A MYSTERY OF PEARLS.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 May 1921, Page 5

A MYSTERY OF PEARLS.

ARE THEY REAL OR FAKED? REVELATIONS TO EXPERTS. By Telegraph.—Press Aqse.—Copyright. Received May 6, 8.20 p.m. London, May 6. Many dealers hold the view that the Japanese forced pearls are real and not fakes. In all respects they are the same as pearls obtained in the ordinary way, with the exception of the artificial shell inside.

Hatton Gardens experts admit that the revelation is a most important event in its history and it may revolutionize the pearl shelling industry, because it is impossible to distinguish the old-fashioned from the new-fashioned pearls by existing tests. The/question is asked, if these samples were obtained in a few months what will happen if cultivation lasts for years? The reply is, the biggest and most beautiful pearls in the world.

[A few days ago the London Star revealed that London jewellers^.and gem dealers have been defrauded ‘ of thousands of pounds by means of Japanese faked pearls, which it is impossible to differentiate from natural Oriental pearls without breaking.. The fake is produced by a similar method to that used for the Japanese cultured pearl, except that a mother-of-pearl bead is placed in an incision in the oyster’s flesh instead of merely in the shell, and remains there for several weeks until it is entirely covered by a 'thin pearl film, instead of only on one side, as in the case of the cultured pearl.]