Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 42, Number 267, 20 September 1917 — Page 12

How the Spirit of Lavish

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By Rene Bache

HAVE you acquired any new diamonds lately? If not, it Isn't fair. Everybody i3 buying them. All kinds of money, especially "war baby profits, are being invested In the sparkling stones. The year 1916 was the greatest diamond year this country has ever seen, for during this twelvemonth $22,500,000 worth of 'cut diamonds and nearly $11,000,000 worth of these uncut' gems were Imported Into this country. People buy diamonds only when they have plenty of cash. Hence it r4s' M: iA

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Sti The "Culinan," . the Largest Diamond Ever Found, as It Appeared in the Rough. It Weighed Nineteen Ounces. Is that such imports are a sort of Index of national prosperity. Mere millionaires nowadays are almost poor folks. Only a "multi" can cut any sort of a dash; and one of his obligations, if he has any social ambition, Is to buy for his wife a diamond tiara, a necklace of diamonds and other ornaments to match. A few stones will not suffice; she must blaze with them. The word "blaze" Is not too strong. Gc to the opera any of these nights, in New York, and take a look over the "bathtub" boxes appropriate word! In the so-called "diamond horseshoe." Many of the women seem literally to be clad in diamonds, wearing little else above the waist. It is nothing uncommon for a fashionable New York matron to wear $300,000 or $400,000 worth of diamonds with an evening costume. Indeed, the value represented may be twice that much. A "plastron" of the gems, perhaps, covers the whole front of her waist. It is supplemented with a girdle of the same precious stones and with ropes of them about her neck and bare shoulders. On her head Is an "all-around tiara," which is in effect a crown such as a queen might wear. A $250,000 Crown. The crown worn by Mrs. Perry Belmont is four Inches high and valued at $250,000. It is a solid mass of diamonds, the smallest of them 2 carats, and the upper part of the structure terminates in 24 points, each tipped with a huge pearl. With it Mrs. Belmont usually wears a broad collar of diamonds. The Duchess of Marlborough, who spends a great deal of her time in this country, is, as everybody knows, a daughter of the cider William K. Vanderbilt. Her father gave her, as a wedding present, a rope of diamonds that is said to be the most

valuable in the world. It is reported to have cost half a million dollars, the stones, which are perfectly matched,- having been "picked up" here and there all over Europe. Another possession of hers, rather curious in its way, i3 a cap of uncut diamonds, tied under the chin with a diamond string. There is no woman in New York who is said to own more wonderful diamonds than those of young Mrs. Vincent Astor. Her husband's grandmother, Mrs. William Astor, who so long ruled metropolitan society, left them to her son, John Jacob, who perished In the Titanic disaster, and from whom they passed to bis son

. 1 Vincent. They include a chain of beautifully matched solitaires, long enough to reach from the neck of the wearer to the hem of her skirt, and a corselet of diamonds that was formerly the property of Marie Louise, the secdnd wife of the first Napoleon and the mother of L'Aiglon. Like a number of other very rich New York people, Mrs. Astor employed agents abroad to pick up things of exceptional value in the way of jewels, and in this manner she acquired, for $170,000, the famous Sancy diamond, which Charles the Bold wore in his cap when he was killed on the field of battle. This gem is now the property of the wife of young Waldorf Astor, her grandnephew, to whom she gave it. He is the son of William Waldorf Astor, the American millionaire expatriate recently made an English baron, and is now serving at the front in France. The Famous Sancy. The Sancy diamond, of 53 carats, was found by a soldier on the battlefield and sold by him to a priest for a florin 40 cents. It was bought, in 1479, by the King of Portugal, who sold it to the Baron de Sancy. He sent it as a gift to his sovereign, Henri III., but the messenger, beset on the journey by robbers, swallowed it. His body was cut open and the stone was recovered. Later it became the property of Louis XIV. of France. It .was lost in the plunder of the Tuileries during the revolution, but turned up again. The war will inevitably bring to this country, for sale, a great many of the historic gems of Europe. Such stones find a ready market on this side of the water, American multimillionaires always being eager to buy them. When the French crown jewels were sold, 30 years ago, most of them came to this country, some of the most desirable of them being

