Teeth like pearls. How to distinguish natural pearls

Vladimir Nabokov

(1899-1977)

The poems of Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov, printed below, date back to the time of his youth. All of them, no matter how much they differ in rhythms, images, the ratio of lyrical and epic principles, are similar in one thing: their author goes from biblical stories to new ones that arise in his imagination with amazing clarity, with many precise details, as if he himself lives and wanders in this world, as if talking with an old woman - a neighbor of Mary and Joseph in Nazareth, heard the conversation of the Teacher with the students about dead dog lying on the road, stood in a dumbfounded crowd in front of Golgotha ​​...

Of course, conjecture is always present in the creation of any artist; and the development of biblical motifs is one of the features of many of the works contained in this book. But Nabokov's poems seem to be a verbal analogue of theatricalization or film adaptation - of course, so talented, they give the impression of a momentary presence and authenticity. Staying true to the source, the author surprises the reader every time unexpected turn familiar image. Here the disciples turn away from the stinking carrion, and the Teacher says about the dead dog: "His teeth are like pearls ..." Old Peter, standing in front of the gates of Paradise, still smells of "Gethsemane dew and scales of Jordanian fish" in his palms. Two images of the Mother of God enter into the memory forever: the young Wife of the carpenter, light, radiant, even though “she was, a dove, on demolitions”, and the Mother, “gray-haired terrible Mary”, who is taken away from the place of execution by John, and she sees her swarthy Firstborn, playing at his native threshold ... And the question that John asks himself, hearing "her sobs and languor" does not leave the reader's mind:

What if she had Christ left
and carpentry, and sang? What if these tears
not worth our redemption?

***

On the anniversary of death
Dostoevsky

Christ walked through the garden with his disciples...
Between the bushes, on the sunny sand,
woven with peacock eyes,
the dog's corpse lay not far away.

And the incisors turned white from under the black
folds, and fetid triumph
death was muffled sweet incense
warm myrtle, swirling all around.

The rotting corpse, cracking, swollen,
full of slimy, sticky worms.
John, like a virgin, turned away,
hunched grimaced Matthew ...

The apostle said to the apostle:
“The dog was evil, and his death is naked, disgusting ...”
Christ simply said:
"His teeth are like pearls..."

Mother

It's getting dark. Executed. Falling off Golgotha
the crowd descends, winding between the olives like a slow serpent;
and mothers look, as if downhill, into the fog
the one who exhorts John takes away the gray-haired, terrible Mary.

He will put her to sleep and he himself will lie down,
and will listen to her sobs and languor through her sleep until morning.
What if she had Christ left
and carpentry, and sang? What if these tears are not worth our redemption?

will rise again God's Son, surrounded by radiance;
at the tomb, on the third day, a vision will meet wives who smoked fragrances in vain;
luminous flesh is felt by Foma;
from the wind of miracles the earth will go mad, and many will be crucified.

Maria, what do you care about the delusions of fishermen!
Intangible over your sorrow, the days float by, and not on the third,
not for the hundredth, he will never rise to the call,
your swarthy first-born, sculpting sparrows in the sun, in Nazareth.

Berlin, 1925.

The legend of the old woman who was looking for a carpenter

My house, on the slope, in Nazareth,
turned black and cracked in the heat.
Does the rain chirp at dawn, -
I get wet under the see-through roof.

There are rats in it, fluffy flycatchers,
how many scorpions ... how to be here?
There is a carpenter: not young and not dexterous,
yes, it might help.

The purple day was smooth and bright.
I went to the gray-haired carpenter;
but no one answered my knock,
knocked louder, waited.

And then she pushed the tight door,
and, bowing the burning scallop,
from the street to an empty workshop
some cock scurrying after me.

Silence. Boards slumber against the wall,
leaning against each other, and in the corner
dormant shine jagged and flat
where the sun touched the saw.

Cockerel, tell me, where is Joseph?
Cockerel, he left, - how is it?
all scattering carnations and throwing
leather apron under the workbench.

Trampled vaguely on the threshold,
trudged back up the mountain.
Pebbles sparkled on the road.
Broken down, she began to dream.

That's all for me, the stupid old woman,
the carpenter's wife was remembered:
looked, used to say a word,
smile, intently clear;

and it will pass, urging a donkey,
petals, thorns in the hair, -
light, radiant,
and was, a dove, on demolitions.

