly probable that pearls were introduced by this route at an early period, although it is difficult to find material proof of the fact.

By means of this commerce, the great ancient civilizations of Phenicia, Mesapotamia and the Nile valley doubtless became familiar with the gem treasures of eastern Asia. Then came the opening of the Mediterranean with first “the great Sidon,” and later Tyre, as the starting-points of commerce, exploration, and colonial settlement among the islands and on the shores of what, to the Asiatic peoples, was the great western sea. However, as the Greek islands and their colonies developed, the Phenicians were more strictly confined to the coasts of Africa and Spain. Gades, Tartessus, and Carthage were their great colonies and trading-ports, and their adventurous sailors passed on through the Straits of Gibraltar and directed their course northward to the British Isles, where they very probably obtained the pearls of the Scotch rivers.

Meanwhile, the campaigns of Alexander had carried Greek influence and authority over all western Asia, reaching even to India itself, and had led to a widely increased intercourse. Although he died at the age of thirty-two, Alexander the Great did more than any single individual in the world’s history to bring the nations of the Eastern and the Western worlds into contact with each other, and it is certainly due to this circumstance that we find much greater evidences of the use of pearls in the western countries after his time. Besides this, the founding of Alexandria provided a mart, in whose bazaars the traders of India, Persia, and Arabia bartered their treasured gems, just as their descendants do in the same place at the present day.

It was not, however, until the establishment of the Roman empire that this commercial intercourse reached its highest development. The Romans, with their marvelous capacity for organization, were the first to build a great system of permanent and well-kept roads to facilitate land travel and land traffic. These great roads, starting from the Forum, reached out in every direction, even to the limits of the empire; and, as a result of increased commercial activity, more gems were engraved, mounted, and set during the five hundred years of Rome’s commercial supremacy than during any other early epoch of the world’s history.

In Rome, the trade in pearls was so important that there was a corporation of “margaritarii.” The officinÆ margaritariorum were installed in the Forum, in the neighborhood of the tabernae argentariÆ; some were also on the Via Sacra.[376] However, the name margaritarius did not only apply to the jewelers, merchants, and setters of pearls, but also to those who fished for them and to the guardians of the gems and jewels wherein pearls were used.

With the fall of the Western empire, the Dark Ages settled down like a cloud over Europe for five hundred years. Only among the Saracens and at Byzantium did the culture of the old civilization survive, and eventually the light of knowledge and of progress was rekindled from these sources. The Crusades were the chief factors in this new development; they gave a mighty stimulus, by means of which Europe was aroused from her lethargy and once more brought into contact with the Orient. Venice and Genoa now became the great carriers, and from this time, and to this source, may be traced many of the oriental gems in Europe. The Venetian fleet of three hundred merchant ships brought the products of the East and distributed them over Europe, by way of the German cities of Augsburg and Nuremberg, where the great jewelers and silversmiths made world-famed ornaments.

PECTORAL CROSS OF CONSTANTINE IX. MONOMACHUS (1000–1054 A.D.)
Containing some wood attributed to the true cross.

When Constantinople fell into the hands of the Turks, the treasures of the Eastern empire were scattered throughout Europe; but, at the same time, the establishment of the Turkish empire served to close the way to India and the far East for the merchants and travelers of Europe, and, hence, new means of access had to be sought by sea. This, as is well known, was the cause of the voyages of De Gama and Columbus. The unexpected result of these voyages—the discovery of a new continent—ushered in the wonderful period of Spanish and Portuguese development and their colonization of both the East and the West Indies; and to this epoch belongs the introduction of American pearls to the markets of Europe. The gradual decline of the power of Spain and Portugal—largely owing to bigotry and to the reckless exploitation of the regions under their control—brings us to the beginning of the present phase of commercial intercourse in which all the nations of the civilized world are engaged in varying proportion, according to their power and aptitude. Never before have the different regions of the earth been more closely in touch with each other, and we may safely say that nothing is likely to occur which can permanently interrupt the progressive development of the world’s commerce.

With the various means of transportation and locomotion that have existed in the past twenty-three or twenty-four centuries, there is no doubt that the commerce of pearls has varied more or less, but there has ever been, in some part of the world, a great potentate, a great collector or dealer who has influenced the finest gems to gravitate his way. Never has there been a time when some person was not prepared to encourage—and to richly encourage—the sale of fine jewels to him. The history of the commerce of precious stones is a history of travel and exploration, of hardship, pleasure, reward, and sometimes of serious disappointment.

The lesson we derive from these decorative objects of natural beauty and softness—treasured alike by savage, barbarian, ancient warrior, statesman, king, emperor, peasant, bourgeois, magyar, lady, and queen—always carries with it the moral that the gifts of creation are ever prized by some one in every age or place.

The necessary qualifications affecting the value of a pearl are: first, that it should be perfectly round, pear-shaped, drop-shaped, egg-shaped, or button-shaped, and as even in form as though it were turned on a lathe. It must have a perfectly clear skin, and a decided color or tint, whether white, pink, creamy, gray, brown or black. If white, it must not have a cloud or a blur or haze, nor should the skin have the slightest appearance of being opaque or dead. It must be absolutely free from all cracks, scratches, spots, flaws, indentations, shadowy reflections or blemishes of any kind. It must possess the peculiar luster or orient characteristic of the gem. The skin must be unbroken, and not show any evidence of having been polished.

Diamonds and the more valuable precious stones generally are bought and sold by the weight called a carat. This carat, whatever its precise value, is always considered as divisible into four diamond or pearl grains, but the subdivisions of the carat are usually expressed by the vulgar fractions, one fourth, one eighth, one twelfth, one sixteenth, one twenty-fourth, one thirty-second, and one sixty-fourth. The origin of the carat is to be sought in certain small, hard, leguminous seeds, which, when dried, remain constant in weight. The brilliant, glossy, scarlet-and-black seed of Abrus precatorius constitutes the Indian rati, about three grains; the Adenanthera pavonina seed weighs about four grains. The seed of the locust-tree, Ceratonia siliqua, weighs on the average three and one sixth grains, and constitutes, no doubt, the true origin of the carat.

Another[377] of the more notable of these weight-units used for precious stones and precious metals is the candarin, condorine, or cantarai, also termed by the Chinese fun or fan, and by the south Indians a fanam, and used all over the Indo-Chinese archipelago. This is by origin a large lentil or pea of a pinkish color dotted with black, about double the size of the gonj, and possessing the same quality of very slight variability of weight when dried. It is probably a variety of the same botanic genus or species as the Abrus precatorius. The value when reduced to absolute standard became a subsidiary part or submultiple of the weight of some local coin, rupee, or pagoda, or a decimal fraction of some local tchen, as in China and Japan.

The following derivation of the word carat is given by Grimm: “Carat. Italian: carato; French: carat; Spanish and Portuguese: quilate; Old Portuguese: quirate, from Arabic qirat, and this from the Greek, ?e??t???.”[378]

The carat is not absolutely of the same value in all countries. Its weight, as used for weighing the diamond, pearl, and other gemstones in different parts of the world, is given in decimals of a gram, by the majority of the authorities, as follows:

Grams In Grains Troy
Indian (Madras) .2073533 3.199948
Austrian (Vienna) .20613+ 3.18107+
German (Frankfort) .20577+ 3.175514
Brazil and Portugal .20575+ 3.175206
France .2055+ 3.171347
England .205409 3.169943
Spain .205393 3.169696
Holland .205044 3.16431+
Pearl Grains in Grams In Grains Troy
Indian (Madras) .0518383 .799987
Austrian (Vienna) .05153+ .79526+
German (Frankfort) .05144+ .793878
Brazil and Portugal .05143+ .793801
France .051375 .792836
England .051352 .792485
Spain .051348 .792424
Holland .051261 .791077

Assuming that the gram corresponds to 15.43235 English grains, an English diamond carat will nearly equal 3.17 grains. It is, however, spoken of as being equal to four grains, the grains meant being “diamond” or “pearl” grains, and not ordinary troy or avoirdupois grains. Thus a diamond or pearl grain is but .7925 of a true grain. In an English troy ounce of 480 grains there are 151½ carats; and so it will be seen that a carat is not indeed quite 3.17 grains, but something like 3.1683168 grains, or less exactly, 3.168 grains. Further, if we accept the equivalent in grains of one gram to be, as stated above, 15.43235, and if there be 151½ carats in a troy ounce of 480 grains, it will follow that an English diamond carat is .205304 of a gram, not.205409, as commonly affirmed. The following exact equivalents, in metric grams and grains troy, of the diamond carat as used in different parts of the world in 1882, are given by Mr. Lowis d’A. Jackson:

DIAMOND CARATS
Grams Grains Troy
Turin .2135 3.29480
Persia .2095 3.23307
Venice .2071 3.19603
Austro-Hungary .2061 3.18060
France (old) .2059 3.17752
France (later) .2055 3.17135
France (modern) .2050 3.16363
Portugal .2058 3.17597
Frankfort and Hamburg .2058 3.17597
Germany .2055 3.17135
East Indies .2055 3.17135
England and British India .2053 3.16826
Belgium (Antwerp) .2053 3.16826
Russia .2051 3.16517
Holland .2051 3.16517
Turkey .2005 3.09418
Spain .1999 3.08492
Java and Borneo .1969 3.03862
Florence .1965 3.03245
Arabia .1944 3.00004
Brazil .1922 2.96610
Egypt .1917 2.95838
Bologna .1886 2.91054
International carat .2050 3.16363
Proposed new international carat .2000 3.08647

Recalculating the above figures into pearl grains we have:

PEARL GRAINS
Grams Grains Troy
Turin .053375 .823700
Persia .052375 .808267
Venice .051775 .799007
Austro-Hungary .051525 .795150
France (old) .051475 .794380
France (later) .051375 .792837
France (modern) .051250 .790907
Portugal .051450 .793902
Frankfort and Hamburg .051450 .793992
Germany .051375 .792837
East Indies .051375 .792837
England and British India .051325 .792065
Belgium (Antwerp) .051325 .792065
Russia .051275 .791292
Holland .051275 .791292
Turkey .050125 .773545
Spain .049975 .771230
Java and Borneo .049225 .759655
Florence .049125 .758112
Arabia .048600 .750010
Brazil .048050 .741522
Egypt .047925 .739595
Bologna .047150 .727635
International .051250 .790907
Proposed International .050000 .771617

With the present system of diamond carats and pearl grains it is necessary to keep two entirely different sets of weights or to resort to troublesome calculations. The stock-book of a jeweler, at the present time, will contain the following fractions, expressing the weight of a single pearl: ½, ¼, ?, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, when the weight could be much better stated as 63/64 of a carat. It requires but a glance to see how much easier this would be. Certain dealers have therefore proposed the use of sets of fractions arranged in a similar way. In this manner a stock-book can be kept much more easily and with greater precision. Others, again, have adopted a decimal notation of the fractions of a carat, which is even more simple and feasible, since the common fractions ½, ¼, ?, etc. can be expressed as .5, .25, .125, etc., of a carat, this being either a carat of .2053 of a gram or the English carat of .20534 of a gram.

On the other hand, an agreement was arrived at, as the result of a conference between the diamond merchants of London, Paris, and Amsterdam, by which the uniform weight of a diamond carat was fixed at.205 of a gram, making the pearl grain .05125 of a gram. This standard, which was suggested in 1871, by a syndicate of Parisian jewelers, goldsmiths, and others dealing in precious stones, was subsequently (1877) confirmed. But there is still a lack of uniformity in the standard by which diamonds and pearls are bought and sold, and very serious discrepancies exist in the sets of carat weights turned out by different makers, although the international carat is almost universally used.

At the International Congress of Weights and Measures held at the World’s Fair at Chicago in 1893, the writer suggested that the carat should consist of 200 milligrams, so that ½ of a carat would be 100 milligrams and ¼ of a grain would be 12.5 milligrams. This would mean 5 carats or 20 grains to a French gram, and 5000 carats or 20,000 pearl grains to a French kilogram. This would depreciate the present diamond carat or pearl grain only about one per cent., and it would do away with the needless series of carats and grains of the many nationalities. It could be simply explained to any private individual in any country, especially as there are only two countries which do not use the metric system.

This carat has been earnestly indorsed, its introduction advocated, and its merits clearly shown, by M. Guilliame, of the French Bureau des Arts et Metiers, whose energetic work has found a reasonable cooperation, in this country as well as in Europe, in introducing what will be a scientific, logical, comprehensive, and possibly the final and international carat; and any ancient, obsolete, or foreign carat can be readily reduced to this carat once the metric value of the former is computed.

The Association of Diamond Merchants of Amsterdam has already, to avoid confusion, fixed the value of the carat (17th October, 1890) at 1 kilogram = 4875 carats, or 1 carat = 3.16561 grains troy = 205.128 mg. One pearl grain = .7914 grains troy = 51.282 mg.; but the association has decided that, in case of litigation, these values shall be determined by appointed bureaus, which would express them in grams and milligrams, a most important and valuable decision, as the gram and the milligram will always be known as weights of constant value.

In view of the difficulty of inducing the abolition of the carat in different countries, the German Federation of Jewelers decided to petition the imperial government for authority to use the carat, in order that it might be legally recognized. Such a proposition not being in accord with the German laws in force on the subject of the metric system, it was proposed to substitute for the carats then in use one carat only, weighing two hundred milligrams. This proposal was very favorably received in trade circles and may be taken into consideration by the International Committee of Weights and Measures. The Commission des Instruments et Travaux, to which this proposition was referred, recommended its adoption to the committee in the following terms:

“The Commission recognizes that it would be very desirable that the unit of weight of precious stones (the carat) which varies in different countries, should be made uniform, and should be reduced to the nearest metric equivalent. The weight of 200 mg., which is very close to the carat most in use (205.5 mg.), would seem to be the best for this purpose. The Commission believes that there can be no objection to this standard of 200 mg. being called ‘the metric carat’ in order to facilitate the abolition of the old carat.”

