THE GENTLE ART OF BEING A ROGUE
T
HE fact that pearls
are not of a piece, but built up of concentric layers or skins much
like an onion, makes it possible to alter their shapes to advantage and
to remove natural blemishes, thereby increasing their market value
though lessening their original bulk.
An
efficient dealer should know at least something of the rudiments of the
art of skinning pearls, if for no other reason than that it enables
him to set aside specimens for the hand of the improver, and to buy at
a comparatively low price pieces which after slight treatment, or even
after being subjected to a major operation, may be doubled, trebled,
or even quintupled in value.
But
he would be well advised not to attempt the surgical cases himself. The
work is extremely delicate, and requires a keen eye, a steady hand, an
instinctive sense of shape, and, above all, a flair for what may lie
below the first, second, or Mth layer. Again, supposing a dealer has
paid five thousand dollars for a pearl, which is by no means an
imposing figure for a fair specimen, in the expectation that the
removal of one or two skins would enhance her value. Could he operate
calmly, however deft his fingers and steady his nerves, when the risk
he is taking looms so largely in his mind? He might not go deep enough,
or he might go too far and spoil her shape irretrievably. The work is
thus best left to the pearl-doctor or "scraper," as he is called in the
trade, though I do not pretend I have always taken my own good advice!
A
good pearl-doctor can do wonderful things. His implements are
invariably few: a couple of files, a few steel blades shaped and ground
to his requirements, a high-speed drill,
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