Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 199, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 August 1913 — WANT PINK PEARLS [ARTICLE]

WANT PINK PEARLS

Fashion Leaders Demand the Expensive Rare Variety. Custom House Figures for Recent Months Show Increased Imports of Rare Gems—Dealers Discount the Duties. New York.—The high cost of living has not decreased the demand of the American people for diamonds and other precious stones. The imports of gems to the United States in the fiscal year ending with- June will amount to more than $50,000,000, according to an estimate made by a Maiden lane authority, who bases his prediction on the total gem receipts at the port of New York in the first eleven months. The appraised value of the diamonds and other precious stones that have already passed through the New York custom house is $43,686,280, record-breaking figures for a similar period in any year. The figures for this year are estimated at $50,000,000. Fear on the part of the big New York gem Importers that they will have to pay a higher duty on gems under the new tariff bill has caused them to rush in large quantities of diamonds and other precious stones since the provisions of the bill became known. In May the receipts totaled $4,606,323, record-breaking figures for that month. In April $3,898,681 worth of gems passed through the appraisers’ stores. The figures for March reached $4,341,179. February receipts totaled $4,299,435, and in January $3,899,995 *yas the appraised value of the gems imported. Under the present tariff schedule the cut gems are dutiable at ten per cent., and there is no duty on the rough product. The Underwood bill provides for a duty of 20 per cent on cut and 10 per cent on uncut gems. The New York gem merchants, working through their association, are fighting for a retention of the present schedule.

In the fiscal year which ended on June 30, 1912, the importation of gems to New York amounted to $39,445,285, of which amount the cut precious stones and pearls are reported by Jewelry Examiner William B. Treadwell at $29,261,794, and the uncut stones, principally diamonds, at $lO,183,491. In 1911 the total reached $38,374,891 and in 1910 the highest previous record was made when the receipts amounted to $44,885,057. The imports in 1907 were $41,112,371 and in 1906 $40,217,542, which are the only fiscal years which have reached the $40,000,000 mark. There has been a tendency on the part of the De Beers Consolidated Mines to increase the price of diamonds during the year now ending, and there is now present a large number of New York dealers in the European markets who report that they have difficulty In getting gems suitable for the American market There has been a marked increase In the demand for colored stones, and fine Ceylon sapphires of 10 and 12 carats have been sold at from S4OO to SSOO a carat, which is an enormous increase in price since the beginning of the year. These gems are the most fashionable at present and it is predicted that fine sapphires will' soon rank next to emeralds if they do not surpass them in price. One reason for this is that there are no fine sapphires coming to tne market and only the ..reserve stock is being offered at high prices. The demand for fine pearls has been unprecedented in the last year and there are at presnt few desirable gems of this kind offered to American dealers. The increase in the price of these gems has been phenomenal. Ludwig Nissen, a New York gem dealer, on sailing recently for Europe, said fine large pearls from five to fifteen grains in weight have advanced at least 25 per cent in the last fifteen years, and exceptionally fine pearls have shown a much greater increase. He said that the reason

for the increase in value is that the fine gems have become very scarce. He said that in the last five years there has not been an average yearly production of more than >10,000,000 worth of pearls from all the fisheries, while much more than that -amount is paid by the wealthy for fine pearls in New York each year.