This proposition, adopted at the meeting of the International Committee on the 13th of April, was communicated to the more important associations. The Chambre Syndicale de la Bijouterie, Joaillerie et OrfÈvrerie de Paris, and the Chambre Syndicale des NÉgotiants en Diamants, Perles, Pierres PrÉcieuses et des Lapidaires de Paris assured the committee of their support of this measure.

The following is the text of the resolution which was passed by both the above associations in January, 1906:

“The Council, recognizing the advantages which would result to the international trade in precious stones from the use of a unit based on the metric system, desires that the metric carat of 200 mg. be universally adopted.”

The German Federation of Jewelers passed the following resolution in August, 1906:

“The German Federation considers that it is both necessary and advantageous to replace the old carat by the metric carat of 200 mg.; it authorizes its president to approach the imperial government and the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, and the foreign associations in order that the metric carat may be introduced as soon as possible in all countries.”

The Chamber of Commerce of Antwerp promised, in a letter dated the 7th of December, 1906, to rescind a decision of 29th of April, 1895, approving the adoption of a carat of 205.3 mg., when the metric carat of 200 mg. should come into universal use in the markets.

The Association of Jewelers and Goldsmiths of Prague formally authorized the German Federation to act in its name, in order that the reform should come about as soon as possible by international agreement, and the Association of Goldsmiths of Copenhagen has declared its willingness to support the reform. The Committee of Weights and Measures in Belgium prepared a law for the adoption of the metric carat in December, 1906.

Mr. Larking, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Melbourne, Australia, has transmitted by letter of September 16, 1907, the following resolution of the Association of Manufacturing Jewelers of the Colony of Victoria:

“It is desirable that the carat weight should be the same in all countries, and our association approves a metric carat of 200 milligrams.”

On October 16, 1907, the Association of Societies for the Protection of Commerce in the United Kingdom passed the following resolution:

“The Committee of the Association approves the attempt to urge the adoption in all countries of an international carat of 200 milligrams, and hopes that, in the interest of the unification of weights, it will prove successful.”

The fourth General Conference of Weights and Measures, held in Paris in October, 1907, passed this resolution:

“The Conference approves the proposition of the International Committee and declares that it sees no infringement of the integrity of the metric system in the adoption of the appellation ‘metric carat’ to designate a weight of 200 milligrams for the commerce in diamonds, pearls, and precious stones.”[379]

The following resolution was passed by The Birmingham Jewelers’ and Silversmiths’ Association, January 23, 1908: “That the best thanks of this Committee be conveyed to the Decimal Association for the good work they are doing, and this Committee expresses the hope that all countries will adopt an International Carat of 200 milligrams in weight.” Finally, on March 11, 1908, the metric carat of 200 milligrams was adopted in Spain as the official carat for diamonds, pearls, and precious stones.

Pearls have become of so much importance to so many dealers that a special form of weight has been proposed for them. This would have a diamond form and not a square form, and it would be stamped “Grain” instead of “Carat.” Another set would be stamped in milligrams, the regular milligram weight with the pearl fraction above it, and they could even be made round so as better to designate the pearl.

The great value of pearls has suggested the making of a gage, called the Kunz gage, by means of which round pearls can be very accurately measured. Pearls of a given weight and perfectly spherical form have been weighed and then measured by this gage, and the theoretical diameters as computed from the measurement of a single pearl are in the majority of instances in exact accord with these actual measurements, the occasional variations in the smaller pearls barely exceeding the thousandth part of an inch. These discrepancies may be due to imperceptible divergencies in sphericity or, possibly, to trifling differences in specific gravity.

The following table gives the diameters of round pearls by measurement, from 1/16 to 500 grains, in millimeters and inches:

Weight Grains Diameter Millimeters Inches
1/16 1.3 .0512
? 1.66 .0653
¼ 2.09 .0823
½ 2.65 .1043
¾ 2.99 .1187
1 3.32 .1307
3.60 .1417
3.80 .1496
3.98 .1567
2 4.18 .1645
4.32 .1701
4.47 .1759
4.63 .1823
3 4.80 .1889
4.88 .1921
5.01 .1972
5.17 .2035
4 5.23 .2058
5.44 .2141
5 5.65 .2224
5.86 .2283
6 6.03 .2374
6.20 .2442
7 6.36 .2504
8 6.64 .2614
9 6.90 .2716
10 7.15 .2815
11 7.38 .2905
12 7.60 .2992
13 7.81 .3074
14 8.00 .3149
15 8.18 .3220
16 8.36 .3291
17 8.53 .3358
18 8.70 .3425
19 8.86 .3488
20 9.01 .3547
25 9.71 .3823
30 10.31 .4059
35 10.86 .4275
40 11.35 .4468
45 11.82 .4653
50 12.23 .4815
60 13.00 .5118
70 13.38 .5386
80 14.30 .5630
90 14.89 .5862
100 15.42 .6071
125 16.60 .6535
150 17.63 .6941
200 19.41 .7641
300 22.22 .8748
400 24.46 .9630
500 26.35 1.0374

The new and finer analytical balances weigh to the tenth part of a milligram, the two thousandth part of a carat, the five hundredth part of a grain; but this is not necessary. If the 200–milligram carat were used, the two hundredth part of a carat could readily be ascertained, and then a short-beam, rapid-weighing balance would answer every purpose and save much time for the dealer who must make many weighings in the course of a day. In an office where thousands of weighings were made in a month, the task was accomplished with such minute accuracy that the margin of error did not exceed one carat during that time.

The mina, the sixtieth part of the lesser Alexandrian talent of silver, was divided by the Romans, when they occupied Egypt, into twelve ounces (unciae), and, weighing as it did 5460 grains, it became the predecessor of the European pounds of which the troy pound is a type. If we may believe a Syrian authority, Anania of Shiraz, who wrote in the sixth century, the carat or diamond weight was originally formed from one of these ounces by taking the 1/144 part.[380]

We find in Murray[381] that the Greek ?e??t??? was originally identical with the Latin siliqua, and was called the siliqua Graeca. As a measure of weight and fineness the carat represents the Roman siliqua as 1/24 of the golden solidus of Constantine, which was ? of an ounce, hence the various values into which 1/24 and 1/144 enter, or originally entered. As a measure of weight for diamonds and precious stones, it was originally 1/144 of an ounce or 3? grains. It is stated in Hakluyt (Voy. II, pp. 1, 225, 1598): “Those pearls are praised according to the caracts which they weigh; every caract is four graines.”

There have been at all times men who possessed a delicate touch or a fine sense of feeling, but probably few men are living to-day who would be able to accomplish the feat attributed to Julius CÆsar, namely, that of estimating the weight of a pearl by simply holding it in his hand. There are very few who can tell the weight of a pearl in this way, and while the story may be historically interesting, it is rather dubious.

To attempt to formulate a list of prices, comparative or otherwise, of pearls, is almost an impossibility, as probably no two authors of the past three centuries have ever seen the same lot of pearls, nor have their estimates always been the same as to quality, rarity and value.

As interesting statistics from an historical point of view, there will be presented here a list of the values of pearls dating back some ten centuries. That there always has existed a higher valuation for the larger pearls, which are the rarest, will readily be apparent, but that the correct value of a pearl of one, ten, twenty or fifty grains be definitely given for the years 1602, 1702, 1802, or 1902 is an impossibility. However, we believe this to be the first attempt to present so large a body of carefully selected quotations, and they are given to the reader, whether he be layman or professional, for what they are worth.

In regard to the smaller pearls, as is the case with the smaller diamonds, prices have been dependent upon the changes of fashion; that is, whether the prevailing style of jewelry was such that the smaller pearl or diamond was in demand. In other words, if they were used as a decoration forming a border, a flower, a scroll ornament, or a pave requiring many small gems, the demand naturally increased and the prices were higher or lower as the occasion required.

It is not the project of this book to fix the prices of pearls at the present time, for any such attempt would prove misleading, owing to the fact that pearls vary in the estimation of the different dealers, and a figure given here for the highest standard, if applied to an inferior grade, would necessarily mislead the buyer to his positive injury. This much, however, can be said: during the year 1907 pearls from five grains upward have been sold according to their quality, at a base of five, eight, ten, fifteen, or even twenty dollars in very exceptional cases; that is to say, twenty, thirty-two, forty, sixty, or eighty shillings, or twenty-five, forty, fifty, seventy-five or one hundred francs. Nevertheless, it would be impossible, without considerable experience, for a layman to apply these valuations to objects that require much practice in determining their quality and perfection.

With diamonds, rubies, and emeralds there may be a stated price per carat for stones of a certain size, but a gem of unusual perfection or brilliancy, or of exceptionally fine color, will often command a price far beyond that generally quoted. It is the same with the pearl. Sums which may seem exorbitant in comparison with those that are paid for ordinary pearls, are often given for specimens remarkable for their beauty, size, or luster.

Pearls of one hundred grains are even more rare at the present time than are diamonds of one hundred carats. Until the middle of the nineteenth century, the diamonds of the world weighing one hundred carats or over could be counted on the fingers, but since the opening of the African mines in 1870, the number of large diamonds has increased at a much greater ratio than have the pearls of one quarter of their weight. It would thus seem that pearls of great size are worth four times as much as diamonds of equal weight. For instance, a 100–carat diamond of the finest quality would be worth at least from $1000 to $1500 a carat, making a total value of $100,000 to $150,000; and a pearl of 100 grains at a base of $10 would be worth $100,000. But no such high price has ever been paid.

The usual method of estimating the value of pearls is by establishing a base value for those weighing one grain and then multiplying this amount by the square of the number of grains that the pearl weighs. For instance, if the base value of a one-grain pearl should be fixed at $1, a pearl weighing two grains would be worth $4 (2 × 2 = 4), or $2 per grain; one weighing five grains would be worth $25, or $5 per grain, etc. Naturally, these values increase in proportion to the increase in the value of the base. A base of $3 would give a value of $75 for a five-grain pearl, or $15 per grain, while a $10 base would make the value $50 per grain, or $250.

This method of estimating pearls by squaring their weights has been credited by many authors to David Jeffries, who published an interesting treatise on diamonds and pearls in 1750–1753. It has also been credited to Tavernier, the oriental traveler of the middle of the seventeenth century. We have, however, traced this method back to Anselmus de Boot, in his treatise on precious stones, dated 1609. Before this date we have not been able to find any mention of the computation of the value of diamonds and pearls by squaring their weight and multiplying the product by a base of a franc, guilder, crown, dollar, or of many dollars, as would be necessary at present. It is probable, however, that this system is of oriental origin and it may have come to Europe through some of the oriental traders, with the precious stones, as did the use of the carat.

De Boot makes the carat (four grains) his unit of comparison, increasing his base value by one third for pearls weighing eleven carats (forty-four grains) or over. In Pio Naldi’s treatise, published in Bologna in 1791, the unit is the grain, the base being the fourth part of the value of four pearls weighing together one carat. Naldi, also, increases his base value making it 1½ lire ($.30) for pearls weighing less than ten grains, and 2½ lire ($.50) for those weighing twenty grains and upward.

A curious method of valuing pearls by their weight is shown in a treatise by Buteo, published in 1554.[382] The writer states that a pearl weighing two carats was valued at 5 gold crowns; one of four carats at 25 crowns; and so on, the price increasing fivefold when the weight was doubled. The intermediate figures were obtained by computing the proportional mean of any two known weights and values. For example: 8 × 4 = 32, the square root of which is 5.656. Now, the value of a four-carat pearl is 25 and that of an eight-carat pearl 125 crowns, and 125 × 25 = 3125, the square root being 55.9; hence a pearl weighing 5.656 carats was worth 55.9 crowns.

The base value of a necklace can be determined in the following way. Should the center pearl weigh 25 grains, multiply 25 by 25; the result is 625; then, take the next two, three, or four pearls, as many as are of approximately the same weight, add their weights together, multiply the resulting figure by itself and divide the product by the number of pearls in the group. Proceed in exactly the same way with the remainder of the necklace, always grouping the pearls so that there shall not be a considerable difference in weight between the smallest and the largest pearl, and then add together the figures obtained for the center pearl and for the various groups and divide the price of the necklace by this total; the quotient will represent the multiple or base.

As may be seen by comparison of the first with the second and third of the accompanying tables, the result arrived at in this way will, if there is any difference in the weight of the pearls in the various groups, vary slightly from that obtained by calculating the weight of each pearl separately, but it represents a satisfactory approximation.