And where did they run now?
Dreaming like this, I, hunched, walked.
Here is my house on the stone top,
looked and froze in the brilliance ...

Before me, marvelously dressed,
brand new and white as an egg,
my house, with olive radiva,
silver bathing porch!

I enter ... Already in a radiant cloud
the sun was scattered behind the hillock.
I am touched, I cry over the pure,
blue and crimson carpet.

The day is dead. I saw a donkey
cockerel and carnations in a dream.
The day is risen. Marveling, interpreting loudly,
two neighbors rushed over to me.

Lovely! I'll get younger myself
for dry new wall!
They say: he went to Judea,
an old carpenter with a young wife.

They say: those who came from there
the shepherds tell everyone
that in the night a shining miracle
spilled over distant Bethlehem...

* * *

When I'm up the diamond stairs
I will rise from life to heavenly threshold,
behind the shoulder, easily tied to a baton,
there will be a patched knot.

I recognize: the keys, leather belt,
copper bald patch of Peter at the gate.
He will notice: I brought something with me -
and stop, do not unlock.

“Apostle, I say, let me through! ..
Before him I will untie my knot:
two or three sunsets female name
and a dark handful of native land ...

He moves his gray eyebrow strictly,
but in the palm of your hand every bend
smells like the dew of Gethsemane
and scales of Jordanian fish.

And that's why without trembling, without sadness
I will come, knowing that, jingling the key,
he will smile and let me through,
let me go to heaven with my bundle.

How many beauties sigh with longing, looking at the white-toothed smiles of American movie stars! How many young people come up with the most incredible stories about terrible fights and a difficult past to explain why they have bad teeth...

Well, you might have been unlucky with your teeth from birth. But this does not mean that you have the right to give up on them. If you are lucky - still do not forget to see a doctor every six months.

Teeth can be bad or good - it's a matter of genetics. But they can also be well-groomed and unkempt - this is already a matter of your own culture.

How to take care of your teeth? Everyone knows that they should be cleaned in the morning and evening with a toothbrush and floss. But not everyone knows that the bristles on the brush should be natural - nylon brushes spoil the enamel. Not everyone also knows that the movements of the brush should not be across, but along the teeth and interdental crevices, where food remains accumulate.

If you can't brush your teeth or rinse your mouth after eating, don't start chewing gum right away - eat an apple instead.

To lighten teeth, it is sometimes useful to wipe them with gauze sprinkled with table salt. And if you smoke, wipe your teeth from time to time with gauze soaked in a solution of purified soda. And, of course, be careful when choosing toothpaste, because among the variety that we have today, it is easy to be deceived and buy a fake that will be very harmful to your teeth. VITAMAX offers you its natural toothpaste.

The poems of Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (1899-1977), published in our anthology, date back to his youth. All of them, no matter how much they differ in rhythms, images, the ratio of lyrical and epic principles, are similar in one thing: their author goes from biblical stories to new ones that arise in his imagination with amazing clarity, with many precise details, as if he himself lives and wanders in this world, as if talking with an old woman - a neighbor of Mary and Joseph in Nazareth, heard the conversation of the Teacher with the disciples about a dead dog lying on the road, stood in a numb crowd in front of Golgotha ​​...

Of course, conjecture is always present in the creation of any artist; and the development of biblical motifs is one of the features of many of the works contained in this book. But Nabokov's poems seem to be a verbal analogue of theatricalization or film adaptation - of course, so talented, they give the impression of a momentary presence and authenticity. Remaining true to the source, the author each time strikes the reader with an unexpected turn of a familiar image. Here the disciples turn away from the stinking carrion, and the Teacher says about the dead dog: "His teeth are like pearls ..." Old Peter, standing in front of the gates of Paradise, still smells of "Gethsemane dew and scales of Jordanian fish" in his palms. Two images of the Mother of God enter into the memory forever: the young Wife of the carpenter, light, radiant, even though “she was, a dove, on demolitions”, and the Mother, “gray-haired terrible Mary”, who is taken away from the place of execution by John, and she sees her swarthy Firstborn, playing at his native threshold ... And the question that John asks himself, hearing "her sobs and languor" does not leave the reader's mind:

What if she had left Christ and carpenter and sang? What if these tears are not worth our redemption?

Pech. according to the book: V. V. Nabokov. Poems and poems. M., 1991.

"Christ walked through the garden with his disciples..." First published in 1921 under the title "Legend (from Apocrypha)".

