PEARLS SALE

When the pearls are ready for sale in the open market, they are sent either to London or to Paris. Usually a definite price is not fixed for each bundle or parcel, this being contrary to all Eastern ideas of business. An absurdly high price, generally re­ferred to as the limit, is quoted. Offers are then taken, often through importing agents, brokers, or banks, and attex much time and haggling, a final price is at length agreed upon. This is the usual method adopted by the Indians, and perhaps this is the best procedure to obtain the highest price for their goods. From the pearl dealers, the gems eventually find their way into shops as necklaces or in mounted jewelry.

The value of each year's fishery varies enormously. The years 1904 and 1905 were record years, and in 1906 a company was formed which agreed to pay an annual rental for a period of twenty years for the rights of exclusive fishing. The first two years were very profitable, but thereafter very small results were ob­tained. The lease was mutually terminated in 1912. In the year 1927, about two million pounds worth of pearls were sold from Bahrein alone.

Ceylon pearls have been famous for centuries. Singhalese rec­ords state that pearls were given as a present by King Vijaya (550 B.C.) to his Indian father-in-law, while others were freely used in the decoration of the king's hall at Anuradhapura, this hall being built in about the year 161 B.C. It is known that the Phoenicians were attracted to the island at regular intervals in order to trade for these gems, and the Romans, Levantine Greeks, Arabs, and Portuguese were also visitors for that purpose. Onesicritus and Megasthenes, companions of Alexander the Great, allude to the richness of Ceylon in gold and pearls. But many centuries before Christ, Chinese writers had recorded the size and excellence of the island pearls.

Among other early writers who mentioned Ceylon pearls were Pliny, who informed us that "the Indians seek for pearls in Ta-probane, which is the most productive of them." Ralph Fitch, an Englishman who visited Ceylon toward the end of the 16th century, stated that "the best pearls come from the island of Baharim in the Persian Sea, the worser from the Piscaria, neere the island of Ceylon."

Marco Polo, who visited a number of countries in the Far East during the 13th century, wrote that "the largest and finest of pearls are found in the gulf between this continent (India) and the island. Vessels, large and small, resort thither and cast anchor about sixty miles out at sea; they then go in boats and begin the fishing. Many merchants, formed into companies, hire and pay the men employed. They give a tenth to the king, and a twentieth to the Abraiamain, who enchants the fishes, depriving them of the power to injure the persons who dive under the water for the pearls. The charm, however, lasts only during the day; at night, the animals enjoy full liberty.

"When the men in the boats have found water four to twelve feet deep, they plunge to the bottom and get shells called sea-oysters, within whose flesh are found the pearls of all sizes and shapes. These are brought up in very large quantities, the king drawing from them a great revenue."

But the Ceylon fishery is now of little commercial importance as this area has been unproductive for many years. The pearls, moreover, are small in size although of good quality. Pearling is licensed and limited by government decrees, a quarter of the proceeds being taken by the government. In the 19th century, there were thirty-six fisheries; since then, only a few years, at ir­regular intervals, have produced fresh pearls.

The chief kind of molluscs fished are the margaritifera vulgaris, and samples of shells are periodically officially examined and a report is made as to whether a fishery is practicable. If the report is favorable, a fishery is publicly advertised, and this would take place during the most suitable time of the year, approximately between February and April.

Each area is marked by flags, and only a limited number of boats are allowed to fish in each area. At about midday, the signal is given for boats to return to shore with their catches. When the load is landed, it is divided into three piles, and a government official selects two for the government, the remaining one being allotted to the native divers. The government's share is then counted and immediately sold by auction. The oysters are sold by the thousand, and speculation and excitement are keen and noisy.

The owners collect their lots on the following morning, and pick out the pearls by hand after the oysters have been allowed to rot. The later washing of the shells and debris assists in the finding of any small pearls, and everything of value is collected before the exhausted debris is disposed of to poor speculators.

The divers are of mixed nationalities—Moors, Tamils, Arabs, and others. They provide their own boats, and search for shells in the same way as do the Arabs in the Persian Gulf. Each boat contains ten rowers and ten divers, the divers dividing themselves into two groups of five men who labor and rest alternately. The boats return at midday so that the unloading of shells can take place in daylight, thus reducing concealment and thieving to a minimum.