NECKLACE OF 41 GRADUATED PEARLS ON A $10 BASE
1 pearl, weighing 25 grs. 25 × 25
625.000
2 pearls, each of 22 grs. 44 × 44
1936 ÷ 2 = 968.000
2 pearls, each of 20 grs. 40 × 40
1600 ÷ 2 = 800.000
2 pearls, each of 19 grs. 38 × 38
1444 ÷ 2 = 722.000
2 pearls, each of 18 grs. 36 × 36
1296 ÷ 2 = 648.000
2 pearls, each of 17½ grs. 35 × 35
1225 ÷ 2 = 612.500
2 pearls, each of 17 grs. 34 × 34
1156 ÷ 2 = 578.000
2 pearls, each of 16½ grs. 33 × 33
1089 ÷ 2 = 544.500
2 pearls, each of 16 grs. 32 × 32
1024 ÷ 2 = 512.000
2 pearls, each of 15½ grs. 31 × 31
961 ÷ 2 = 480.500
2 pearls, each of 15 grs. 30 × 30
900 ÷ 2 = 450.000
2 pearls, each of 14½ grs. 29 × 29
841 ÷ 2 = 420.500
2 pearls, each of 14 grs. 28 × 28
784 ÷ 2 = 392.000
2 pearls, each of 13½ grs. 27 × 27
729 ÷ 2 = 364.500
2 pearls, each of 13 grs. 26 × 26
676 ÷ 2 = 338.000
2 pearls, each of 12½ grs. 25 × 25
625 ÷ 2 = 312.500
2 pearls, each of 12 grs. 24 × 24
576 ÷ 2 = 288.000
2 pearls, each of 11½ grs. 23 × 23
529 ÷ 2 = 264.500
2 pearls, each of 11 grs. 22 × 22
484 ÷ 2 = 242.000
2 pearls, each of 10¾ grs. 21½ × 21½
462¼ ÷ 2 = 231.125
2 pearls, each of 10¼ grs. 20½ × 20½
420¼ ÷ 2 = 210.125



41 624 10,003.750
$10 × 10,003.75 = $100,037.50
THE SAME NECKLACE FIGURED IN GROUPS
1 pearl, weighing 25 grs. 25 × 25 = 625.00
2 pearls, total weight 44 grs. 44 × 44 = 1936 ÷ 2 = 968.00
4 pearls, total weight 78 grs. 78 × 78 = 6084 ÷ 4 = 1521.00
4 pearls, total weight 71 grs. 71 × 71 = 5041 ÷ 4 = 1260.25
6 pearls, total weight 99 grs. 99 × 99 = 9801 ÷ 6 = 1633.50
6 pearls, total weight 90 grs. 90 × 90 = 8100 ÷ 6 = 1350.00
6 pearls, total weight 81 grs. 81 × 81 = 6561 ÷ 6 = 1093.50
6 pearls, total weight 72 grs. 72 × 72 = 5184 ÷ 6 = 864.00
6 pearls, total weight 64 grs. 64 × 64 = 4096 ÷ 6 = 682.67


624 9997.92
$10 × 9997.92 = $99,979.20

GREAT PEARL NECKLACE OF THE FRENCH CROWN JEWELS
Composed of 362 pearls, weighing 58.8 grains. Actual size. Worn by Empress Eugenia

On a $5 base this necklace would be worth $50,018.75 according to the first reckoning, and $49,989.60 according to the second; on a base of $2.50 the figures would be $25,009.37 and $24,994.80 respectively.

THE SAME NECKLACE FIGURED IN OTHER GROUPS
1 pearl, weighing 25 grs. 25 × 25 = 625.00
4 pearls, total weight 84 grs. 84 × 84 = 7056 ÷ 4 = 1764.00
6 pearls, total weight 109 grs. 109 × 109 = 11881 ÷ 6 = 1980.16
6 pearls, total weight 99 grs. 99 × 99 = 9801 ÷ 6 = 1633.50
6 pearls, total weight 90 grs. 90 × 90 = 8100 ÷ 6 = 1350.00
8 pearls, total weight 106 grs. 106 × 106 = 11236 ÷ 8 = 1404.50
10 pearls, total weight 111 grs. 111 × 111 = 12321 ÷ 10 = 1232.10


624 9989.26
$10 × 9989.26 = $99,892.60

On a $5 base this would represent a value of $49,946.30 and one of $24,973.15 on a base of $2.50. The different grouping of the pearls accounts for the slight reduction in value.

A system of estimating the value of pearls which has recently been introduced into Germany, is an adaptation of the ordinary method of squaring the number of grains and then multiplying the result by a certain base figure. The pearls are first grouped according to quality and size, and a figure is agreed upon as the multiplicator of each class. In Germany the carat is employed as the weight unit for pearls as well as for diamonds, and in this new system the total weight of a given number of pearls of the same class is first reduced to grains; the number of grains is then multiplied by four and the quotient is multiplied by the figure agreed upon. The resulting sum, after being divided by the number of pearls, gives the carat value of such pearls. For example, if the base figure agreed upon is 5, and we wish to find the carat worth of 4 pearls of similar size, weighing together 314/64 carats, the sum would be as follows:

206 × 4 × 4 × 5

= 64.37
64 × 4

At this rate per carat, reckoning in marks, the value of the 314/64 carats would be 207.20 marks. This result is identical with that obtained by the ordinary method, but the calculation is perhaps a trifle simplified.[383]

A curious Hindu treatise on gems has been preserved for us in the Brhatsamhit of VarÂhamihira (505–587 A.D.). It is the earliest work of this kind that we have in Sanskrit, and M. Louis Finot,[384] who has published it, together with several other similar treatises, believes that it was based upon an original composed at a much earlier period. In his introduction M. Finot says: “It would be an error to regard the ratnaÇastra [treatise on gems] as a simple manual for the use of jewelers. Without doubt this subject formed one of the principal branches of commercial instruction,... but it was also taught to princes and it is for their use that the ratnaÇastras we publish seem to have been composed.”

This treatise only describes four gems, although a larger number are enumerated. These gems are the diamond, the pearl, the ruby, and the emerald. One of the most interesting portions is that treating of the valuation of pearls. The system described is peculiar, and, unfortunately, there is some difficulty in finding an absolutely correct equivalent for the values expressed.

A price is first placed upon a pearl weighing 4 mÂsakas (about 45 grains). This is estimated at 5300 kÂrsÂpanas (about $1600). As the weight diminishes the valuation decreases as follows:

4 mÂsakas 5300 kÂrsÂpanas
mÂsakas 3200 kÂrsÂpanas
3 mÂsakas 2000 kÂrsÂpanas
mÂsakas 1300 kÂrsÂpanas
2 mÂsakas 800 kÂrsÂpanas
mÂsakas 353 kÂrsÂpanas
1 mÂsakas 135 kÂrsÂpanas
4 guÑjas[385] 90 kÂrsÂpanas
3 guÑjas 50 kÂrsÂpanas
guÑjas 35 kÂrsÂpanas

Smaller pearls were grouped together in dharanas (one dharana = about 72 grains). If there were thirteen fine pearls in a dharana, they were valued at 325 rÛpakas (about $100); the other values were as follows:

16 pearls in a dharana were worth 200 rÛpakas
20 pearls in a dharana were worth 170 rÛpakas
25 pearls in a dharana were worth 130 rÛpakas
30 pearls in a dharana were worth 70 rÛpakas
40 pearls in a dharana were worth 50 rÛpakas
55–60 pearls in a dharana were worth 40 rÛpakas
80 pearls in a dharana were worth 30 rÛpakas
100 pearls in a dharana were worth 25 rÛpakas
200 pearls in a dharana were worth 12 rÛpakas
300 pearls in a dharana were worth 6 rÛpakas
400 pearls in a dharana were worth 5 rÛpakas
500 pearls in a dharana were worth 3 rÛpakas

It would be extremely interesting if we could find at this early date (sixth century A.D.) an indication of the use of the system of computing the value of pearls by the square of their weight as expressed in some weight unit, and it is singular that the three valuations given for the weight in guÑjas are graduated in accordance with this system. A pearl weighing 2½ guÑjas and valued at 35 kÂr?apÂ?as would have a base value of 5.6 kÂr?Âpa?as. Estimated at this ratio we would have the following figures:

3 guÑjas 50.4 kÂr?Âpa?as
4 guÑjas 89.6 kÂr?Âpa?as

Now, the values actually given are 50 and 90 kÂr?Âpa?as, respectively, and these figures are easily obtained by rejecting the fraction that is less than one half and counting the fraction that is in excess of one half as a unit. After this, however, the progression becomes irregular. A pearl weighing 1 mÂ?aka (5 guÑjas) is valued at 135 kÂr?Âpa?as, while the equivalent according to the system would be 140. However, it is possible that the writer may have changed this figure intentionally so as to add exactly one half to the preceding valuation (90 + 45 = 135). The succeeding values bear no relation to the system and appear to be entirely arbitrary. Still, it can scarcely be due to hazard that the first three figures are practically in exact accord with the system and the fourth in close approximation. As the change seems to come when the weight is expressed in mÂ?akas instead of guÑjas, we are tempted to think that the system may have been used for single pearls weighing less than twelve grains (1 mÂ?aka = 11¼ grains), while the value of those over that weight was estimated in a different way.

In a much later Hindu treatise, by Buddhabhatta, after certain values have been given for pearls of the best quality, a pearl of this class is described as follows:

White, round, heavy, smooth, luminous, spotless, the pearl gifted with these qualities is called qualified (gu?avat). If it be yellow, it is worth half this price; if it be not round, a third; if flat or triangular, a sixth.[386]

One of the earliest records we have of a system of prices for pearls is the treatise on precious stones written in the year 1265, by Ahmed ibn Yusuf al Teifashi, who was probably a native jeweler of Egypt. In his time pearls were sold in Bagdad in bunches of ten strings, each string comprising thirty-six pearls. If one of these strings weighed one sixth of a miskal (four carats or sixteen grains), the ten strings were valued at four dinars (about ten dollars). The values increased progressively as follows:[387]

Average weight of each pearl 10 strings of 36 pearls, weight of each string Value
Grains Carats Grains Dinars U. S. money
½ 4 16 4 $10.00
? 6 24 5 12.50
1? 12 48 6 15.00
2 18 72 10 25.00
3? 30 120 15 37.50
4 36 144 20 50.00
4? 42 168 25 62.50
5? 48 192 35 87.50
6 54 216 40 100.00
7? 66 264 70 175.00
8 72 288 80 200.00
9? 84 336 110 275.00
10 90 360 150 375.00
10? 96 384 200 500.00
12 108 432 400 1000.00
12? 114 456 550 1375.00
13? 120 480 650 1625.00
14 126 504 750 1875.00
14? 132 528 800 2000.00
16 144 576 1000 2500.00
18? 168 672 1500 3750.00

Al Teifashi then proceeds to describe a pearl of the first quality; it must be “perfectly round in all its parts, colorless and gifted with a fine water. When a pearl possesses these requisites and weighs one miskal [24 carats or 96 grains] it is worth 300 dinars [$750]. If, however, a match is found for this pearl and each one weighs one miskal and has the same form, the two pearls together cost 700 dinars [$1750].” This writer also mentions that in the shops of the Arab jewelers, the pearl which exceeded the weight of a drachma (12 carats or 48 grains) even by one grain, was called dorra, while the name johar was used for that which did not reach the above weight.

In 1838, Feuchtwanger gave the price of a one-carat pearl as five dollars, and used this amount as the multiplier of the square of the weight; therefore, a four-carat pearl would cost four times four multiplied by five dollars, the value of the first carat; that is to say, a sixteen-grain (four-carat) pearl would have been worth eighty dollars in 1838, according to this computation.

THE SIAMESE PRINCE IN FULL REGALIA

In 1858, Barbot[388] gave the value of pearls under ordinary conditions, but very indefinitely, as follows:

Grains Carats Francs per carat U. S. currency
1 ¼ 4 $0.80
2 ½ 10 2.00
3 ¾ 25 5.00
4 1 50 10.00

Above four grains they sold by the piece, and below, by the ounce. Baroque pearls sold for 300 to 1000 francs per ounce. Seed-pearls, if quite round, were worth about 120 francs per ounce.

Emanuel[389] gave the following table of prices for the pearl, reduced to United States currency:

Grains 1865 1867
3 $2.88— $3.84 $4.32— $4.80
4 5.28— 6.72 6.72— 8.40
5 8.40— 10.80 9.60— 12.00
6 13.20— 15.60 16.80— 19.20
8 21.60— 26.40 24.00— 28.80
10 38.40— 43.20 48.00— 52.80
12 57.60— 72.00 67.20— 76.80
14 72.00— 86.40 86.40— 96.00
16 96.00—144.00 96.00—144.00
18 144.00—192.00 144.00—192.00
20 192.00—240.00 192.00—240.00
24 288.00—345.60 288.00—345.60
30 384.00—480.00 384.00—480.00

The following values appear in the “Encyclopedia Hispano-Americana,” Barcelona, 1894, Vol. XV, p. 180 (Louis Dieulafait):

Grains Value, 1865 Value, 1867
Pesetas U. S. currency Pesetas U. S. currency
3 17— 18 $3.40— $3.60 21— 23 $4.20— $4.60
4 25— 32 5.00— 6.40 32— 40 6.40— 8.00
5 41— 52 8.20— 10.40 46— 58 9.20— 11.60
6 64— 75 12.80— 15.00 81— 93 16.20— 18.60
8 104— 128 20.80— 25.60 116— 139 23.20— 27.80
10 202— 227 40.40— 45.40 252— 277 50.40— 55.40
12 302— 378 60.40— 75.60 352— 403 70.40— 80.60
14 378— 453 75.60— 90.60 455— 504 91.00—100.80
16 504— 756 100.80—151.20 504— 756 100.80—151.20
18 756—1005 151.20—201.00 756—1005 151.20—201.00
20 1005—1260 201.00—252.00 1005—1260 201.00—252.00
24 1512—1815 302.40—363.00 1512—1815 302.40—363.00
30 2117—2521 423.40—504.20 2117—2521 423.40—504.20
COMPARATIVE STATEMENT SHOWING THE VALUES OF PEARLS AT STATED TIMES
Weight 1609[390] 1672[391] 1675[392] 1751[393] 1774[394] 1791[395]
Grains Thal. Kreutz. Livres £ s £ s £ s Lire
1 0 13 0 ½ 0 1 0 ?
2 0 52 2 0 2 0 4 0 2 6
3 1 47 5 0 6 0 9 0 13½
4 3 0 10 0 12 0 16 0 18 24
5 4 48 18 1 5 1 5 1 10 37½
6 6 52 28 2 10 1 16 2 5 54
7 9 13 38 4 10 2 9 3 1 73½
8 12 0 55 6 0 3 4 4 10 96
9 15 23 75 8 0 4 1 6 0 121½
10 18 52 100 10 0 5 0 8 5 150
11 22 48 130 12 0 6 1 9 15 242
12 27 175 14 0 7 4 288
13 31 48 16 0 8 9 13 15 338
14 36 52 270 18 0 9 16 392
15 42 13 21 10 11 5 21 0 450
16 48 380 25 0 12 16 512
17 54 13 30 0 14 9 27 10 578
18 60 52 500 35 0 16 4 648
19 67 48 37 10 18 1 722
20 75 650 40 0 20 0 37 10 800
22 90 52 50 0 24 4 52 10 1210
24 108 60 0 28 16 82 10 1440
26 126 52 33 16 99 0 1690
28 147 39 14 150 0 1960
32 192 51 4 225 0 2560
36 243 64 16 262 10 3240
40 300 80 0 300 0 4000
45 506 17 101 5 5062½
50 625 125 0 6250
60 900 180 0 9000
70 1225 245 0 12250
80 1600 320 0 16000
90 2025 405 0 20250
100 2500 500 0 25000
COMPARATIVE STATEMENT SHOWING THE VALUES OF PEARLS AT STATED TIMES, REDUCED TO UNITED STATES CURRENCY
Weight Grains 1609 1672 1675 1751 1774 1791
1 $0.20 $0.12 $0.24 $0.09 $0.30
2 0.81 $0.80 0.48 0.96 0.50 1.20
3 1.82 1.90 1.44 2.16 1.87 2.70
4 3.24 3.80 2.88 3.84 4.50 4.80
5 5.06 6.84 6.00 6.00 7.50 7.50
6 7.28 10.64 12.00 8.64 11.25 10.80
7 10.92 14.44 21.60 11.76 15.25 14.70
8 12.96 20.90 28.80 15.36 22.50 19.20
9 16.40 28.50 38.40 19.44 30.00 24.30
10 20.25 38.00 48.00 24.00 41.25 30.00
11 24.50 49.40 57.60 29.04 48.75 48.40
12 29.16 66.50 67.20 34.56 57.60
13 34.22 76.80 40.56 68.75 67.60
14 39.69 102.60 86.40 47.04 78.40
15 45.56 103.20 54.00 105.00 90.00
16 51.84 144.40 120.00 61.44 102.40
17 58.52 144.00 60.36 137.50 115.60
18 65.61 190.00 168.00 77.76 129.60
19 73.10 180.00 86.64 144.40
20 81.00 247.00 192.00 96.00 187.50 160.00
22 98.01 240.00 116.16 262.50 242.00
24 116.64 288.00 138.24 412.50 288.00
26 136.89 162.24 495.00 338.00
28 158.76 188.16 750.00 392.00
32 207.36 245.76 1125.00 512.00
36 262.44 311.04 1312.50 648.00
40 324.00 384.00 1500.00 800.00
45 546.75 486.00 1012.50
50 675.00 600.00 1250.00
60 972.00 864.00 1800.00
70 1323.00 1176.00 2450.00
80 1728.00 1536.00 3200.00
90 2187.00 1944.00 4050.00
100 2700.00 2400.00 5000.00