The poem is dedicated to the anniversary of Dostoevsky's death. It is possible to correlate it with the image of Prince Myshkin from The Idiot (1868): it is common for the hero of the novel to notice and appreciate the beauty among everyday dirt.

John, Matthew apostles of Jesus Christ.

“... and carpentry, and sang? "— According to the Gospel, Jesus inherited the profession of his earthly father, Joseph, who was a carpenter. (Gospel of Matthew, XIII, 55; Gospel of Mark, VI, 3).

Foma - one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ; he was absent when the resurrected Master came to the disciples and refused to believe in the Resurrection until he himself saw the wounds from the nails and touched them. Eight days later, Jesus again appeared to the disciples and invited Thomas to touch his wounds. “Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God! Jesus says to him: You believed because you saw Me: blessed are those who have not seen and believed. (Gospel of John, XX, 24-29). Hence the well-known saying - "Thomas is unfaithful."

"Sculpting sparrows in the sun..." This refers to an episode from the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas: five-year-old Jesus on Saturday, when all work according to Jewish custom is prohibited, fashioned twelve sparrows from clay and, in response to Joseph’s reproaches, “struck his hands and shouted to the sparrows: fly! And the sparrows took off, chirping. (See: Apocrypha of ancient Christians. M., 1989. P. 142).

Nazareth - town in Galilee where Jesus spent his childhood.

Legend of an old woman looking for a carpenter. First published in 1922

Bethlehem - city ​​in Palestine where Jesus was born.

"When I'm up the diamond stairs..." First published in 1923

"... it still smells of Gethsemane dew and the scales of Jordanian fish." — This refers to the Garden of Gethsemane on the outskirts of Jerusalem, where Jesus spent with the disciples last night before execution (mentioned in all four Gospels; see, for example, the Gospel of Matthew, XXVI). The Jordan is a river flowing from the Lake of Gennesaret. Peter, like his brother Andrei, was a fisherman in his youth.

V. V. NABOKOV

On the anniversary of Dostoevsky's death

Christ was walking through the garden with his disciples... Among the bushes, on the sunny sand woven with peacock eyes, the dog's corpse lay not far away.

And the incisors turned white from under the black fold, and the fetid triumph of death was drowned out by the incense of the sweet warm myrtle, swirling all around.

The rotting corpse, cracking, swollen, full of slimy, sticky worms. John, like a virgin, turned away, Matthew, hunched over, grimaced...

The apostle said to the apostle: “The dog was evil, and his death is naked, abominable ...” Christ simply said: “His teeth are like pearls ...”

Mother

It's getting dark. Executed. Having rolled away from Golgotha, the crowd descends, winding between the olives, like a slow snake; and the mothers look, as if downhill, into the fog, admonishing, John leads the gray-haired, terrible Mary.

He will put her to bed and he himself will lie down, and until morning he will eavesdrop on her sobs and languor through her sleep. What if she had Christ left and carpenter and sing? What if these tears are not worth our redemption?

The Son of God will resurrect, surrounded by radiance; at the tomb, on the third day, a vision will meet wives who smoked fragrances in vain; luminous flesh is felt by Foma; from the wind of miracles the earth will go mad, and many will be crucified.

Maria, what do you care about the delusions of fishermen! Intangible over your sorrow, the days are passing by, and neither on the third, nor on the hundredth, he will never rise to the call, your dark-skinned first-born, who sculpted sparrows in the sun, in Nazareth.

Berlin, 1925.

The legend of the old woman who was looking for a carpenter

My house, on the slope, in Nazareth, has turned black and is cracking in the heat. Whether the rain chirps at dawn, I get wet under the see-through roof.

There are rats in it, fluffy flycatchers, how many scorpions ... how to be here? There is a carpenter: not young and not dexterous, yes, perhaps, he can help.

The purple day was smooth and bright. I went to the gray-haired carpenter; but no one answered me at the knock, she knocked louder and waited.

And then I pushed the tight door, and, bowing the burning comb, some cockerel darted after me from the street into the empty workshop.

Silence. Planks slumber against the wall, leaning against each other, and in the corner a gleam, jagged and flat, slumbers where the sun touched the saw.

Cockerel, tell me, where is Joseph? Cockerel, he left, - how is it? all scattered carnations and throwing a leather apron under the workbench.

She trampled vaguely on the threshold, trudged back up the mountain. Pebbles sparkled on the road. Broken down, she began to dream.

