avoid
them, though the percentage of those which do break is small. In
reality these cracks are more of an imperfection than a danger.
Occasionally they are quite noticeable and are then a bad imperfection,
but frequently a sharp eye or the loup only will detect them. Surface
cracks however are quite perceptible. They are dangerous and are
considered a serious imperfection.
There
is a peculiarity of rare occurrence which, as it is a departure from
the ideal, may be termed an imperfection, though some regard it of
value as unique. It is a similarity under the surface of some pearls to
a metal which has been hammered into small flat spots identical in
appearance with the jewelry in vogue during the latter part of the 19th
century made of "hammered gold." It is scarcely noticeable except under
a loup, when the fine lines dividing the confused planes appear. These
pearls are usually slightly pink or pinkish yellow. Sometimes these
planes resemble the facets on a cut diamond, generally lozenge shape,
and often grouped similar to those on the under side of a diamond.
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