Giving the pearl values in 1867, Emanuel[396] says: “It would be almost useless to give any value for drop pearls, as when of large size and fine quality they are of so rare occurrence as to command fancy prices; still, as a slight guide, it may be mentioned that perfect white drop pearls, of 80 to 100 grains, may be estimated at from £7 to £11 [$35–$55] per grain; those of 50 to 80 grains at from £4 to £7 [$20–$35] per grain, and those of 30 to 50 grains at from £3–£5 [$15–$25] per grain; smaller sizes bring from 20s. to 60s. [$5–$15] per grain.”

Emanuel also states that misshapen pieces called “baroque pearls” (perles baroques), are sold by the ounce, the price varying from £10 to £200 ($50–$1000) per ounce, depending on quality, color, and size.

PRICES IN NEW YORK CITY IN 1878
Grains Value per grain Total value
1 $1.00 $1.00
2 1.83 3.66
3 2.75 8.25
4 3.60 14.40
5 4.03 20.15
6 4.69 28.14
7 6.32 44.24
8 6.87 54.96
9 7.42 66.78
10 8.25 82.50
11 9.62 105.82
12 10.45 125.40
13 11.68 151.84
14 12.55 175.70
15 14.20 213.00
20 19.70 394.00
24 24.75 594.00
HALF-PEARLS
I QUALITY. PER HUNDRED
Diameter
Size No. Millimeters Inches 1873 1876 1878 1885 1908
4 $1.10 $0.85 $0.50 $1.55
5 1.20 .047 1.35 $0.70 1.00 .60 1.95
6 1.22 .048 1.80 .90 1.35 .70 2.90
7 1.24 .049 2.25 1.10 1.70 1.12 3.88
8 1.26 .049 2.70 1.35 2.00 1.80 5.27
9 1.28 .050 3.35 1.80 2.50 2.00 6.65
10 1.80 .071 4.50 2.25 3.40 3.00 9.15
11 1.83 .072 5.60 2.70 4.20 4.00 11.36
12 1.86 .073 8.00 3.35 5.90 5.00 13.86
13 1.90 .075 9.00 4.50 6.75 5.75 15.51
14 2.00 .078 11.00 5.60 8.40 6.75 17.50
15 2.10 .082 14.00 8.00 10.00 8.25 20.80
16 2.25 .088 17.00 9.00 12.50 10.50 25.00
17 2.40 .094 19.00 11.00 14.00 12.00 30.50
18 2.60 .102 23.00 14.00 17.00 14.50 37.40
19 2.75 .108 28.00 17.00 21.00 16.25 48.50
20 2.90 .114 33.00 19.00 24.00 18.25 61.00
22 3.05 .120 42.00 28.00 31.00 33.00
24 3.15 .124 53.00 38.00 39.00 48.00
26 3.30 .130 67.00 45.00 50.00 69.00
28 3.55 .140 101.00 56.00 75.00 98.00
30 3.90 .153 124.00 79.00 92.00 150.00
HALF PEARLS
II QUALITY. PER HUNDRED
Size No. 1873 1876 1878 1885 1908
4 $0.55 $0.45 $0.30 $0.84
5 .70 $0.35 .50 .35 1.22
6 .90 .45 .70 .50 1.87
7 1.10 .55 .85 .80 3.05
8 1.35 .70 1.00 1.05 4.43
9 1.80 .90 1.35 1.45 5.82
10 2.25 1.10 1.70 1.80 8.32
11 3.35 1.35 2.50 2.60 10.53
12 4.00 1.80 3.00 3.00 12.75
13 4.50 2.25 3.40 3.75 14.41
14 5.60 3.35 4.20 4.25 15.51
15 6.75 4.00 5.00 4.75 18.00
16 9.00 4.50 6.75 5.25 20.80
17 10.00 5.60 7.50 6.00 26.35
18 11.00 6.75 8.40 7.00 31.90
19 14.00 9.00 10.00 7.75 41.60
20 17.00 10.00 12.50 8.75 52.70
22 20.00 14.00 15.00
24 27.00 19.00 20.00
26 34.00 23.00 25.00
28 51.00 28.00 38.00
30 62.00 40.00 46.00
HALF PEARLS
III QUALITY. PER HUNDRED
Size No. 1876 1907 Size No. 1876 1908
4 $0.47 15 2.70 8.93
5 $0.25 .70 16 3.35 11.20
6 .35 1.11 17 4.00 13.90
7 .40 1.94 18 4.50 18.00
8 .45 2.77 19 5.60 22.20
9 .70 3.86 20 6.75 27.75
10 .80 4.99 22 9.00 40.00
11 .90 5.82 24 14.00 75.00
12 1.10 6.65 26 17.00 85.00
13 1.60 7.48 28 19.00 100.00
14 2.25 8.32 30 28.00 200.00
VALUE OF IRREGULAR PEARLS IN 1774[397]
Pearls to the ounce Value in English money Equivalent in U. S. currency Average for each pearl
£ s.
500 3 0 $15.00 $0.03
300 6 0 30.00 .10
150 11 2 55.50 .37
100 18 0 90.00 .90
60 33 15 168.75 2.81
30 75 0 375.00 12.50

The following values for the smaller oriental pearls are given in the “Museum Brittanicum” of John and Andrew van Rymsdyck, 1778, p. 9.

No. to the ounce Rix dollars Equivalent in U. S. currency Average for each pearl
200 70 $75.60 $0.378
300 50 54.00 .18
900 10 10.80 .012
2000 3 4.24 .00212
4000 2.70 .006755
8000 } 2 2.16 { .00027
10,000 2 2.16 .000216

Pio Naldi’s treatise of 1791 gives the following rule for estimating the value of small, round pearls, weighing less than one carat or four grains. As the carat value of four such pearls is given as five lire and 576 one-grain pearls were counted as one ounce, these two numbers were used to determine the value of an ounce of small pearls. The product of 576 multiplied by 5 is 2880, and this number was then divided by 2000, 1000, 500, or whatever might be the number of pearls in a given ounce. If there were 2000 pearls, the carat value would be 1.44 lire or $.29; if there were 1000, the carat would be worth 2.88 lire or $.57; if 500, 5.76 lire or $1.15, etc.

HALF-PEARLS: LOTS OF THREE DIFFERENT SIZES.
BROOCH OF HALF-PEARLS AND ONYX. UNITED STATES, 1860

The same author[398] gives tables expressing the values of pearls not perfectly spherical in form, which he designates as “perle dolce.” These pearls he considers to be worth half the price of good round pearls; that is to say, 2½ lire (about $.50) per carat for four weighing together one carat. Where there are as many as three thousand of these “perle dolce” in an ounce, the 2½ lire base is multiplied by 576, the number of grains given to the ounce; this makes the value of an ounce of one-grain pearls $288. This amount is then divided by 3000, and the quotient, $.096, represents the value of one carat of these small pearls. Multiplying this by 144 we obtain, as the value of an ounce of such pearls, $13.82. An ounce consisting of two thousand would be worth $20.73, while if there were but one hundred to the ounce it would be valued at $414.72, or $4.15 for each pearl and $.72 per grain of weight. In this latter case the pearls would average 5¾ grains. Another class of pearls denominated by this author as “scaramazzi,” pearls of an irregular form and with protuberances, are estimated in a similar way, but at exactly half of the above values. The baroque pearls were not considered to be worth even half as much as the “scaramazzi.”

Scotch pearls (fresh-water) are mentioned by De Boot (1609, p. 88 sq.) among the other western pearls—Bohemian, etc. He remarks that they were valued much less than the oriental pearls, but if they were of especially pure color their value was greater, although they lacked the silvery hue characteristic of the eastern pearl. Fine pearls of this sort were valued on a carat base of one fourth of a thaler ($.27), so that a forty-grain pearl was worth $27, and one of eighty grains, $108. The author of the Bologna treatise, “Delle Gemme,” 1791, attributes the lack of luster in the Scotch pearls to the presence of a dark mass in the interior which interfered with the passage of light. He estimates Scotch pearls to be worth one half the value of oriental pearls of mediocre quality, provided the former are fairly good.

A Scotch writer of the seventeenth century is more enthusiastic in regard to these pearls; he mentions having paid one hundred rix dollars for an exceptionally fine one, but he does not specify its weight. This is the value given by De Boot for a pearl of this class weighing eighty grains, as we have just mentioned. The Scotch writer asserts that he could never sell a necklace of fine Scotch pearls in Scotland itself, as every one wanted oriental pearls; he continues: “At this very day I can show some of our own Scots Pearls as fine, more hard and transparent than any Oriental. It is true that the Oriental can be easier matched, because they are all of a yellow water, yet foreigners covet Scots Pearls.”

In Ceylon[399] and India, pearl-grading and valuing has received close attention, and an elaborate system has been evolved by the pearl merchants. This system has been in use for generations and possibly for centuries. Although apparently very complicated, it is in reality quite simple, if we only remember that the value of inferior pearls is determined by their weight, whereas the value of superior pearls is computed from the square of their weight.

The pearls are first grouped according to the size, of which ten grades are made. This is done by passing them successively through ten brass saucer-like sieves or baskets (peddi), each about three and a half inches in diameter and one inch deep. The holes in the bottom of each sieve are of uniform size, but they are graduated in size for the different baskets. The pearls are sifted in the basket with the largest holes, and those which will not pass through are of the first size. The pearls which pass through are then sifted in the second basket, and those retained are of the second size; and so on through the entire series of ten sieves or baskets. Those which pass through the tenth sieve are known as masi-tÚl, or powder pearls; they are of little value owing to their very small size, and are not subject to further classification. Of course, the attached pearls or very irregular baroques—the oddumuttu—are not subject to the sifting process, and are valued independently of this.

Sometimes in India, as well as in western countries, false measures are used, and an oriental pearl merchant may have one set of sieves for use in buying and another for selling. The rule for determining the proper size of the holes in the first sieve is that they may pass pearls weighing 20 to the kalanchu, whence this sieve is commonly known as the “20 peddi.” The second sieve is the “30 peddi,” since it passes pearls weighing 30 to the kalanchu. In the proper order the other sieves respectively pass pearls requiring 50, 80, 100, 200, 400, 600, 800, and 1000 to the kalanchu.

This use of sieves for grading the Ceylon pearls was mentioned by Cleandro Arnobio, a writer of the latter part of the sixteenth century, in his “Tesoro delle Gioie,” and he took his description from an older writer, Garzia dell’ Horto.

After the sifting, each of the ten graded lots of pearls are placed on pieces of cloth for classification as to quality, shape, and luster. This classification requires much skill and judgment on the part of the valuer. Not only will two persons commonly fail to class a large lot of pearls exactly alike, but one person is not likely to class the same lot twice in precisely the same manner.

A. B. Pearl nose rings. Baroda, India.
C. East Indian earring of strings of pearls and table diamonds.
Collection of Edmund Russell, Esq.
D. E. Grape pendants. Oriental pearls.

From long established custom, recognition is made of twelve classes into which the ten grades or sizes of pearls are divided with respect to shape and luster, the local names of these classes giving a fair indication of their respective characteristics. These names are:

1
Ani, “best”: perfect in sphericity and luster, the true orient pearl.
2
AnatÁri, “follower”: failing slightly in sphericity and luster.
3
Masanku or Masaku: badly colored pearls, usually gray, symmetrical, and with luster.
4
KaiyÉral, “the clasp of a necklace”: a dark-colored treble pearl, not quite round.
5
Machchakai.
6
Vadivu, “beauty,” also “decreasing”: that which is strained or sifted; found in the 100, 200, and 400 sieves. These small pearls, regular in shape, and of good luster, are especially favored in the East.
7
Madanku, “folded,” or “bent”: all pearls of vadivu size that are imperfect in form or color.
8
Kuruval, “short”: deformed and double pearls; they may, however, be of excellent luster. Ani Kuruval: where two Áni are fused together, but so formed that if separate they would be perfectly spherical. PÍsal Kuruval: where several pearls of good luster and color are fused partially and irregularly together. Pampara Kuruval: a pearl grooved regularly, like a top.
9
Kalippu, “abundance,” or “rejected”: inferior to AnatÁri; a good pearl, may be lens-shaped or elongated; usually flattened.
10
PÍsal, “torn”: a deformed pearl or cluster of small misshapen pearls; of poor color and of little value.
11
KurÁl: very misshapen and small.
12
TÚl, “powder”: the seed-pearls, those retained by the 600, 800, and 1000 sieves.