All the same to me, a stupid old woman, I remembered the carpenter's wife: she used to look, she would say a word, she would smile, she was intently clear;

and it will pass, urging the colt, petals, thorns in the hair, - such a light, radiant one - but there was, a dove, in the demolition.

And where did they run now? Dreaming like this, I, hunched, walked. Here is my house on a stone peak, I looked and froze in the brilliance ...

In front of me - marvelously decorated, brand new and white as an egg, my house, with olive radiva, bathing the porch with silver!

I'm going in... Already in a radiant cloud the sun was scattered behind the hillock. I am touched, I cry over a clean, blue and crimson carpet.

The day is dead. I saw a colt, a cockerel and carnations in a dream. The day is risen. Wondering, talking loudly, two neighbors darted towards me.

Lovely! I myself will get younger behind a dry, behind a new wall! They say: he went to Judea, an old carpenter with a young wife.

They say that the shepherds who came from there tell everyone that in the night a shining miracle spilled over distant Bethlehem ...

When I climb the diamond ladder from life to heavenly threshold, over my shoulder, easily tied to a baton, there will be a patched bundle.

I recognize: keys, a leather belt, Peter's copper bald patch at the gate. He will notice: I brought something with me - and he will stop, not unlock.

“Apostle, I say, let me through!.. I will untie my knot before him: two or three sunsets, a woman’s name and a dark handful of my native land…

He wiggles his gray eyebrow sternly, but on the palm of his hand every curve still smells of the dew of Gethsemane and the scales of Jordanian fish.

And that's why I will come without trembling, without sadness, knowing that, jingling the key, he will smile and let me through, let me into paradise with my bundle.

Are you thinking of buying pearl jewelry? Or maybe you inherited such jewelry? There are several simple ways check the authenticity of pearls in just a few minutes. Learn how to recognize real pearl now and you will never buy a fake again.

Steps

Visual check

Pay attention to minor defects. As stated above, real pearls are rarely perfect. As a rule, real pearls do not quite correct form. In addition, the top layer of pearls reflects light differently on different areas pearls. Imitation pearls are often "too perfect". It has a perfect spherical shape, has a gloss over the entire surface and has no dents or other flaws.

Check if the pearls have a healthy luster. Glitter jewelers call the reflection of light on precious stone. The sparkle of pearls is exactly what makes them so beautiful. High-quality pearls have a bright, clean luster that appears when light hits its surface. If you look closely, you will see your own reflection on the surface of the pearl.

Notice the glare. High-quality pearls are often especially appreciated due to glare, that is, not clearly pronounced shades that appear when light hits the outer surface of the pearl. Imitation pearls, as a rule, do not have such an effect, which is why pearls are so difficult to fake. This means that it is most likely real if it appears slightly darkened under the lighting. Pink color and color Ivory- the most common shades of white pearls, although there are many other shades, such as black.

• Although the color of some pearls is quite difficult to determine, this not necessarily means that the pearl is fake.

1. Look for signs of authenticity around the hole in the pearl. A pearl on a string or a necklace often has a threading hole. Inspection of this hole will help you understand if the pearl is real. Here are a few important aspects that you should pay attention to:

   Look into the hole to see if there is a line between the outer mother-of-pearl layer and the core. Real pearls almost always have a clear outer mother-of-pearl layer, while fake pearls often have several thin layers. artificial mother-of-pearl or none at all. If your pearl has a hole, you can check to see if it has an inner mother-of-pearl layer by looking through a magnifying glass. Real pearls usually (but not always) have a pronounced line separating the upper mother-of-pearl layer from the core (inner part of the pearl).

   Try an x-ray check. This method of authentication is performed by a specialist using an x-ray. Under x-ray irradiation, real stones will become translucent gray shade. Fake stones will be white on the negative and black on the positive.

   Try doing a refractometer test. This is a highly accurate test that shows the level of refraction of light on the pearl, which helps to determine if it is real. The usual level of light refraction (also known as "refraction") is 1.530 and 1.685. The difference between the two (0.155) is called "double refraction", which affects how the pearl looks in the light. These qualities are indicative of more likely the authenticity of the pearl.

Checking with the sense of touch

Rub the pearl between your front teeth. Take one or two large pearls and index fingers and bite them gently with your front teeth. Rub them between your teeth in a side to side motion. Real pearls usually slightly rough and has sandy texture with slight irregularities on the upper mother-of-pearl layer. Fake pearls are made of glass or plastic, so they almost perfectly smooth.

