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Pink Pearls. 273
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face of the shell presents a lovely pink colour, and occasionally a
Pearl is found which possesses a similar rosy hue. The pink conch Pearl
displays a wavy appearance and peculiar sheen, something like that of
watered silk. To be perfect, it should be quite spherical, but this
shape very seldom occurs, and a round and rosy Pearl is a gem of
excessive rarity. A writer on conch Pearls in " The Scientific
American" in 1880, says with truth, that "It is a very rare
circumstance to find a Pearl which possesses all the requirements that
constitute a perfect gem, and when such does happen, it proves an
exceedingly valuable prize to its fortunate finder. A good Pearl is
very valuable indeed, some having been sold in Nassau for no less a sum
than four hundred dollars. Although many of these Pearls are annually
obtained by the fishermen in the Bahamas, not more than one in twenty
proves to be a really good gem, and hence probably their high price.
"
Pink is the most common and only desirable colour, although white,
yellow and brown Pearls are occasionally found. Even among the pink
ones there is usually some defect which mars their beauty and
materially injures them ; some are very irregular in shape and covered
apparently with knobs or protuberances ; others are too small, while
many lack
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