In addition to the above designations, the following are also used:

Samadiam: a pearl of a reddish hue; pear-shaped but of dull color.

Nimelai: a nose-pearl, perfect skinned, and pear- or egg-shaped.

Sirippu: a pearl grooved with irregular wrinkle-like furrows.

Kodai, “brown”: like a nut, with no nacreous luster; formed of prismatic shell; may be large, is usually spherical, and includes pearls of various colors. This name is also used for white pearls with black or brown marks. Van Kodai: a kodai pearl with one side nacreous. Karunk Kodai: a black or blue-black slag-like pearl.

Masi-tÚl, “ink-dust,” or “chalk-powder”: smaller than the 1000 sieve. Generally used for medicinal purposes, or burnt and eaten with areca-nut and betel by the natives.

Oddu—or Ottumuttu, “shell-pearl”: an attached pearl or nacreous excrescence on the outside of the shell.

Of the twelve classes named above, the first four are known as the chevvu, or superior classes; the next three as the vadivu, or beautiful classes; and the last five as the kalanchu, or inferior classes. The chevvu pearls are found only in the first four sieves or baskets; and for this reason these are known as the chevvu peddi or “chevvu baskets,” although they may also retain inferior pearls. A name used to indicate the class of pearls found in the first four sieves is mel or melmuttu, “upper” or “superior pearl,” while vadivu designates those retained by the next three and tÚl those of the last three.

After the pearls have been graded according to size and classified according to quality, they are weighed. The unit of weight is the manchÁdi, the seed of Abrus precatorius, a small, red berry of practically uniform weight when ripe. H. W. Gillman of the Ceylon Civil Service reports the weight of the manchÁdi to be 3.35 grains troy. Fractional parts of a unit are obtained by using a berry called kundumani, grains of rice, etc., whose weights have been determined beforehand. A brass weight—the kalanchu—is also employed; it equals 67 grains or 20 manchÁdi.

However, choice pearls—those of the superior classes—are not valued in this manner, but at so much per chevvu of their weight, which is three fourths of the square of the weight in manchÁdi. Thus, to find the value of an anatÁri pearl in the second sieve, if the weight be found to be three manchÁdi, three fourths of the square of three, or 6¾, is multiplied by the base value of the anatÁri class.

The actual process of the calculation of value is as follows: owing to the small size of the pearls, many fractions enter into the computations; to preserve uniformity it is customary to increase all fractions so that each may have 320 as a denominator, this being a common multiple of those that ordinarily arise in chevvu calculations. The weight in manchÁdi of the pearls is increased to a fractional figure having 320 as a denominator. Three fourths of the square of the numerator of this fraction is divided by the number of pearls, and this quotient is divided twice consecutively by 320, giving the chevvu of the weight. The market value then follows from the quoted price of the pearls per chevvu at the time.

In actual practice, these computations are not made; but each merchant provides himself with sets of tables showing the calculations for different weights, analogous to the use of interest tables by bankers, or of tables of logarithms by surveyors. Some of the merchants commit these tables to memory, and at times may be heard reciting them quietly to themselves to refresh the memory.

If a pearl of a particular grade and class is of exceptional merit, the merchant adds somewhat to the money value computed by the above process. This applies especially to double pearls of the kuruval class, which sometimes consist of two fine bouton pearls suitable for setting, but not for stringing.

Pearls of one of the inferior or kalanchu classes are valued by simple weight, at so much per kalanchu, the market price, of course, differing for pearls of the various classes. The weight having been ascertained, each in its class as before noted, the value is determined by multiplying that weight by the current market price per unit of such pearls, at so many rupees per kalanchu.

NECKLACE CONTAINING 126,000 SEED-PEARLS. LOUIS XVI PERIOD
Property of an American lady

The star pagoda is used in calculating the values. This small gold coin was current in south India in the early part of the last century. In the computations it is considered to be worth three and a half rupees, although its intrinsic value as a gold coin is about six rupees.

It is considered probable that the London syndicate,[400] which has lately leased the Ceylon pearl fisheries for a period of twenty years, will do away with the complicated calculations employed for so many generations, surviving all changes of administration, Portuguese, Dutch, and British. This is only one of the many instances showing the tendency of the British Government to abolish time-honored usages in India, without regard to the wishes of its population; and, unimportant as many of these changes may seem to us, they all serve to foster a spirit of discontent that may lead to serious trouble. This conduct on the part of Great Britain is all the stranger in view of the stubborn opposition of that country to the adoption of the scientific and logical metric system.

In Bombay, the weight of pearls in tanks is made the basis of their valuation; the tank equals 24 ratti or about 72 grains troy. The square of the number of tanks is multiplied by 330 and the quotient divided by the number of pearls; this gives the number of chevvus, or chows, as they are sometimes called, and the market price of the chevvus for a given class of pearls shows their value. If, for instance, we have 56 pearls of a certain quality, weighing 5 tanks, and the chevvus of these pearls is worth 14 rupees, the sum would be as follows:

5 × 5 × 330 × 14

= 2062.5 rupees, or about $825.
56

In this case, as in the other system of weighing which we have mentioned, the chevvus is only a nominal weight; but there is in India a real weight unit which bears this name.[401]

The high esteem in which the pearl was held by the Hindus is well illustrated by the following statement from an old treatise on gems: “A pearl weighing two kalanjas (about 180 grains) should not be worn even by kings. It is for the gods, it is without equal.”[402]

An interesting account of a great savant’s experience, in the early part of the sixteenth century, regarding the value of pearls, is given by Guillaume BudÉ[403] (1467–1540), the celebrated French Hellenist who lived during the reign of Francis I and who is regarded as the founder of the College de France. In his work entitled “De Asse,” he states that he once inquired of a gem dealer in Paris whether the latter could recall the weight of some remarkable pearl which had passed through his hands. The dealer replied that he had seen one weighing 30 carats (120 grains), whereupon another gem dealer, who was present, remarked that he had in his possession one of 40 carats (160 grains). This pearl was sold a few days later for 3000 gold crowns ($6750). On another occasion BudÉ was told that a pearl of exquisite beauty weighing 30 carats, had been sold to the Duchesse de Bourbon, daughter of Louis XI of France, for the sum of 4000 gold crowns ($9000).

In regard to the manner of computing the value of pearls BudÉ writes: “I think the ratio of these prices can be calculated. When I asked a gem dealer what was the value of a pearl of four carats [sixteen grains], according to the formula, he replied: ‘I have seen such a pearl sell for thirty gold crowns [$67.50].’ Whereupon I asked: ‘How much would you estimate one weighing eight carats [thirty-two grains]?’ ‘At least two hundred gold crowns [$450],’ he answered; and as I continued to ply him with questions, gradually increasing the weight, he responded in such a way that I could understand that the increase of the price bore not a numerical, but a proportional relation to the weight; so that the above mentioned eight-carat pearl, having double the weight of a four-carat pearl, was valued at seven times as much. The same was true of a pearl weighing twelve carats, twenty carats, and so on; the price augmenting by a greater and greater increment as the weight increased.”

In the “Coronae Gemma Noblissima” of Wilhelmus Eo (1621, pp. 32, 33), an instance is given of the rapid changes that are possible in the worth of a pearl. A large and beautiful pearl was brought to Nuremberg by a merchant who had paid 500 florins for it; he soon found a purchaser among the merchants there, who was willing to pay him 800 florins. This latter merchant in his turn disposed of his gem for 1000 florins, and shortly after it again changed hands twice, the first time at an advance of 200 florins and the second at an advance of 300 florins. All this happened within a few days. The writer tells us that the last purchaser, who paid 1500 florins for the pearl, took it with him to Venice “where the wealthy dames wear a great treasure of beautiful pearls as necklaces upon their bare skin, and he will not have lost anything on his pearl there.”

In 1884, Mr. Edwin Streeter was asked by a member of a London syndicate to proceed to the East, to value a large quantity of jewels, as a heavy sum of money was about to be advanced to a certain Power, to provide the sinews of war. On his way he was requested to stop at one of the principal towns in Germany to purchase some jewels which had been valued for probate but were not easy of sale in that market. The valuation paper was shown to him, and after examining the ornaments, he agreed to take them at the prices named. Among them was an old gold brooch of Russian manufacture, valued at £4; in the center of this brooch was what appeared to be a piece of hematite, but was in reality a fine, round, black pearl, weighing 77 grains. The color had faded from exposure to the sun. This pearl was brought to London, and the outer layer was taken off, when a perfect black pearl of 67 grains was uncovered. This was sold to a manufacturing jeweler in London for £400; but, having heard that in Paris there was a pearl that would exactly match it, Mr. Streeter bought it back again for £600, and then sold it at a large profit to one of the Paris crown jewelers, who, in his turn, sold the pair to a rich iron merchant for 50,000 francs (£2000 or $10,000). Since then the sum of 100,000 francs (£4000 or $20,000) has been refused for this pair of matchless black pearls. At present values they may be worth double this sum.

At different times the values assigned to the different forms and colors of pearls have varied. For instance, in the French EncyclopÉdie of 1774 (Vol. XII, p. 385), it is stated that pear-shaped pearls, although they might be equally perfect and of the same weight as round pearls, were valued much less than these. Even in the case of well-matched pairs, their price was a third less than that of round pearls.

As early as the sixteenth century it was not uncommon that jewelers who had in their possession a fine pear-shaped pearl would have a replica of it molded in lead, and then send the casts to the large cities of Europe and the East. If a mate was found for it, the respective owners soon came to terms, for such pearls command a much higher price together than they do separately.

An interesting story is told of no less a collector than the Duke of Brunswick, who was so generous to the city of Geneva. For many years every pear-shaped pearl from every land had been submitted to him for examination. He always claimed the privilege of examining it alone for a moment or two and in every instance he returned it. At last a new pear-shaped pearl of marvelous size and beauty was heard of in a distant country. It was sent to Germany, where the duke was visiting at that time, to a local dealer who acted as agent for the owner. The price demanded for it seemed excessive, but the duke took the pearl, stepped aside for a moment, and said, quick as a flash, “The pearl is mine.” The next day he showed it with a mate he had owned for many years and that was a most faultless match. Through all the years of his search he had never informed any one of his intention to match the pearl he already owned.

In 1879, at the time of the death of the father of Sultan Buderuddin of the Sulu Islands, a box of large and fine pearls was among the treasures he left behind him. Many of these disappeared, but some of them came into the hands of Sultan Buderuddin and his mother. The former sold those which he had inherited, in order to defray the expenses of a pilgrimage to Mecca, in 1882. His mother, who exerted a great influence over the conduct of affairs, retained a number of the pearls, and it was always difficult to induce her to part with any of them. When, as very rarely happened, she was persuaded to do so, she invariably got a higher price for them than they would have commanded in London, because she was never anxious to sell, and always said: “Why should I sell my pearls? If the Spaniards come to attack us, I can put them in a handkerchief and go into the hills; but if I had dollars I should need a number of men to carry them.” We do not yet know what became of the stolen pearls.

Many times has a dealer put nearly all that he possessed into a fine pearl or necklace, frequently without a reward; often gradually buying more and more, hoping for some great patron to relieve him. When the client appears, there is happiness, but when he does not, there is woe. This instance is well illustrated when Philip IV of Spain asked of the merchant Gogibus: “How have you ventured to put all your fortune into such a small object?” “Because I knew there was a king of Spain to buy it of me,” was the quick reply. And Philip rewarded the faith of the jeweler by purchasing the pearl.

Caire and Dufie[404] state:

We need have no fear that either the price or the use of pearls will diminish when we consider the great demand for them both on account of luxury and superstition. There is no Hindu who does not regard it as a matter of religion that he should pierce at least one pearl on the occasion of his marriage. This must be a new pearl which has never been perforated. Whatever may be the mysterious signification, this very ancient usage is, at least, very useful for the commerce of pearls.

In 1898, one of the writers had a long talk with his late chief, who had, at that time, devoted sixty years of his life to the jewelry profession. In the course of the conversation the latter remarked: “It seems to me that pearls are too dear”; to which the writer rejoined: “Have pearls ever gone down in price during your entire connection with the jewelry profession?” The answer was: “No, they have always advanced.” Whereupon the writer said: “I can give you statistics for two hundred years preceding your earliest experience, which prove that pearls constantly advanced in value during that period.”

The following are the names given to the different kinds of pearls, according to their origin.

The term “oriental” designates those pearls that are found in the true pearl-oyster, and have a marine or salt-water origin, being found either in the ocean or one of its adjacent tributaries, and belonging to one of the numerous species of the MargaritiferÆ.

The term “fresh-water” is given to those pearls that are found in the fresh-water brooks, rivulets, rivers, or fresh-water lakes, and not in salt water, and which belong to the UnionidÆ.

The term “conch” is applied to that variety of pearl which is usually pink, or yellow, in color, and that is either found in the univalve shell, known as the common conch (Strombus gigas), or in the yellow shell (Cassis madagascarensis).

The word “clam pearl” is used to designate those pearls that are found in the common clam of the Atlantic coast, and are either black, dark purple, purple, or mixed with white, more especially if they are boiled.

“Placuna pearl” designates those pearls that are found in the Placuna, or window-glass shell, in the East. They have a micaceous luster, are rarely of much value, and are sold entirely in the Orient, almost exclusively for medicinal purposes.

