Miniature of Catherine Emilie Peake, by Richard Cosway. Gold frame, surrounded by half-pearls. Eighteenth Century
Watch incrusted with half-pearls
Paris Exposition, 1900
It is quite possible that in some instances where pearls which have been inherited are thought to have changed and lost their beauty, this belief has been owing to an exaggerated opinion of their quality on the part of those who expected to inherit them and who never had the opportunity to examine them carefully. In other words, in many cases where pearls are believed to have lost their luster, to have died, or partly died, there seems, from the personal observation of the writer, to be little doubt that they never were really fine pearls, and that no change had actually taken place in them. That pearls change but slightly is evidenced by the fact that a splendid necklace belonging to the Empress Eugenie, which was purchased about the year 1860, is in as good condition to-day as when it first passed into the hands of the unfortunate empress of the Second Empire. Many of the pearls in the royal treasury in Vienna that belonged to Maria Theresa, and those that were disposed of at the sale of the French crown jewels in 1886, as well as the pearls that are in the imperial collection at St. Petersburg, do not seem to show any appreciable evidence of age.
The pearl is of a lower hardness than any of the precious or semiprecious stones, and almost as soft as malachite, though not so friable or liable to break as is that mineral; nevertheless, it is in many ways one of the most indestructible of natural objects of the low hardness. Still, pearls, and especially fine pearls, require some care; but, if the same attention is accorded them as would be given to a fine piece of lace, velvet, or other fabric, or to a fine jewel, they will last for a number of generations. If, however, pearls are worn at all times without removal, if they are worn in the bath, if they are thrown on a dressing-table, dropped on the floor, or otherwise ill-treated, if they are worn on dusty automobile rides, in bicycle riding, or during other gymnastic or violent exercise, it is inevitable that their sides will rub together and wear one another away. If they are worn in the bath or in swimming, the silk string which holds them, should it become soaked, may draw some of the water, accompanied perhaps with dust and perspiration, through the drill hole into the center of the pearl, and this is likely to be absorbed in turn by the various layers of the pearl, in some instances undoubtedly affecting the color, changing it to a yellow or a gray. It would be well not to wear pearls under the exceptional conditions above mentioned; and, if they are carefully wiped at times, so as to remove any perspiration or dust, their color is not likely to be affected for a long period of time.
Dr. George Harley writes in the “Proceedings of the Royal Society,” March 1, 1888, p. 463:
On one occasion being desirous to crush into powder a split-pea sized pearl, we folded it between two plies of note-paper, turned up the corner of the carpet, and placing it on the hard, bare floor, stood upon it with all our weight. Yet, notwithstanding that we weigh over twelve stone, we failed to make any impression whatever upon the pearl, and even stamping upon it with the heel of our boot did not suffice so much as to fracture it. It was accordingly given to the servant to break with a hammer, and on his return he informed us that on attempting to break it with the hammer against the pantry table, all he succeeded in doing was to make the pearl pierce through the paper and sink into the wooden table, just as if it had been the top part of an iron nail, and that it was not until he had given it a hard blow with the hammer against the bottom of a flat-iron that he succeeded in breaking it.
As the foregoing and other notes had appeared on this subject, the author was led to observe that pearls are possessed of greater durability than is generally supposed. In order to demonstrate this satisfactorily, he took a number of American pearls and placed them upon different kinds of woods, such as white and yellow pine, white oak, teak, ash, cherry, chestnut, and rosewood. He then stood upon them, thus bringing a weight of more than two hundred pounds to bear upon them by means of his heel. The pearls were driven into the different woods, with the single exception of the rosewood, which offered greater resistance so that the pearl only entered partly. In but one instance did a pearl suffer by a slight scaling off. This shows the strength of the many concentric layers, both mineral and vegetable.
This does not signify that pearls should be stepped upon, trodden upon, or thrown about, as it is not unlikely that a pearl would crack if it should fall from some height upon a hardwood or stone floor.