A smooth stone of about 20 lbs. in weight acts as a sinker, and a small basket holds the shells which, they collect. The diver drops overboard, holding his breath for as long as possible. Directly he touches bottom, the sinker is disengaged by a pre-arranged signal. The diver can remain below for about one minute at a time, and he is hauled up by the other members of the crew on giving the signal.

Both in the Persian Gulf and in the Gulf of Manaar, shark conjurors are a necessity to the divers. They are supposed to keep away sharks by muttering charms and prayers, although they re­main on the beaches from which the boats sail. The divers place a superstitious reliance on these impostors, but they nevertheless keep a sharp watch for sharks when below. They do not hesitate to stir the water so as to obscure the monsters' vision before being hauled up.

Many of the finest pearls are stolen, and, as with diamonds, they are swallowed to avoid discovery. But any suspect is placed in solitary confinement and then treated to an overdose of a power­ful emetic.

The Ceylon fishery was once sold by the government to the highest bidder. In 1769, it was sold for $168,000 (£60,000); in 1797, for $308,000 (£110,000), and in 1798 for $392,000 (£140,-000). Many fine pearls have come from these waters. The small seed pearls, useless for jewelry, are bought by the Chinese and ground to a powder. This is sold as a medicine since, in the East, it is considered to be a cure for many illnesses.

The Peacock Throne, built at the same time as the Taj Mahal, contains a number of pearls among which is a gem weighing 200 grains. The value of the throne is certainly over $2,800,000. The same value is attached to the shawl and casket of pearls owned by the Gaikwar of Baroda.

Ceylon pearls have always been small in size, and since the year 1908, practically none has been fished in this area. The reason for the banks remaining barren has not been explained, but the Gov­ernment has taken steps to try to encourage the oyster to breed, and a productive fishery is still anticipated. During the last 128 years, forty fisheries have produced a revenue of over $4,200,000 or 1 1/2 million pounds sterling from this area.

The Australian fishery is of some importance, although the value of the shell obtained must almost exceed the value of the
pearls found since this was selling up to $1,960 (£700) a ton in 1952. Operations are carried out entirely by individual fishers and speculators, and here modern methods of diving with expensive suits are used. The diving suit is a highly developed device con­sisting of automatic pumps, valves, telephones, and all sorts of contrivances designed to ensure the safety of the worker. At 60 to 100 feet, the diver can work for an hour; at the limit of about 150 feet, he can remain below for about twenty minutes. In these seas, octopus, shark, and giant moray eels and giant Tricadna clams are the most dangerous of the enemies which lurk in the water to trap and devour the unwary diver.

The largest pearls now come from the North Australian coasts, and they are characterized by a whitish sheen. Formerly, they were marketed in Europe, as England and America prefer the rosee colors of the Indian pearls. But as Europe has been a very limited buyer for many years, Australian pearls have depreciated in value. There is, however, a tendency for these pearls to ap­preciate in value during recent years, Paris being the chief market.

The pearl oyster is found in the northern and western coastal waters from Cape York to Shark Bay, a shore length of over 2,000 miles. The luggers are owned singly or in groups, and each car­ries a crew of about ten men. Fishing is carried out in waters varying in depth from four to twenty fathoms. The center of the fishery is Broome, in Western Australia, a small town very inac­cessible by land. Along this coast, some 1,700 men were employed in pearl fishing in the year 1925, and of these only 120 were white. February sees the commencement of the season, and boats are out for about three months, after which they return for re-provisioning if necessary.

For many years, there was much competition between the Aus­tralian and Japanese fishing fleets. The Commonwealth employed a patrol launch to see that no poaching took place in northern Australian waters, but this had little effect on the Japanese schooners. During the war years of 1940 and onwards, there was naturally no activity on the part of the Japanese. The latter used the same type of diving suit as the Australians, and their efforts were not merely confined to the waters round the Dutch East Indies and the Philippine Islands.

The Japanese are excellent divers, and those of the crew who dive are paid the highest. About $28 (£10) a month, food, and 1..44 (12/-) for each ton of pearl shell, as well as ten per cent ofthe value of the pearls fished was the usual reward. The crew get about $5.60 (£2) a month and their food. Other native divers, especially from the island of Koepang (Malay Archipelago) work under definite contracts.

