CARE, VALUE AND SALE OF PEARLS 



187 



Fig. 46. Some "Average Run" Slugs. 



sold to pearl dealers who are usually called pearl buyers 

 on the rivers. They are usually shrewd men who are 

 very skillful in buying pearls. Many of them use fast 

 motor boats and make frequent trips up and down the 

 rivers that are being worked. 



The large jewelry companies do not often buy of pearl 

 hunters, but get their pearls from regular dealers. 



There has been some talk of a pearl trust. Some odd re- 

 ports have been made which seem to indicate that such a 

 monopoly exists, yet there is no real proof of it. Sensa- 

 tional newspaper items are not always to be trusted, 

 and it is to be hoped that there is no pearl trust. 



There is a difference in buyers, though. Some men are 

 more conscientious than others and have more sympathy 

 for a poor man so they pay higher prices for the gems. 



