the modern jeweller when he undertakes in this critical age to match thirty or forty.
The
color most common in pearls of all seas is yellow, but it is not so
with fresh-water ones. Other colors are seldom found except as tints in
white pearls, but distinctly yellow oriental pearls are abundant. The
tones of color in the white are, yellow, blue, pink and green. They are
so slight that it is difficult to recognize them except by comparison.
The blue and pink are considered best, the champions of each being
about equal. The green come next in favor and the yellow last. This
order applies fully however to the Occident only. Some Oriental peoples
do not draw such fine distinctions, and the Chinese prefer the creamy
yellow to any other.
The
"blue" pearls, or "Panama" pearls as they are sometimes called in the
trade, must not be confounded with the blue white pearls just
mentioned. "Blue" pearls are of a dingy, slaty blue tint. They have a
dark appearance and the luster is seldom good. As many of this
character are found in the Panama waters such pearls are often sold as
"Panama" pearls.
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