Pearls from the Pacific waters are usually of a "fancy" color, that is, black, yellow, red, and brown. The best black pearls come from Tahiti and the neighboring group of islands in the south Pacific. Divers and owners of the pearl luggers make their living by selling the pearl shell, which may fetch anything up to $5. 60 (£200) a ton. Pearls may be few and far between, although these are the large prizes which they really seek. Actually, the pearl oyster here is found in much deeper waters than man can success­fully reach, as yet, so the largest pearls must still remain at the bottom of the sea.

The Polynesians are the best natural divers, and many are to be found working around the Pacific isles. They have been known to stay below water for three minutes without any diving suit; the greatest depth to which they descend is about 120 feet. But the sudden and frequent changes of pressure to which they must be subjected has a bad effect on their health; paralysis is one of their most common ailments, and many lose limbs to the shark and oc­topus. Their life is a short one. The cemetery at Jolo, the pearling port of the Sulu Sea, contains the graves of some hundreds of pearl divers, mostly Japanese.

Other seas in the Pacific also yield pearls. The fisheries in the Panama region were at one time of great value, but for some years they have been insignificant. In the year 1587, more than 697 lbs. of pearls are said to have been imported into Seville. From the Colombian fishery, Philip II of Spain received a pearl which weighed 1,250 grains. It was oval in form, and about the size of a pigeon's egg.

It was after the discovery of America that the trade in pearls passed, in a great measure, from the East to the West. The Span­iards who landed in South America found the natives decked with pearl ornaments, and it was not long before they found the locality of the oyster beds. Garcilasso de la Vega, in his Commen­taries, reported that, in the year 1564, the pearl fishery was so prolific that pearls were being sold in heaps by public auction in Seville. It is therefore certain that the natives of South America were collecting pearls long before the white man came there.

The treasures of the Aztecs of Mexico contained many fine pearls, and after the conquest of Mexico by Cortes, a detachment
of Spaniards was sent farther north toward the Gulf of Califor­nia, where no European had yet been. The men returned, bring­ing with them samples of gold and Californian pearls. In the years that followed, great quantities of pearls were found and sent to Spain, but the banks were soon exhausted and before long the pearl trade of America dwindled into insignificance.

But pearl fishing is still carried on around the coasts of Panama, Venezuela, and the various islands of the western Pacific. The pearls are generally yellowish or grayish in color, but the Panama pearls are often parti-colored with a coarse texture. Venezuela pearls are small, of a warm tint and a good luster. The method of fishing differs little from that in other areas.

Divers descend naked and remain under water for about thirty seconds, during which time they are able to secure about three or four shells. When a sufficient number has been collected, they are carried to the shore and piled up on mats of esparto grass. Ten days are allowed to elapse, during which time the molluscs die and decompose. When thoroughly decayed, the shells are thrown into reservoirs of sea water, opened, washed, and the pearls ex­tracted. The odor given off during the latter part of these opera­tions is far from pleasant.

Next, the shells are cleaned, piled up, and placed into casks. They are then transported as ballast to various countries, where they are ultimately fashioned into mother-of-pearl goods. The conch, housed in the large conch shells (sometimes used as door stops) also produces pearls on occasions. Many of the pearls are white and without luster, and they are thus almost valueless, but some fished off the Florida coast are pinkish. They are often cov­ered with very small marks.

In various seas, but notably along the Californian coast, a uni-valvular mollusc called the abalone is fished. These sometimes contain pearls of a greenish tinge. If of good shape, uniform color, and without blemishes, they have a high market value. The shell resembles a deep, oval dish of a green or pink appearance. Fine, black pearls which have a greenish metallic sheen are rare, and realize a high price when graded and matched.

The pearl banks in the Gulf of Panama have received the at­tention of a French syndicate in recent years. The finest speci­mens found are collected by a representative who is stationed in the area, but no great quantity of good black pearls has as yet been found by the divers. In any event, the demand for black pearls is rather limited, and such pearls would normally have a greater sale in Paris than elsewhere.

Red Sea pearls are small but of good quality; pearls from Jap­anese seas are generally of a light greenish tinge and are often rather dull. Very little of value comes from either of these two areas. The same may be said of fresh water pearls, which are usu­ally dull in sheen and seldom realize more than about $28 per grain. River pearls have, however, been fished for many centuries in various rivers in Europe and America.

