Evening Star Newspaper, November 10, 1929, Page 94

F3 Coluidhia Is Cornering Gems of the Ocean United States Fast Becoming T reasure House of the World as Rare ]eévels- From Europe and the Orient Make Their Way Into Strong Boxes of Wealthy Connoisseurs in North America. BY HARRY GOLDBERG. HE United States is becoming the treasure house of the world. r The rare gems of the Orient, the jewels of kings and historic and ro- mantic stones that played their part in the fate of nations now adorn American womanhood. Both England and France are viewing with growing concern the exodus of privately owned paintings and bric-a-brac. Spain is becoming roofiess because of the popularity of her beau- tiful old tile in Miami and Los Angeles. But for ' the embargo on Italian masterpieces, America might by this time have stripped the Uffizi Gallery and carried off the Columns of Trajan. These monuments of the past are conspl::lll.: ous. THEir presence, ce gnd time wo make their removal ’:{5 of > interpational moment. But heirlooms of the past, equally priceless, find their way here unobtrusively in compact jewel packages and suddenly appear as adornments to the garb of fashionable American women, It is true Queen Mary still wears the great Cullinan diamond to certain state functions and the crown collection still boasts the Kohinoor, obtained from that fabulously rich potentate, the Rajah of Lahore, by the East India Co., and presented to Queen Victoria. It is also true that the Portuguese royal house continues to carry a large portion of its private wealth in the form of that expensive bauble the Braganza diamond. But the famous black pearls of Prince Felix Yousoupoff now grace the neck of Mrs. Peter Goelet Gerry, and the wonderful seven-foot chain of diamonds that Catherine II wore so regally now dazzles the eyes of the guests of Mrs. O. H. P. Belmont. Not even the jewels of Ferdinand's lady, who pawned them for transatlantic exploration, have been kept invio- late. Her blue-diamond necklace cost Leland Stanford $274,000—enough to have kept Colum- bus sailing for the remainder of his life. ‘The total value of the gems owned in Amer- ica runs into billions; the annual imports now total about $75,000,000 and the family collec- tions of demoted and outcast royalty from all parts of the world eventually trickle into the United States. “OWING to the fact that jewel collections in the United States are not held intact,” sald Witherbee Black, president of Black, Starr & PFrost—Gorham, Inc., whose family has han- dled precious stones for generations, “it is not possible to keep track of family jewels. Besides, many people shun publicity regarding their pos- session of priceless stones. But there is no @doubt that grand coliections are in the strong- boxes of wealthy Americans and many of our millionaires are very discriminating buyers. “The late William C. Whitney had excellent taste and an unusually keen sense of values. His hand would reach unerringly for the choicest pieces in a tray. “Late one evening, just before Christmas, after our doors were closed, a knock drew my attention to a late comer. On discovering Mr. Whitney, I admitted him. By chance a beau- tiful piece set with diamonds had just been finished and a group of us were admiring it. Mr. Whitney gave it a brief but searching ap- praisal, learned the price was $50,000 and took it. “Women are not lacking in astuteness as gem buyers. One of the shrewdest was Mrs. Collis P. Huntingdon. She was no less a con- noisseur of jewels than was her husband of paintings. There is no better testimony to the accuracy of her judgment than the purchase of the wonderfully matched necklace of Oriental pearls which we had collecteg. “The price of $300,000, which seemed so enormous at that time, proved an investment of unusual return. Of the seven strands in this necklace, five were broken up and sold separately at wholesale after her death; they brought several times the price she paid for the necklace. “Peggy Hopkins Joyce owns about $2,000,000 worth of jewels and when I sold to her the famous $300,000 blue-white diamond there was & belief that this was press agent's fiction. But Miss Joyce bought this gem herself. “There seems to be a common opinion that such valuable ornaments are owned but mnot worn. I have seen women wearing jewels worth $1,000,000 at Palm Beach. “Jewels are the most beautiful form of hu- man decoration. The instinct for adornment is about as old as the human race, and no traveler or scientist who returns from exhuming old civilizations or studying those which still exist fails to mention In his descriptions the type and quality of decoration which distin- guished that period. “The feeling has grown up that it is bad taste for women to wear gems in abundance or at all times of the day. Such a canon is contrary to human nature and is the result of the prejudice engendered by those whose pos- 'sessions do not include beautiful jewelry. ‘ Women like to wear them and men enjoy pur- chasing gems for those they love and admire. “Our best stones originate in India, South Africa, Persia, Siam and Russia, which have all contributed rare speciemns to the American market. The Cullinan was, of course,” an African stone, and the Black, Starr & Frost diamond, much finer but not so large as the Cullinan, was discovered in the Premier mine at Kimberley. Its original weight of 1463; carats was reduced in cutting to 127 carats. It was purchased in this form by Miss Joyce. “Persia has owned some of the finest gems in the world, but many of them were of Indian origin. Some time ago a dispatch from Teheran said that the crown jewels, having a value of more than $400,000, would be sold to raise money for railroad construction. “Perhaps you remember that when the boy Shah, Ahmed Shah Kajar, was crowned in 1914, it was necessary for him to support his heavily jeweled crown with first one hand and then the other. In the midle of the ceremony it had to be removed and an astrakhan ornamented with the famous Nadir aigrette, set with diamonds from Delhi, substituted. “Delhi, in fact, seems to have been the original source of the Shah’s collection. Shah Jahan, who built the most magnificent architectural gems in India, had probably the most astound- ing collection of the age. It