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The Tiara of Diamonds, with Three Huge Emeralds, Worth $100,000, Owned by Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt. The "Jubilee," y Called the Most Magnificent Diamond in the World, It Was Cut from the " Jagersfontein," Shown on the Right. purchased by Mrs. William D. Sloans of New York. Mrs. Ava Willing Astor, young Vincent's mother, has always made rather a point of avoiding too much gorgeousness in the decoration of her beautiful person. Diamond butterflywings in her hair (in place of a tiara), a ribbon of diamonds about her throat and bands of the same stones in place of shoulder straps (when shoulder straps were worn) she has deemed sufficient. Mrs. Astor's father, Barton Willing, of Philadelphia, was a great collector of jewels. When he died, a few years ago, he bequeathed to his son, Barton Willing, as family heirlooms, necklaces and other articles of the kind that once belonged to Margaret of Navarre and Ferdinand VII. of Spain. The jewels of Queen Isabella of Spain, by the way, are now mostly owned by New York women. The finest sapphires in this coun try are owned by Mrs. Richard Townsend, of Washington, whose daughter married Peter Goelet Gerry, recently elected United States senator from Rhode Island. The young Mrs. Gerry is herself the possessor of a very wonderful collection of jewels. Another Washington woman, Mrs. Aksel Wichfeld, whose first husband, Clarence Moore, was lost on the Titanic, has just had reset a magnificent outfit of emeralds. But, superb as these are, they cannot vie with the emeralds of Mme. Bakhmeteff, wife of the Russian ambassa

dor, which are said to be unequalled decorated of the wives of multi-mill-by any in the world outside of royal ionaires, when she appears in public, ownership." Her tiara is of diamonds and pearls, Mrs. Edward B. McLean of Wash- and a series of ropes of great pearls ington, daughter of a copper king are suspended at intervals of two

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The "Jagersfontein," in the Rough, and Weighing Seven Ounces, from Which the " Jubilc ' "Tas Cut.

and wife of a multi-millionaire, can dress herself in gems any time she likes, but her most prized jewel is the celebrated Hope blue diamond, for which she is said to have paid $160,000. color. It is of a brilliant sapphire The Hope Diamond. This diamond was bought In India in 1642 by Tavernier, the celebrated .traveler and eem collector He sold it, in 1668. to King Louis XIV. of France. During the French revolution it was stolen and, to disguise the stone, it was recut in Amsterdam, being thereby reduced from 67 to 44 carats. It was purchased by an Englishman, Henry Thomas Hope, from whom it descended to Lord Francis Hope (former husband of May Yobe, the opera singer), who sold it to Mrs. McLean. Mrs. John R. Drexel is said to be one of the most elaborately diamond

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inches from shoulders to waist. Mrs. Drexel's collection of turquoises. which is set with diamonds, is claimed to be the most valuable now in existence. Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt. Jr., Mrs. E. T. Stotesbury (wife of the Philadelphia traction magnate), Mrs. Ogden Goelet and Mrs. Harry Payne Whitney (who was Gertrude Vanderbilt) possess, each of them.it is estimated, more than $1,000,000 worth of diamonds and other precious stones. Mrs. Whitney's father-in-law (at one time secretary of the navy) wa3 a poor lawyer who married the daughter on an oil king named Payne, but when he had money he knew how to spend it. He bought for Gertrude, as a wedding present, some of the finest rubies (the most valuable of all precious stones) in the world. Her own father gave her a collar, necklace, tiara and other ornaments of diamonds valued at over half a million. Why bother about the high cost of living when diamonds are so plentiful? One day, only a few years ago, Alfred Beit, who was at that time the head of the great South African diamond-producing syndicate, turned up in New York, and, being much attracted by a certain charming woman of social prominence there, insisted on bestowing upon her, as gifts, a number of huge diamonds. She has them now the biggest, as a collection, in the metropolis. Not long ago Judge Gary, head of the Steel Trust, returning-from one of his annual trips to Europe, was asked by a customs officer on his arrival whether he had. anything dutiable to declare. In .response, he drew from his pocke't 'twd enormous" pearls, for which, he said, he . had paid $53,000. They were meant for a con-

ulative Enthusiasm Are Manifested in the Blaze of Brilliant Jewels Measured in Fabulous Millions.