In certain British rivers, particularly in Scotland, pearls of some value have been found for a great many years. Their presence was known to the Romans, and mention of them was made by many writers of that period, including Tacitus, Boethius, Origen, Seu-tonius, and later by the Venerable Bede. Pliny wrote "It is a fact that, in Britannia, pearls are found, although small and of a bad color; for the deified Julius Caesar wished it to be plainly under­stood that the breastplate which he presented to Venus Genetrix was made of British pearls."

Pearl fishing in Ireland has been carried on in various rivers also for some centuries. The mountain streams of Donegal, Ty­rone, Mayo, Galway and Kerry have produced a number of fresh water pearls, and these are often to be seen on sale, mounted in jewelry, in Dublin and other cities. A good collection of local pearls is in the Eire National Museum, Dublin.

Redding, in a paper on British pearls, printed in the year 1693, praised the quality of pearls found in Ireland. He wrote that the poor people of that country used to fish for the gems during the summer months, just before harvest. One in a hundred shells might contain a pearl, and he wrote "I myself saw one pearl bought for fifty shillings that weighed 36 carats, and was valued at £40. A miller took out a pearl that was sold for ninety shillings to a man, who sold it for £10, who sold it to Lady Glenealy for £50, who refused an offer of £80 from the Duchess of Ormonde." Today, many Scottish fishers visit the Irish streams in search of pearls, but, on the whole, the commercial value of the finds is small. Finely matched necklets have sold for $2,800 (£1,000), but these are very exceptional. Yet according to Pennant, $28,000 (£10,000) worth of river pearls were sent to London between the Years 1761 and 1764 from Ireland.

The river Elster, in Germany, has also yielded pearls, for it has been recorded that a fishery in 1621 was sold for the benefit of the reigning sovereign. The royal exchequer of Bavaria once drew a large portion of its revenue from the pearl fishery of the river Iltz, near Passau. The so-called Bohemian pearls were found in the Czech river Moldava.

As recently as the first years of this century, pearls were found in the Mississippi River, near Muscatine. The river bed near this town was found to contain a number of shell deposits along a two mile stretch, and for two years this was worked. The river then changed its course and the deposits were swept away.

At about the same time, many of the Canadian and other Amer­ican rivers were being fished. Pearls were found, some reaching 100 grains in weight, and $1,400 (£500) was not an uncommon price for such specimens. But the damming of rivers for transport services and continuous fishing soon depleted the rivers of the molluscs.

River pearls are almost always pale, cloudy, and without much luster, but although ocean pearls far outstrip river pearls in beauty and value, some outstanding specimens have been found. Some years ago, a pearl from a Perthshire river realized $280 (£100). Another, also from Scotland, is contained in the Crown jewels of Scotland, which may be seen in Edinburgh Castle. A fine pearl, now in the Royal Crown, was found in the river Con­way, Wales. This was presented to the queen of Charles II by Sir Ralph Wynne.

As for ocean pearls, many fine and large specimens exist, but these are chiefly in the possession of individuals. The Panama pearl which was presented to Philip II of Spain in 1579 has al­ready been mentioned. Its value at that time was considered to be about $11,200 (£4,000), and it is still in the possession of the Spanish royal family. Known as La Pellagrina, it weighs 1,250 grains. It was found off Santa Margarita, an island in the West Indies, and it was brought from Panama in 1560 by a cavalier named Don Diego de Ternes, who presented it to Philip of Spain. It is said to have been fished by a Negro, who was rewarded by being given his liberty in exchange for this gem. Another famous pearl, which is also called La Pellegrina, is in the Moscow Mu­seum. It is perfectly round, of fine quality, and its weight has been given as 111 1/2 grains and also 140 grains.

We have already noted that Julius Caesar was a great admirer of pearls as well as of precious stones. He once presented a single pearl to Servilia which was valued at a million sesterces (about £50,000 or $140,000). Pope Leo X purchased a pearl from a Venetian jeweler for $39,200 (£14,000), while another, presented to the Sultan Soliman the Great by the Venetian republic, was val­ued at $44,800 (£16,000).