was from his son that the conquering armies of the Shah of Per- sia took the Great Mogul. This wonderful Gol- conda diamond weighed 787 carats in the rough. Tavernier, jeweler to Louis XIV, saw and de- scribed it at the time of his purchase of the Hope diamond for the Grand Monarch. Indeed, the Hope diamond was taken from the forehead of an idol at Delhi. “You have heard of the Peacock Throne. There was nothing mythical about it. Reliable authorities say it was the crowning glory of the Hall of Private Audiences in Shah Jahan's palace. Its name was derived from the figures of the peacocks that stood behind the seat of the Grand Mogul, their tails fully spread and elaborately inlaid with emeralds, sapphires, rubies, pearls and other appropriate stones. Six feet long by four wide, the throne was of solid gold set with pearls and supported by twelve pillars richly emblazoned with precious stones. Between the peacocks stood the figure of a par- rot carved from a single huge emerald, and near the Emperor’s seat was a block of purest erystal four feet long by three feet wide and two deep, the most beautiful stone of this kind ever seen, according to reports. “This throne was broken up and the gems carried off by the Shah of Persia. Gems from such sources constantly drift over to America. A concentrated form of wealth like precious stones is the most liquid form of asset; they are s e ‘The Peacock Throne, which the Persian invader, Nadir Shah, took from Delhi in 1739. A French jeweler once appraised the throne at about $30,000,000. constantly shifting; they are international cur- rency; their values are not swept away when governments fall, “Yes, these stones drift to Co K cross the frontiers of Russia, sift into China, hide themselves in Afghanistan, many of them eventually reaching the Rue de la Paix and Fifth avenue. “ AN INTERESTING case comes to my mind. Just after the late war I was visited one day by a man with the swarthy skin, acquiline features and erect carriage of a high-caste East Indian. His evident breeding and Oxford accent suggested an English education. “His father, an Afghan potentate related to the Emir, had suffered defeat and the loss of his throne. With his mother, the Maharanee, and his younger brother, he had escaped with some of the family jewels. He bore a letter from an old friend suggesting that we inspect his jewels. “With much ceremony he arranged for an interview with his mother, On the appointed day he arrived at my office, intimating that 1 should receive the Queen Mother in proper state. Peggy Hopkins Joyce of stage and film fame, who has a collection of jewels valued at $2,000,000, $300,000. She owns a single blue-white diamond which cost “In my best diplomatic manner I accome panied him to the street door, where a taxie cab was surrounded by & group of curious people. The reason was apparent. Her majesty outshone Sheba. Her white-and-yellow costume was ablaze with gems; a white sapphire riveted to her left nostril shone resplendently. “Her young son, the heir presumptive, was no less befittingly arrayed in the orders of his rank. Her older son interpreted my desire to view the family heirlooms. I discovered that some Alghan customs do not differ from ours, for the lady removed a chamois bag from her stocking and placed before me a considerable array of stones, mostly of minor inportance. “The lot was redeemed, however, by an amazingly clear diamond, transparent as glass, which appeared to have been sliced from the middle of a large egg-shaped stone. My interest ebbed when I saw it was too shallow to be cut into desirable gems for the trade—and when I learned that the price was $150,000. “Not long afterward it was sold at auctiom to pay the hotel bill of the royal entourage and it brought $6,700. The stone may have had his- toric value, but its instrinsic value was ruined by the poor cutting, and much of the fabled wealth of the East is of similar quality. The best stones of all kinds are coming to America ':b;muae this country has the wealth to buy I'r HAD been rumored that one of the most magnificent pearl necklaces. in existence was hidden in the vaults of Mr. Black's come pany. Mr. Black ordered it brought in, and when the doors of the leather case were folded back there was a handful of beads worth $725,~ 000. A lustrous, rosy light shone from these pre- clous spheres, which were formed at the bottom of the Eastern seas by oysters irritated into voiding these warts when a microbe stung them. “If you will notice,” said Mr. Black, “their color can best be examined by placing them on this white cotton under a strong natural light, The pear]l oyster is a very inconstant creator. ‘Sometimes her progeny is white, sometimes pink, yellow, blue, black, but, unless terribly malformed, all are precious. In the Far East they prefer cream yellow because their skins are dark. Over here pink or pale rose is most in demand. “Sometimes the pearl is elongated, but per- fect sphericity is required for necklaces and commands the highest price. Notice when they are held between the eye and the light there is a translucent encircling band about one- fifth the width of their diameter. The luster Is soft, warm, breathing. Lack of this luster is almost always a sign of imitation. “It will take years to gather a string like this. Some of these pearls we have had for 20 years. They have to be perfectly matched in color and graded in size. The center pearl, which is somewhat larger than a large pea, is valued at $140,000 alone. 8 “The pearls on this string have come from various sources. Some came from Bahrein Island by way of Bombay, others have been picked up by an agent in Singapore. We never know what lust, murder and betrayal may le behind the glowing surface of one of these gems. All we ask is that they may be perfect. “A necklace like this is scarcer than buyers, Assembling a necklace of this sort is a matter of time, patience, resource and skill. A true piece of art, whether man’s or nature’s, has no competition. It is a gem unto itself. “The vogue of very large stones, whether diamends, emeralds, rubies or sapphires, has never been so great as at the present time, Many large and beautiful stones are available, partly from original sources and partly from (Copyright, 1929.) AN