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298 Pearls.
It is Said that Napoleon I. possessed a Pearl of about 160 grains weight, but no trace of it has ever been found.
The
Municipality of Florence possessed for a long time a magnificent single
row of Pearls. After the restoration in 1849, this was borrowed by the
Grand Duchess, who having once obtained possession of this prize, was
in no hurry to return it.
The
Crown Prince of Germany gave the Princess Royal of England, on their
marriage, a Pearl necklace valued at £20,000, but the Pearls are not
all-round, and some are baroque.
The
Devonshire Cabinet contains an enormous Pearl, of the finest lustre,
but singularly mis-shapen. This Pearl has been skilfully converted into
the body of a very graceful mermaid. It was at one time valued at
£2,000, but at the present day, large ill-shapen Pearls are of
comparatively little value. North-Western Australia having yielded
several examples, their value has dropped fully 75 per cent.
Among
other Pearls of unusual magnitude and beauty, mention may be made of
the magnificent Pearl of 40 grains weight, found on December 26, 1884,
in the Montehello Archipelago, as narrated
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