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Diamond Necklace and Pendant, Worth $50,000, Belonging to Mrs. Harry Payns Whitnoy.

tribution to a contemplated necklace, for which the judge afterward bought three more pearls, at a Fifth avenue shop, for $110,000. Just 'now much that necklace cost him, when made complete, nobody knows. The Diamond Age. What has been called the Diamond Age began in 1S93, when over $15.000,000 worth of the stones were imported less than half the Importation of 1916, be it noticed. Diamonds may fairly be regarded as the ultimate expression of luxury. Although the available supply has been vastly augmented in the last 25 years, thanks to the extraordinary output of the South African mines, the price has doubled in that period, owing to the fact that the market is absolutely controlled by a British syndicate. In order to get any diamonds, American dealers are obliged to apply to the syndicate many months in advance and they must take what is sent them, at the syndicate's own price. It is, perhaps, the most extraordinary monopoly in the world. The stones reach New York in small wooden boxes, sealed and

Sending a Canary to College

THE canary who lives "in society" is likely to share in the luxuries and to participate In the fads that belong to his sphere. Recent appearances in New York and other cities . seem to indicate that the "town" bird leads as rapid and advanced a life as his human associates. The elaborated life of the canary has been called "sending him to college." First and foremost, the town bird doesn't live in any old-fashioned cage. The cage must look like gold, whether it is or not. At the top must be a ribbon bow that i3 changed every day. And the bars and swings are specially designed to bring about the canary's development. On a runway extending from the cage door there is a miniature automobile, attached to a string. The trained bird goes to the door, takes the string to the automobile and slowly pulls up the automobile, standing the while on one foot. The purpose of this procedure is to get bird seed, with which the machine is filled. If the automobile has not been filled his birdship rings the tiny bell attached to his cage to call attention of his mistress to the oversight

f ' -MLS"" heavily insured, by registered ma. I. The postoft'ice turns them over to the customs appraiser and they are examined by an official expert to determine their value and the duty tobe paid on them. The biggest diamonds in the world are said to be the property of the British crown. If the British government were to decide to sell them, to get money for war purposes, they would find ready purchasers in the United States. The "Jagersfontein" diamond, when found in the Orange River Colony, was an irregular crystal weighing over seven ounces. It was cleft in two. to get rid of a flaw, and from the larger piece was cut the "Jubilee." which is called the "most magnifi cent diamond ever known." It is 1 inches long, 1 inches broad and ! inch deep. , Even bigger than the "Jubilee" di; mond was the "Cullinan," It ori. inally weighed 19 ounces, but having two bad flaws, was cut into thre pieces. The largest of them, afu: cutting, weighed COO carats. It is set in the British crown. The otner two, cut to 425 and 410 carats respective ly, adorn the sceptre of King Georre Water is provided In a little pail. In stead of the old-fashioned bath the educated canary uses a lettuce leaf. Many owners of canary birds employ expert trainers to educate their pets. Others, folks who have more time and patience, do the work of training themselves. Tutoring highclass canaries has como into its own as a regular business and many persons are now living on the incomes of such "professorships." Electric Water Heater AVERY compact little electric stove has been put on the market which is particularly adapted for heating a tumbler or glassful of water In very short space of time. The heating element is in the form of a cylinder, slightly uni'iT an inch in diameter and about 4 inches long, which is provided with a metal cap arranged to fit over the mouth of the glass. This serves to retain the heat and also keep out dust and dirt The switch in the cover controls the current. The heating element gem-rates sufficient heat to bring a glas3 of water to a boil in a minute ana a half. The device consumes 450 watts.