442 THE BOOK OF THE PEARL
In
the early sixties, when most American women aspired to owning a pair of
diamond earrings, it was not uncommon for ladies to start with a
hundred, two hundred, five hundred, or a thousand-dollar pair, and, for
a dozen years to come, to add an annual sum of one
hundred, two hundred or five hundred dollars to increasing the size of
these by exchanging them with the dealer at the cost price and paying
the difference between the value of the pair that had been purchased
and that of the new pair. In this way ladies who never would have
thought of spending five thousand dollars for a pair of earrings,
virtually made a savings-bank of the jewels. This is frequently done
with pearls. A small necklace or a few pearls will be purchased; these
are added to annually or at such times as the owner may have spare
savings or gifts to invest. It is not uncommon for a family to buy a
pearl for a daughter on her first birthday, and each succeeding year
add one pearl to this, so that she may first wear one pearl, then two,
then three, and by the time the young lady makes her début in society,
a good start has been made toward a pearl necklace. It was the custom
of King Humbert of Italy to present his queen, Margherita, with one
fine pearl every year, and with this succession of annual gifts she
possessed one of the finest collections in Europe.
In
the portraits of the four daughters of the present Czarina of Russia,
the Grand Duchesses Tatiana, Olga, Maria, and Anastasia, we can see
that their pearl necklaces were built up gradually, as that of the
eldest daughter is notably longer than those of her younger sisters.
These pearls were annual gifts from the Czar and Czarina and from
others of the imperial family.
There
are few ornaments worn by man or woman that have not at one time or
another been bepearled, either with large or small pearls, with one
pearl or many pearls, with pearls of high or low degree, and no object
is ever made the less rich by the addition of the peerless gem of the
ocean depths.
As
the prices of pearls have increased, naturally the single objects
containing them have also become more costly. It is not unusual to see
rings with pearls each costing from $5000 to $10,000, $20,000, and even
$30,000 and over, the pearls not infrequently being in button form.
Rings
are occasionally made up of one white and one black oriental pearl, and
if a pink one is combined with these, it is either a freshwater or a
conch pearl. Such rings sell for $5000, $8000, $10,000 and $15,000 each.
Pendant pearls, either round, ovate, drop, or pear-shaped, sell from $5000 to $10,000, $20,000, $50,000, and even $100,000.
The prices for one or two choice pearls worn for the adornment of a man's shirt-front are $2000, $3000, $5000, and even $10,000.
