OCR Text |
Show i First Authentic Record Of Any Gem Is the Pearl Since the earliest days of history the pearl has been worshiped for its rare beauty. In the Eook of Job and in the Talmud pearls are mentioned, men-tioned, and at the height of Rome's power the exquisite gems were in great demand by the loveliest women wom-en of the empire. While records concerning the pearl date back for more than 3,000 years and it is quite certain that the pearl was known before then, the first authentic record rec-ord of any gem is that of the pearL Various legends surround the story sto-ry of the pearl and one of the oldest old-est is the belief that the gem originates origi-nates when a drop of dew falls into the shell. Other stories say that the tears of the gods and of angels change into pearls as they fall toward to-ward the earth. This was probably the source of the legend that the pearl brings tears, which is entirely en-tirely wrong, as the old story meant that the tears of the gods were changed into gifts for mortal men, according to a writer in the Montreal Mon-treal Herald. The more layers there are to a pearl, which is not a mineral but composed of carbonate of lime, the finer the sheen or "orient" of the gem, and it depends a good deal on the pureness of the water from which the pearl comes. Salt water pearls are generally called "Oriental" "Orien-tal" and are found to be white, with a touch of yellow; the Tahiti, which is a grade of white pearl with a slight amount of sheen; Venezuela, Venezue-la, very white or very yellow, more transparent than the usual run of orientals; and the Australia, a very white pearl with almost no sheen. |