“Oyster pearl” signifies those concretions that are found in the common edible oyster (Ostrea). They are generally black, purple, or with a mixture of black and white, or purple and white. They are devoid of nacreous luster and possess neither beauty nor value.

“Coque de perle” designates the globuse walls of the nautilus and possibly other shells that have a pearly nacre; they are almost hemispherical and are either round or long, having a pearly effect.

“Abalone”: a name applied to those pearls that are found in the univalve “ear-shell” or awabi, as it is called in Japan. They are generally green, blue-green, or fawn-yellow, and have an intense red, flame-like iridescence. They are rarely round, generally flat, or irregular, and are occasionally worth several hundreds of dollars each.

“Pinna pearls”: those pearls that are found in the Pinna, or wing-shells of the Mediterranean and adjacent seas. These possess no orient, but are more highly crystalline than any other pearls. They are almost translucent and have a peculiar red or yellow color, and are of little value except locally.

“Cocoanut pearl”: this name is given to those pearls that are found in the giant oyster or clam of the vicinity of Singapore; they are erroneously called cocoanut pearls because they have the appearance of the meat of the cocoanut. They are often of great size, but have no commercial value.

The following are special designations of the different varieties of pearls according to their forms and appearance:

Paragon: this term was formerly used to designate large and exceptionally perfect or beautiful pearls, usually weighing over one hundred grains.

Round: when the pearl is absolutely spherical, as if turned on a lathe, without any flattening or any indentations on the sides.

Button or Bouton: if the pearl is domed on top and has either a flat or slightly convex back.

Pear-shaped: when the pearl is formed like a pear, terminating in a point, and is either flat at the lower end or rounded.

Drop-shaped: when the pearl is elongated like a pear, but is larger at the lower end than a pear-shaped pearl.

Egg-shaped: when ovate in form, rounded more or less at each end, or formed like an egg.

Cone-shaped: applied to pearls that are elongated and rounded with one flat end, and have the form of a cone.

Top-shaped: a name given to those pearls that are broad, flattened at the top and rounded on the sides, terminating in a point, like a top.

Seed-pearls is a name given to pearls that are round or irregular, and weigh one fourth grain or even less. They are frequently so small that 18,000 are contained in a single ounce, and they are often sent from the East in bunches of about a dozen or so of strings.

Dust-pearls. When seed-pearls are very small they are known as “dust-pearls”; they are really as fine as dust and have very little value; still, their form is in many cases wonderfully perfect.

Petal pearls are those which are somewhat flat, frequently more pointed at one end than at the other, and have the appearance of a petal or leaf.

Hinge pearls are those pearls that are long, generally pointed at either or both ends, and are found near the hinge part of the shell. They are divided into two distinct forms, namely dog-tooth, and wing-shaped.

Wing pearls: those that are elongated or irregular, resembling a wing or part of a wing.

Dog-tooth: applied to pearls with pointed ears, elongated, and which are narrower than the wing pearls.

Slugs: a name used for the very irregular, distorted pearls, frequently made up of masses or groups of small pearls; usually without luster or form, and of little value except for medicinal purposes.

Nuggets: when the pearls are somewhat round, but are indented or slightly irregular.

Haystacks: when the pearls are either round or oval, with the top considerably elevated.

Turtlebacks: when the pearls are a trifle longer than they are wide, with a domed surface not much elevated. This form is quite prevalent among American pearls.

Strawberry pearls: those that are round or elongated and entirely covered with prickly points, somewhat resembling a strawberry or pickle. It is believed that these irregular marks are frequently produced by minute pearls.

“Blister” and “Chicot” are names applied to those pearls that are found embedded within a nacreous coating, often containing mud, water, or imperfect mother-of-pearl. After these “blisters,” as they are termed, are broken, and layer after layer has been removed from the contents, very fine pearls have frequently been found.

Peelers: a term applied to pearls having imperfect surfaces or skins that may have some inner layers which are perfect. Pearls having opaque bands or rings are rarely peeled with much success as this opaque layer frequently extends to some depth.

Cylindrical pearls: for pearls that have the form of a cylinder, being elongated and flattened at each end.

Hammer pearls: when pearls are long and somewhat rounded and assume the shape of a hammer or barrel. These are rounded or domed at the side and flattened at the ends.

Baroque (Wart pearls in German): when pearls are not of any perfect form such as round, pear, ovate, or any regular form, they are termed baroque, and this term covers a large class of varieties, such as all that follow (except seed- and half-pearls).

Double, triple, or twin pearls are those that are made up of two or more pearls united together in a single nacreous coating, showing, however, that they are still separate pearls.

Monster pearls: this name was formerly applied to very large, irregular, pearly masses which either resembled some animal or were adapted to form the head, trunk, or other part of an animal: these are also occasionally called “Paragons.”

Bird’s-eye: a name used for a pearl that has dull spots, giving it the appearance of a bird’s-eye.

“Ring-a-round” is a term applied to such pearls as are black, brown, pink, or white, and have a circle running around the pearl itself of some distinctive contrasting color, as white on black, pink on brown or black on white.

Embedded pearls are those that are partly or entirely surrounded by mother-of-pearl, having been enveloped and passed outward from the interior of the shell by the mollusk so that in time the pearl would have been lost on the outside of the shell. These embedded pearls are occasionally found in the manufacture of mother-of-pearl articles. When the mother-of-pearl is split, the pearl will fall out from between the layers.

Half-pearls is the name given to such pearls as are round and spherically domed, and are either somewhat flat or almost the shape of one half of a whole pearl of the same diameter. They are usually made by cutting off the best part of a hemispherical bright spot from a large irregular pearl; frequently two to four cuttings are made from the bright spots of a single pearl, each of the cuttings having the appearance of half a pearl.

The so-called Indian pearls have a faint rosy tint with much orient. These are generally pearls from the Ceylonese fisheries that are sold from the Bombay side. The term “Madras white” describes the whiter varieties, there being a preference for these in Madras, while the rosy, yellow, and darker shades are favored in Bombay.

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.

Yellow pearls from other shells than the pearl-oyster are frequently offered for sale in the East, where they are greatly appreciated, although they find little favor in England. Some of these pearls are attributed to the pearly nautilus (Nautilus pompilius). This may be the case with those that have a pearly luster, but those that have the appearance of porcelain, and are as bright as polished china, are certainly not from this shell, but evidently from the large Melo or other shells of that character. Some may come from the large conch (Cassis madagascarensis). A yellow pearl, very perfect in form and color, and weighing more than one hundred grains, was shown at the Paris Exposition of 1889 and was valued at 50,000 francs.

Wonderful golden-yellow pearls with a saffron tint are unusually lustrous and beautiful. One of the most remarkable pearls of this character is of a brilliant golden-yellow color which belongs to an American lady, and weighs 30½ grains. These pearls are from Shark’s Bay, West Australia, and only a limited number of them are found annually.

Black pearls do not seem to have been regarded with any favor by the ancients, and we find no mention of them by medieval writers. Only fifty years ago a perfectly round, black pearl, weighing 8 grains, was sold for £4 ($20); to-day this pearl would easily bring £100 ($500). Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, may be said to have brought them into favor; she owned a splendid necklace of black pearls which was sold at Christie’s, after the fall of Napoleon, for the sum of £4000 ($20,000). Some time later, the Marquis of Bath bought, at Christie’s, the pearl which formed the clasp of the necklace, paying £1000 ($5000) for it; he destined it for the center of a bracelet.

Greenish-black pearls are perhaps valued higher than any other colored pearls, if they have the proper orient; this is probably partly owing to their rarity. A bluish-black pearl possessing a fine orient commands almost the same price as a pure black pearl. Those which are found in the Placuna placenta are often of a dull gray hue, while those produced by the Pinna squamosa are generally brown in color.

Baroque pearls were formerly much worn and appreciated in Spain and Poland. Their price varies greatly, according to their size, their beauty, and also to their scarcity in any particular place. The pieces of pearl detached from the shells—often half-pearl and half mother-of-pearl, and called “de fantaisie”—are always very irregular in form, and sometimes offer a certain resemblance to a part of the human or animal form.[405]

How is it that such quantities of jewels are continually brought from the East, and such a wealth of them continues to exist there, when there are now no very extensive mines that maintain a constant supply? The reason is that from time immemorial, precious stones have been the form in which wealth, in those lands, has been hoarded and preserved. Until very recently, in the Orient, interest-bearing securities have been unknown; and hence jewels have been sought and kept as an investment, and sold only when money was needed for special purposes, as in times of war, famine, or other emergency.

Their small bulk made them easy to conceal and to transport, and hence they were well adapted for such use. How long this condition will last, is perhaps dependent only upon the introduction of interest-paying investments, and of the new forms of Western civilization that involve greater expenses and require means of income in excess of the older and simpler conditions.

The wealth of jewels possessed by Oriental monarchs, notables, and dealers, has been the theme of story and tradition, time out of mind. We of the West have been disposed to regard these tales as largely exaggerated, and to some extent they may be; yet any one who has witnessed an important social function or state occasion where East Indian rajahs and nabobs are present, knows that the profusion of jewels which they wear is simply astounding to our Western eyes. These objects represent, moreover, the gatherings of generations and centuries; they are heirlooms and ancestral treasures, priceless to their owners as the pride of their houses; handed down from fathers to sons in long succession; and they have also the investment feature already noted, in that whenever necessity arises they can be turned into available funds.

The manner of keeping and of selling such objects is also different from ours. If it be a question of buying gems from an Eastern owner, the best are never shown first, but on the contrary, the most inferior. The purchaser must either be content with these, or else must prove clearly that he is a substantial buyer or evince a knowledge and appreciation that mark him as a judge of such objects. The order in which they are produced is, first the poorest, then successively, poor, medium, fair, good, fine, and at last the rare and wonderful prizes.

In visiting an Oriental dignitary, his jewel-treasures are not all shown at once, as at an American reception or an Indian durbar, or even as a collector or connoisseur among us exhibits his cabinet, arranged for choice display. The method is far different. The visitor may be shown a few objects in the first day or hour; perhaps a few more later in the day; some on the next day or the one following, and so on; and he may remain a guest for weeks, and never see all, or the finest of the jewels belonging to his host. When they are produced, moreover, they are not in iron caskets or in gold or silver jewel-cases, covered or lined with fine leather or with silk or satin. On the contrary, they are often in old ginger jars, shabby boxes, tin cans, and all sorts of unsightly or unpromising receptacles, which, when placed between the owner and his guest, may well cause the latter to wonder. Nor is his surprise lessened as the wrappings are unfolded, one after another, perhaps a dozen old cloths, until the piece of jewelry or the splendid pearl is at last brought to view, after having been hidden from sight in its manifold wrappings for months or perhaps for years.

But this method of keeping such treasures is not in reality so strange as it appears. There are none of the provisions that we have for the responsible safe-guarding of investments or valuable objects,—no fire-proof safes, no banks, no deposit-vaults. Security is best attained by concealment in unattractive and improbable receptacles, and by dividing and distributing the treasured objects. The owner, too, must learn to know his visitor quite well before he exhibits to him all, or the best, that he possesses. Hence the oriental method, though so peculiar to us, has been the best adapted to the conditions among those peoples.

Seed-pearls and gold; Chinese ornaments of the nineteenth century

Complete set of seed-pearl jewelry in original case
New York, 1860

As an illustration of the interest taken by Oriental potentates in the collection of jewels, we quote an instance from Marco Polo, who, centuries ago, wrote the following:[406] “Several times every year the King of Maabar sends his proclamation through the realm that if any one who possesses a pearl or stone of great value will bring it to him, he will pay for it twice as much as it cost. Everybody is glad to do this, and thus the King gets all into his own hands, giving every man his price.”

Great quantities of pearls, the result of centuries of accumulation, and exceeding in splendor the collections of the present day, must have been garnered up in many cities of the Orient during the period of their prosperity. But these cities have disappeared, wrecked and ruined by fire and sword, and no vestige of their former wealth remains with them. Their treasures have been looted, hoarded, buried, or scattered to the four ends of the Orient, frequently finding their way in former times to Europe, but now more often to America, where fine gems always find a generous buyer.

In Syria, and some of the Oriental countries, until recently, and perhaps at the present time, it has been the custom, when a native wished to embark in the pearl business, for him to allow himself to drift gradually into a state of vagrancy, becoming a veritable tramp for fully a year. Then, with the money that he had himself or that which was supplied by his backer, he would visit the pearl fisheries and shrewdly acquire the gems to the best advantage, returning again as a vagrant; for if it were known at any point along the route that he carried with him sums of money his life would be in jeopardy, and he would probably never reach the fisheries; or, if he did, the chances are that he would never return. This may remind us of Marco Polo’s old coat, in which he had concealed some valuable gems, the gift of the Grand Khan. His wife heedlessly gave the coat to a beggar and it was only regained by a clever stratagem.

The product of the pearl fisheries, either that of entire fisheries where they are managed by a company, or the gatherings of merchants, or even the single gems which may be acquired by the smaller merchants, all these usually find their way to the great markets, although occasionally they change hands at once. In the East they are sent either to Bombay, Calcutta, Madras or Colombo; frequently they are intended for a higher market. Many of them remain in the East, for in the East to-day a fine pearl is as much prized as ever, and there are those who love pearls as much as did the King of Maabar in the time of Marco Polo. However, the world over, there is a feeling that if things are sent to the greatest market there will be an opportunity for disposing of them at the greatest price. Therefore, the larger number of parcels of exceptionally fine pearls are sent to the London market, a few of them going to Paris, the cable, often within a few days after their arrival, informing the sender of the acceptance or rejection of a parcel, or of a new offer which is often accepted. In this market they are acquired by the dealers, who frequently exhibit many times before the lot is purchased.

