Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 71, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 March 1914 — Artificial Pearls From Gelatin. [ARTICLE]

Artificial Pearls From Gelatin.

A new process of manufacturing artificial pearls is said to equal any of the methods heretofore employed in the quality of the finished product, while it is less expensive than some processes now in use. It is based on the fact that certain alkali phosphates have the property of rendering pure gelatin iridescent. Small glass beads are used as nuclei for the artificial pearls. These are dipped into a warm solution of gelatin and then placed on a gelatin-coated plate glass. On the gelatin surface of the plate, forming a ring around each bead, is then applied with a small brush the phosphate solution. This is absorbed by the gelatin, and is soon diffused through the coating of the bead. As soon as the Iridescent effect desired has been * produced, which must not be accomplished too rapidly, the “pearls” are exposed to the vapors of- formaldehyde which hardens the gelatin and renders it insoluble.