In
1620, King Philip IV., of Spain, purchased a pear-shaped pearl from
Gougitas, of Calais, which weighed four hundred and eighty grains. An
anecdote is told of the King, who asked the merchant how he could risk
his whole fortune in so small a piece as that pearl; whereupon the
merchant replied, that he knew there was one king of Spain in the world
who could afford to purchase it. It now belongs to the Princess
Youssopoff.
A
costly collection of pearls from the Indies, Ceylon, and Singapore, and
innumerable pieces of ornamental jewelry set with most costly pearls,
was exhibited at the London Exhibition by Messrs. Garrard, Hunt,
Roskell, and other jewellers.
A
large pearl, from Vermont, United States, weighing eleven carats, and
very round, but not of bright color, is in the possession of Mr. S. H.
Palmer.
Messrs. Blogg & Martin,
of London, inform me, under date of April 25, 1859, that they have in
their possession a magnificent pearl necklace, consisting of
thirty-seven perfect pearls, of forty grains each; they sent a
description of it, and also of two beautiful pearl-drops, which they
value at two thousand pounds sterling. The necklace and drops, which
must be unique specimens, deserve more than a mere notice, but the
description came too late for insertion.
United States Pearls.
New
Jersey merits the credit of producing fine pearls ; a great many
thousand pearls have been obtained from the mussels, which compare
fairly with those of the India pearl-shell ; size, color, nacre, and
orient are displayed in many of the New Jersey pearls in a high degree,
and are now passing in Europe for the genuine Oriental or Panama
pearls. In 1857, a shoemaker named David Howell, living
18