Pearls from a fishery are in many cases of mixed quality; that is to say, they are of different sizes and varying grades of perfection as regards skin, color, and orient. These parcels are often sold directly on offers to dealers, but generally they are sold by brokers who show the various parcels to the dealers, each of the latter in turn making his offer on that portion of the parcel which is of most value to him. Thus a single dealer may want one pearl, a dozen, or even twenty or more, to complete a great necklace, or else to add to, or improve the necklace, by better graduation or by increasing the evenness of the color. When the broker receives enough offers to give him the desired price for the entire parcel, the sale is consummated, and each one who has made an offer and who has sealed his particular parcel until his offer is accepted or rejected, receives his portion. Pearls do not grow in the form of necklaces, although they are frequently seen in this form only, and to create a large necklace means not only the use of the pearls of one fishery alone, but it often requires a selection from pearls of various sizes, the product of many fisheries.

It is needless to say that even the shrewdest dealers do not always succeed in their purchases of lots which are to be broken up when the proper number of bids are obtained.

When the pearl revival came in 1898 there was a sudden and rapid upward tendency in the prices, because at that time, in England, money could be borrowed upon a very low rate of interest—as low as 3 per cent.,—and it was a temptation to a number of young men to enter as dealers into the pearl trade. The result was that a number of new stocks were created, not for a regular, but for a speculative demand, and this tended to advance the price spasmodically, rather than gradually, as it would have risen by regular consumption. However, when the foreign market became higher, the demand for pearls was not as great as had been anticipated, and there was a sudden adjustment of prices and a readjustment of the pearl stocks, resulting in the elimination of a certain number of speculative dealers; and, notwithstanding the state of the fisheries, pearls have not advanced so rapidly in the past two years as they did from 1898 to 1905.

More than go per cent. of the pearls of commerce, whether they are round, perfect, half- or seed-pearls, are of oriental origin; that is, pearls from the true pearl-oyster. About 8 per cent. are probably from the fresh-water mussels, three fourths of which are from the United States.

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. More frequently their hue is white, rose, pale yellow, or pale copper, deepening to copper red until they resemble the most intense and highly polished copper button.

According to the estimates of the value of European fresh-water pearls given by seventeenth and eighteenth century writers, their worth was considered to be one half that of oriental pearls of approximately the same quality. Few European pearls, we feel sure, were ever found that possessed the wonderful beauty and brilliancy of the pearls found either in the Miami or the Mississippi and its many tributaries.

So great a quantity of the poorer quality of pearls have been found, principally in the Mississippi Valley, that a foreign dealer has bought 30,000 ounces of baroque pearls at $1 an ounce, and of the slightly better grades fully 100,000 dollars’ worth were obtained in the year 1906. The exportation was strictly limited to the poorer qualities. When pearls are worth from $1 to $6 a grain and upward, they are rarely sent abroad, as the regular pearls of this quality are much appreciated by Americans, and find a ready sale in the United States. The poor pearls above mentioned were principally sent to New York, either from the local fishermen, or else through the dealers in sweet-water shells, in lots of a fraction of an ounce, or in bags weighing a number of pounds. Thirty thousand ounces would equal 18,180,000 grains.

After all the fine pearls have been selected—buttons, baroques, turtle-backs, haystacks, wings, petals and other pearls that can be used in any way as a jewel on this side of the water—the balance of the material is sold by the ounce, varying in price from $1 to $5. These are shipped to Germany, France, and Austria, where they are again selected for cheaper forms of jewelry than are made in the United States. Of these pearls the baroques and slugs go mainly to Germany, while the somewhat finer ones are sent to France, where they are used in artistic but inexpensive work, such as flowers and other imitative forms, and in art nouveau jewelry. Some, again, are shipped to Algiers, Morocco, and Egypt, for the decoration of saddles, garments, etc., and quantities go to India to be used for medicinal purposes. In this way all the material is utilized and even the poorest is not wasted. No better proof can be required of the wide-spread appreciation of the pearl among all the races of mankind.

So extensive has become the finding of American pearls that great quantities have been gathered together of all varieties. At the time of this writing there are many large single lots of these pearls, slightly irregular, and not of fine quality, but yet of sufficient regularity of size to be termed baroques. At one time such quantities were gotten together that single papers of pearls, weighing one fourth, one half, one, two or three grains each, contained more than 10,000 grains, and quantities of the wing and dog-tooth varieties weighing as much as 20,000 grains were inclosed in a single paper.

So prolific has been the yield of these common American pearls that the markets of Europe and Asia have almost been flooded with them. In 1906, a single shipment of 3500 ounces, troy (equaling over 2,100,000 grains), were sent abroad, at prices varying from $1 to $15 per ounce, according to the quality. This alone would represent a worth of $30,000 at one time.

The turtleback is a form quite prevalent among American pearls, and they are often matched in pairs slightly resembling each other and weighing from 10 to 100 or more grains for each pair. Some of them are lustrous and many are of very good color and regular in form. Although differing but little in shape, they naturally are much less expensive than a finer formed pearl, and many of them have been sold for link buttons, and more especially for earscrews. Although they formerly sold for 50 cents a grain, they are now held at from $1 to $8 per grain.

In regard to the prices of some of the finer American pearls, one of 15 grains, of wonderful brilliancy, luster, and perfection, was sold for more than $2500–$166 a grain, or a base value of over $11 a grain. Two extraordinarily well-matched button pearls, weighing a trifle over 30 grains, were held at about $3500, or $115 a grain, a base value of about $8 a grain.

At the time of this writing there are for sale in the United States a pair of button earrings, almost round, not of absolutely perfect color, weighing about 140 grains, the price being $6000; a round, slightly ovate pearl, not of the finest color, weighing 85 grains, held at $3500; and a wonderful pearl with a rich, faintly pink luster, round, but slightly button on each side, weighing about 44 grains, and beautiful as are American pearls, is held at a fanciful valuation of over $6000.

The cupidity of many of the American pearl finders and pearl dealers cannot be exceeded even by that of the foreign pearl finder in any other land, and this is shown by the variety of materials that from time to time are sold to the unsuspecting public, or that are sent to pearl dealers in the large cities. This is surprising and suggests either that the sender believes the pearl dealers are not familiar with these deceptions, or else that he himself has been imposed upon, and is innocent in his commercial deceit. Among the notable examples are, first, spheres made out of the various shells, either from a good part of the material or from hinge-material, or else from the spot where the mussel is attached, these pieces of the shell being rounded and polished; such spheres vary in color from white to pink or yellow, just as the shell itself may have been colored. Second, the pupils of fish-eyes. Third, imitation pearls. Fourth, yellow or brown translucent or transparent masses of hinge-binding material having no greater hardness than horn, and about the same appearance. The most interesting, however, are the absolutely beautiful, smooth spheres of anthracite coal, which admits of a rich polish and has a peculiar luster; these they attempt to pass off as black pearls.

It is interesting to note that in Arkansas a negro sold a very valuable pearl for a few dollars, under the persuasion of a white man, who, it is said, resold the pearl for nearly a hundred times more than what he paid for it. The local authorities investigated the matter; the case was brought to court, and the negro received a large advance on the price that had originally been paid him.

If a list were kept of the thousand and one different methods of wrapping American pearls for shipment to the larger cities, it would show how much ingenuity is displayed in environments that frequently differ very much from each other. A box that has contained the pills that relieved him of fever, ague, and other ills due to swamps and damp climates, serves a secondary purpose for the fortunate finder of a pearl in forming a receptacle in which he can ship it to the greater market. Sometimes they are sewed in leather cut from gloves and shoes, or in strips of cloth, generally of the humbler varieties, such as calico or blue jean; in other cases they are wrapped in tissue-paper and newspaper; and occasionally they are packed in boxes made by hollowing out a bit of wood, a cover being nailed over the opening. In almost every instance they have been treated with a certain degree of care.

The majority of conch pearls which are carried by individuals to New York, London, or Paris, are generally brought in small papers or bits of cloth, each pearl being wrapped separately. Usually, there are a few white ones, a few yellow, a few pale pink, occasionally a few of a very beautiful rich pink, and once in a great while a fine, large pearl appears. Many of these pearls, commonly the inferior ones, are sold in the West Indies directly to the tourists who wish to purchase something in the country through which they are traveling, with the result that better prices are generally obtained than would have been secured if the pearls had been sent to the great markets.

The tariff on pearls at present operative in the United States is so indefinite as to have led to much serious misinterpretation and misunderstanding, as well as to an endless chain of lawsuits, often resulting in serious loss to the dealer or client who imports. As a consequence of the enforced outlay of large sums for unexpected and additional duties, the importer, who was both ready and willing to pay what seemed to him a just duty, often found that, where he had quoted a price to a customer, he was a loser by the transaction; and if, to escape this loss, he endeavors to dispute the payment of the duty, he becomes involved in an expensive and occasionally unsuccessful lawsuit. On the other hand, a private buyer who has paid all that he feels he can afford at the time for a necklace, expecting to pay a duty of 10 per cent. and interpreting the law to mean a duty of 10 per cent., may be called upon to pay a duty of 60 per cent., or have the notoriety of a public lawsuit, because the pearls have been strung, or because it is held that they had recently or at some former time been assembled as a necklace. In other words, if the pearls constituting such a necklace are bought at various times from various people, either here or in Europe, and not as a necklace, the duty is held to be 10 per cent., but if they are sent in one shipment, a duty of 60 per cent. is levied. As it is held that pearls assembled in the form of a necklace have a greater value than before they were so assembled, the purchaser might naturally expect to pay the 10 per cent. duty on this higher value, but instead of this a 60 per cent. duty is demanded on the higher assembled value.

The ambiguity of this clause of the tariff is such that a logical ruling should be made by some superior official such as the Secretary of the Treasury. As the law is now interpreted, a pearl worth $20,000 can be brought in with a duty of 10 per cent.; the addition of a simple gold wire makes it a piece of jewelry, with a duty of 60 per cent. It would seem that an amendment might be made to the tariff by which an importer, whether a private buyer or dealer, could be called upon to pay a 60 per cent. duty on a high valuation of the setting of the ring, brooch, or jewel, such as $20, $25 or $50; while the contents of the ring or ornament, whether a pearl, diamond, emerald, or a collection of stones, should pay a duty of only 10 per cent. This duty would sufficiently protect the jewelry industry, and would at the same time prevent the levying of an unjust and unexpected impost upon a fine pearl or gem of any kind.

It is eminently desirable that those residing in the United States who purchase pearls in foreign countries, should, if possible, consult with the United States consul in the city where they make their purchase, in case they wish to bring the pearls into the United States. In this way a proper declaration can be made, they will be correctly instructed as to the duties upon the pearls, whether unstrung, strung, or set, and they will thus avoid all complications when they reach the United States. Of course, this may not be necessary should the firm with which they are dealing be able to attend to the matter for them.

It must not be forgotten that the duty of 25 per cent. on precious stones, which was imposed during Cleveland’s administration, was enacted for the purpose of obtaining an increased revenue for the government, and there is no doubt but that the time was one of great financial stress. Yet even with the duty two and a half times as high as in the previous years, only a small fraction was added to the income of the Government. But one adequate explanation can be given of this remarkable decrease in the recorded imports, more especially when we consider that legitimate dealers could, at that time, buy precious stones in New York City for less than it cost them to purchase them abroad and pay the duty. It seems, therefore, that a 10 per cent. rate is calculated to produce the best and most satisfactory results in every way.

As examples of the difficulties encountered in the attempt to arrive at a proper classification of pearls we cite the following cases which have been the subjects of recent litigation: In 1901, two very valuable collections of pearls were brought to this country. One of these consisted of 45 drilled pearls weighing in all 672? grains and entered at $60,734; the other, of 39 pearls, having an aggregate weight of 678¾ grains and entered at $63,070. At first a duty of 20 per cent. ad valorem was imposed upon these pearls under Section 6 of the Tariff Act, treating them as “unenumerated articles partly manufactured,” according to the rule that had been followed since the enactment of the present tariff. This was protested, and the case was brought before the Board of Appraisers.[407] Subsequent to the protest, however, the collector reliquidated the entry of the 45 pearls and imposed upon them a duty of 60 per cent. ad valorem, as pearls set or strung. This was done in view of Judge Lacombe’s decision in another notable case which had been taken shortly before to the Circuit Court of Appeals.[408] This decision was to the effect that pearls in any form not especially covered by paragraphs 434 or 436 of the Tariff Act should be referred to one or the other of those paragraphs, by similitude, according to the provisions of Section 7 of the Act.

The testimony taken before the Board of Appraisers revealed the fact that each of the collections of pearls had been inclosed in a handsome silk-lined morocco case, with a groove running through the center; in this groove the pearls were laid, the largest one in the middle and the others disposed on either side, graduated according to their size; the row or series having the effect of a necklace, although the pearls were unstrung. The importer testified that this arrangement was only made in order to enable him to judge of the size and quality of the pearls, and evidence was given showing that it was necessary to rebore some of them and to ream out the holes before any use could be made of the pearls in jewelry. Nevertheless, the appraisers adhered to their opinion that these gems had been selected especially to form a necklace, and that the time and labor requisite for the assembling of a carefully matched and graduated series of pearls suitable for a necklace constituted the main factor in its production, since the cost of stringing it was trifling; they, therefore, considered that such a series of pearls was dutiable, by similitude, under paragraph 434 of the Tariff Act as jewelry. An application was made to the Circuit Court of the Southern District of New York for a review of the appraisers’ ruling,[409] the judge decided against the petitioner,[410] and an appeal was then taken from his decision. On December 12, 1904, the Circuit Court of Appeals decided that the pearls were dutiable, by similitude, at 10 per cent. ad valorem, under Section 7, paragraph 436, and the excess of duty collected was refunded.

Another case has to do with a collection of 37 pearls, entered at $220,000, brought to New York in January, 1906. Duty to the amount of $22,000 (10 per cent. ad valorem) was paid by the importer, but the entry was liquidated at 60 per cent. and $110,000 additional duty demanded. This was paid and a protest was made to the Board of General Appraisers, who decided in favor of the petitioner. The Government appealed and the case[411] was tried in the United States Circuit Court on February 24 of this year (1908). It was shown that the pearls had been worn several times in Paris as a necklace, but the defense held that, as they were loose when imported and were not worth more collectively than separately, this was not material. The judge decided for the Government and an appeal has been taken in June, 1908.

