IMITATIONS AXD How TO DETECT 197 



enamel are broken by a hammer and then ground to a 

 fine powder. The powder is mixed with water and ap- 

 plied or "charged" to the object to be coated by means of 

 a small spatula. 



After each coating of the enamel the pearls are placed 

 in a muffle and heated to a high temperature by electricity 

 or gas. 



The muffle is an oven made of fire clay. When the 

 pearls are "fired" sufficiently the enamel fuses and they 

 are ready to be taken from the muffle. When they are 

 cool they are "stoned/' in which process all rough parts 

 are filed away with fine carborundum or emery stones. 



When the pearls are "stoned" nicely another coat of 

 enamel is applied to them and when they are dry they 

 are "fired" again and "stoned," and so on until the pearls 

 have been built up to required size. They are then stoned 

 and polished and ready for use. They are very fine rep- 

 resentations, but as far as colors are concerned the art 

 has not reached the highest state of perfection. These 

 can be distinguished from the genuine by their weight 

 and texture, while their shiny surface suggests their 

 glassy formation. They are, however, one of the best 

 imitations. Another clever imitation is the fish-skin pearl. 

 The method of making these was discovered in the sev- 

 enteenth century. Hollow glass bulbs or beads are coated 

 on the inside with a composition which contains a large 

 per cent, of guanine, the mucus which lubricates the 

 scales of the bleak fish. This was originally called 

 "Oriental essence," and still goes by that name in Ecouf- 

 flians and Ponts-de-Ce. 