Natural pearls can be distinguished from cultured pearls using ultraviolet rays: natural pearls will emit a sky blue color, while cultured pearls will emit a greenish one.

When determining a real pearl, you can use this advice: throw the pearl on the floor, it should jump high. A pearl created artificially usually does not have such a jumping ability.

Hello! To determine by eye, natural natural pearls without it is almost impossible. There are several ways to check the naturalness of pearls, but they do not give a hundred percent guarantee. The first is to throw a pearl on the floor, compared to an artificial one, a natural one will jump longer and more intensely. You can also compare weight natural pearls with artificial. Natural is noticeably heavier than artificial.

It is easy to distinguish pearls from special glass or plastic, they are much heavier and, most importantly, they have a very rough surface. It is enough to try to close your teeth on natural pearls so that you feel what I am talking about. But if the question is how to distinguish natural, natural pearls from also natural, but grown on pearl farms, then everything is more complicated. Usually the growth of pearls on such farms is stimulated by the introduction of a sufficiently large object, as opposed to a tiny grain of sand in a natural pearl. This creates internal heterogeneities in such a pearl, which, firstly, will affect the pearl's jumping ability, it will bounce hard, or even just roll, and secondly, you can try to see them through the hole for the thread, if it pearl beads. I don’t even know other ways, because such pearls taste almost the same. Although, from natural pearls teeth just cramps, extremely unpleasant feeling, and the grown one can be bitten only by slightly grimacing.



Natural pearls doesn't get cheap.

Usually, natural pearls are not perfectly aligned.

Trying on a tooth, hear a creak. It is slightly rough, not smooth.

Products made from natural pearls are noticeably harder than imitation.

Edge case- try over fire. Nothing can happen to a natural pearl.

The plastic will melt.

A real gem, if dropped, must always bounce.

Clasp the pearl in the palm of your hand, or wear a necklace around your neck. Natural pearls you will feel immediately, he is always cool.

Among other things, if you try to run a natural pearl over your teeth, you will feel that the surface is a little rough, while the artificial one is perfectly smooth. Natural pearls always feel a little cool to the touch, even on the hottest day. In order to find out if the pearl is artificial in front of you or not, you can rub two pearls against each other, a scratch will appear at the place of friction, but when wetted with water, it will immediately disappear.

Here we have already described the main methods for determining real pearls. I'll add another way. If we are talking about beads or a necklace, you need to carefully consider the hole in the pearl under magnification. In natural pearls, the surface of the hole will necessarily be uneven and chipped. In the case of imitation pearls inner surface will be flat and smooth.



How to distinguish natural pearls

There are three types of pearls: natural, cultured and artificial.

Natural pearls are very expensive and rare. Now pearls are practically not mined, but cultivated. Cultivated is not much different from natural. It grows in the shells of mollusks in the same way, with the only difference that it is formed not under the influence of natural factors, but as a result of human actions: an implant is introduced into the shell.

But artificial pearls are made entirely by man, without the participation of mollusks. Usually a hollow ball is covered with many layers of mother-of-pearl. Therefore, a fake can be calculated by weight, it is much lighter than natural pearls. They are also easily damaged by external influences.

Also, a fake will give out a perfectly even coating, while real pearls are somewhat uneven, this can be seen if you rub the pearls against each other or against your teeth.

Well, natural pearls can not be cheap.

Natural pearls are usually heavier than their fakes. You can also throw a pearl on the floor, if it jumped high - it means natural. Still natural pearls glisten in the sun and shimmer, artificial pearls are more faded.

It is very easy to distinguish natural pearls from artificial ones (this does not mean cultured pearls, grown in shells, namely artificial, which has nothing to do with pearls at all and resembles it only externally) - you need to try the pearl for a tooth. Literally. The surface of natural pearls is somewhat rough - when rubbed against a tooth, this is perfectly felt. Coating faux pearls absolutely smooth.

As far as I know, there are three types of pearls: natural, cultured and imitation. So, it is natural pearls and cultured pearls that can be distinguished only with the help of X-rays in a natural pearl there will be a cavity in the center, and a small foreign object will be visible in a cultured pearl.

And all other methods for determining the quality of pearls, described by other authors, help to distinguish exactly where the real pearls are (natural or cultured), and where they are artificial.