PERSIAN PRINCESS AND LADIES IN WAITING
From a Persian illuminated manuscript of the eighteenth century, in the library of Robert Hoe, Esq.

The proper classification of half-pearls has also been a matter of controversy. This question was brought before the Board of General Appraisers in New York on a protest[412] entered in 1897 against the imposition of a duty of 20 per cent. on several lots of so-called half-pearls imported during that year. This duty was imposed under Section 6 of the Tariff Act, providing for a duty of 20 per cent. on “unenumerated partly manufactured articles.” The petitioner claimed that half-pearls were dutiable at 10 per cent. ad valorem, “either directly or by similitude or component of chief value, under paragraph 436, or as precious stones, under paragraph 435 of the Tariff Act.” After hearing the testimony of a number of competent and reliable experts connected with some of the leading houses dealing in precious stones and pearls, the appraisers decided that the evidence showed that pearls, being the product of animal secretion, could not properly be denominated stones, and that they were not in fact so designated commercially. At the same time, half-pearls could not be looked upon as “pearls in their natural state,” since time and labor had been expended in their production; it was, therefore, evident that paragraph 436 did not apply to them. For this reason the original ruling was reaffirmed.

In 1902 a duty of 60 per cent. was levied on an assorted lot of half-pearls under a new ruling which brought them by similitude under the provisions of paragraph 434 of the Tariff Act, providing a duty of 60 per cent. on “jewelry... including... pearls set or strung.” A protest was entered against this ruling also.[413] In the meanwhile Judge Lacombe had given the opinion to which we have alluded above, and the Board of Appraisers upheld the duty of 60 per cent., basing their decision upon the fact that the material of half-pearls was similar to that of pearls in their natural state or of pearls set or strung, thus satisfying the requirements as to similitude of Section 7 of the Tariff Act. The same section provides that, in case two or more rates of duty shall be applicable to any imported article, it shall pay duty at the highest rate, and therefore the 60–per cent. rate applying to pearls set or strung was imposed, instead of the 10–per cent. rate on pearls in their natural state. In both of these cases an application for a review was made to the United States Circuit Court.[414]

DUTIES ON PEARLS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES, MARCH, 1908
Basis. Amount in money of the country. U. S. currency.
Great Britain Free
British India Free
Australia Free
New Zealand Free
Canada, precious stones (pearls), polished but not set, pierced, or otherwise manufactured ad val. 10%
Austro-Hungary, unset 100 kilogr. 60 kr. $24.00
Belgium, unenumerated.
Bulgaria, precious stones (pearls) in the natural state, polished, cut, or engraved, but not mounted kilogr. 75 lev (francs) 14.25
Denmark, unenumerated.
France Free
Germany, wrought (smoothed, polished, perforated), unset 100 kilogr. 60 marks 14.40
Unset, but strung on textile threads or tape for the purpose of packing and transportation 100 kilogr. 100 marks 24.00
Greece Free
Holland, unenumerated.
Italy, precious stones (pearls) wrought hectogr. 14 lire 2.66
Montenegro, precious stones (pearls) ad val. {min. 10%
{max. 15%
Norway, precious stones (pearls) kilogr. {min. 250 krone .66
{max. 3 „ .80
Portugal, unenumerated.
Portuguese S. E. Africa (Quilimane, Chinde and Zambesia) Export Duty ad val. 6%
Portuguese India, real pearls or seed-pearls ad val. ½%
Rumania kilogr. 20 lei 3.80
Russia, loose or threaded funt 10 rubles 5.00
Finland Free
Servia, threaded for facilitating their preservation or sale kilogr. 50 dinars 9.50
Threaded for special uses kilogr. 70 dinars 15.30
Spain, loose or mounted hectogr. 25 pesetas 4.75
Sweden, not set Free
Switzerland, not mounted 100 kilogr. 50 francs 9.75
Turkey, unset gramme 3 piasters (gold)
Egypt (on all imports) ad val. 8%
China (on all unenumerated imports) ad val. 5%
Japan ad val. 60%
Persia, Export Duty ad val. 5%
Import Duty, precious stones, rough or cut, including fine pearls ad val. 25%
Morocco (on all imports) ad val. 2½%
Guatemala, unenumerated.
Salvador, precious stones (pearls) unmounted kilogr. 10 pesos, nom. val. 9.60
Nicaragua, precious stones (pearls) kilogr. 100 pesos, „ „ 96.00
Honduras ½ kilogr. 5 pesos, „ „ 4.80
Costa Rica, unset kilogr. 100 colones, „ „ 96.00
Panama ad val. 15%
Mexico, unset kilogr. 100 pesos, „ „ 96.00
United States, not strung, not set ad val. 10%
Strung, set, or not, and split pearls sorted as to either size, quality, or shape ad val. 60%
Philippine, unset ad val. 15%
Argentine Republic, precious stones (pearls) ad val. 5%
Bolivia appraisal 3%
Brazil (natural) ad val. 2%
Chili ad val. 5%
Colombia, precious stones (pearls) set in jewelry ad val. 10%
Ecuador, precious stones (pearls), set or not set kilogr. 50 sucres, nom. val. 48.00
Paraguay, unset ad val. 2%
Peru, unset appraisal 3%
Uruguay gramme 13% on eval of 1 peso .12
Venezuela kilogr. 10 bolivars 1.90
Cuba, not set hectogr. $7.50
surtax of 25%
Dominican Republic ounce 6 pesos, nom. val. 5.76

The only changes from the customs lists as they existed in the tariffs of 1896 are as follows:

1896 1908
Portugal 3% ad val. unenumerated
Mexico 50 pesos per carat 100 pesos per kilogram
Nicaragua 5 pesos per libra 100 pesos per kilogram
Haiti 20% ad val. unenumerated
San Domingo 3.60 pesos per ounce 6 pesos per ounce
Argentina 36 pesos per gram precious stones 5% ad val.
Austro-Hungary 24 florins per 100 kilogr. 60 kroner per 100 kilogr.

In the Parliament of 1727–1732, the duty on pearls and precious stones was abolished in England. We give facsimiles of the title-page and last leaf of the report of this enactment.

'Anno

GEORGII II. REGIS MagnÆ, BritanniÆ, FranciÆ, & HiberniÆ, SEXTO. At the Parliament Begun and Holden at Westminster, the Twenty third Day of January, Anno Dom. 1727. In the First Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord GEORGE the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. And from thence continued by several Prorogations to the Sixteenth Day of January, 1732, being the Sixth Session of this present Parliament. LONDON, Printed by John Baskett, Printer to the King’s most Excellent Majesty. 1732. 108 Anno Regni Sexto Georgii II. Regis. After 10 April, 1733, Diamonds and all other precious Stones may be imported or exported free from Duty. Diamonds, precious Stones, Jewels, and Pearls of all Sorts, shall pass outwards, without Warrant or Fee, may it therefore please your most Excellent Majesty that it may be enacted, and be enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the Same, That from and after the Tenth Day of April, which shall be in the Year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and Thirty three, all Diamonds, Pearls, Rubies, Emeralds, and all other precious Stones and Jewels, shall pass inwards without Warrant or Fee, in the Manner as they now pass outwards, and free from the Payment of any Duty granted to his Majesty, his Heirs, or Successors; and it shall and may be lawful for any Person or Persons to import or export the same, in the Ship or Vessel whatsoever; and Law, Custom, or Usage to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding, subject nevertheless to the Proviso herein after contained. Proviso as to the East India Company. Provided always, That nothing herein contained shall extend to annul or make void the Duty granted to his Majesty for the Use of the united Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies, by an act passed in the Ninth and Tenth Years of the Reign of his late Majesty King William the Third, for such Pearls, Diamonds, and other precious Stones or Jewels, as shall be imported into this kingdom from any Place within the Limits of the Charter granted to the said Company, or to take away or alter any Privileges, Profits, or Advantages, granted to or now held or enjoyed by the said Company. FINIS.'

The total value of diamonds and precious stones imported into the United States during the period from 1867 to 1906 inclusive, was as follows:

Glaziers’ (except 1873–83) $2,215,972
Dust 6,407,599
Rough or uncut (included with diamonds and other stones, 1891–96) 74,045,291
Set (not specified before 1897) 36,170
Unset (not specified before 1897) 124,615,662
Diamonds and other stones, not set 207,138,629
Set in gold or other metal 17,799
Pearls (from 1903) 7,809,261

Total $422,286,383
CLASSIFIED STATEMENT OF THE IMPORTS OF PEARLS INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM 1891 TO 1907 INCLUSIVE
Pearls Pearls, including pearls strung but not set Pearls in natural state, not strung or set Pearls split etc.
Year 10% 10% 10% 20%
1891 $11,711
1892 32,023
1893 6,926
1894 12,978
1895 $283,018
1896 583,214
1897 392,867
1898 $491,060 $205,998
1899 1,412,952 389,899
1900 1,163,382 432,528
1901 929,247 1,173,339
1902 1,896,322 1,314,368
1903 2,835,936 7,220
1904 1,680,615 2,908
1905 1,626,476
1906 2,072,561 218
1907 1,593,498




$63,638 $1,259,099 $15,702,049 $3,526,478
Note. Previous to 1891 pearls were classified with “jewelry and precious stones,” and it was not until 1895 that most of them were reported separately.

There are several things that are essential in pearl buying, and one of the most important of these is that the light in which the pearls are selected shall be absolutely pure daylight, with no reflections from the side or from above that can enhance or detract from the color of the pearl. This must be carefully considered, as it is not uncommon—more especially in certain parts of Europe—that jewelers have for their selling-offices rooms sumptuously fitted up with hangings of different colors, and sometimes with ground glass windows, provided with heavy silk hangings, so that artificial light becomes a necessity to make the article sold plainly visible. In absolutely pure daylight, more especially with an unclouded sky—on such days as are probably more frequent in the United States than in some of the European countries—it is possible to see the exact tint or color of the pearls; that is, whether it is really a pure white with a tinge of pink or an orient tending to cream-white, or whether it is more or less tinted with what is considered a crude or red color in a pearl. Besides this, in a pure light it is possible to see whether the pearl is brilliant, and to estimate the exact degree of its brilliancy; whether there are any cracks, scratches, or mars on the surface; and, lastly, whether the form is entirely regular. If one should select two necklaces, one absolutely perfect and the other having slight blemishes as to color or brilliancy, or with breaks, marks, or irregularities, these two necklaces would be scarcely distinguishable from each other in artificial light, or in daylight which had been partly confused with artificial light; although the differences between the two would signify that the former was worth two or three times as much as the latter.

At great receptions, large, and apparently magnificent pearls are frequently seen, which are really of inferior quality, and yet, owing to the absence of pure daylight, they can easily be mistaken for perfect specimens by any one not especially familiar with pearls. Indeed, if the royalties of Europe should wear all the pearls belonging to the crown jewels at the same time, in a palace or hall lighted with candles, gas, or even with some types of electric light, they would frequently seem to have a quality which many of them do not and never did possess. It is, therefore, essential for the buyer to use every precaution in reference to the light in which he examines his purchase. And we may add that it is just as essential that he should know the dealer from whom he buys; for, sometimes, after a few weeks or months, cracks or blemishes develop that were not apparent at first, more especially when the pearls have been “improved” for a prospective purchaser.

A test to ascertain the quality of pearls is quaintly expressed in a work published in 1778, as follows:

How to know good pearls. To discover the hidden Defects and Faults of a Pearl and to know whether she is speckled or broken or has any other imperfections, the best way is to make trial of it by the Reverberation of the Sun-beams; for by this means your eye will penetrate into the very Centre of the Pearl and discover the least defect it has; you will then see whether it be pure, or has any spots or not, and consequently you may the better guess its value.[415]

If you can cause a ray of sunlight or of electric light to fall on a pearl, the light will penetrate it and show any specks, inclosed blemishes or impurities. This can probably best be done by wrapping about the pearl a dark cloth of velvet or other material and having the ray fall slantingly, whereby the defects are much more clearly shown than if the ray be allowed to fall directly upon the gem.

A pearl necklace valued at $200,000, shown at one of our recent great expositions, was to all appearances a remarkably beautiful collection, and it was only when the intending purchaser took them from their velvet bed and held them in his hands that he realized that there was not a perfect pearl in the entire collection. It must have taken more than a week of study for the clever dealer to arrange them so that the best part, sometimes the only good part of each pearl, should be where the eye would fall upon it. After they had been turned in the hands a few seconds, not one perfect specimen was visible.

The demand for pearls has been so great, and the enhancement of value so rapid, that the greatest ingenuity has been employed in presenting the best part of the gems to view, as well as in many other ways. The result is that when pearls are to be used as borders or as a gallery on a comb or brooch, they are pierced in such a way that only the best side shall be outward, so that the general effect produced is that of a perfect row of pearls; but a careful examination may show that two thirds or three fourths of them are irregular, and bear abrasion marks, indentations, or other imperfections.

Following the analogy of the well-known precious stones—the diamond, the ruby, the sapphire, the emerald and those of less importance—the pearl is equally potent in creating great and permanent values for itself in catering to the human love of adornment; and though these large values may be greatly in excess of the original price that it commanded in the native oriental market, yet the increased valuation gives profitable livelihood to hundreds of thousands of persons. These embrace the dealers who sell the original pearls in lots, those who clean and treat them, others who drill and string them, and others again who handle them in setting jewelry of all kinds, and also the large number of dealers throughout the entire world who sell either the jewelry or the unmounted pearls. Directly connected with the industry in localities where the fisheries are pursued are a sufficient number of persons to populate a city the size of Boston, and to these we may safely add an equal number as herein noted, aggregating about 1,000,000 people whose livelihood is directly dependent upon the production and traffic of the pearl industry, and who for lack of it would be forced to seek some other employment. Brought thus to a concrete form, one may readily grasp the important bearing which the pearl has in a comprehensive estimate of the complexity of the world’s civilization as we know it to-day.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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