Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1856-03-07
jfIigrrllanGUug.
Secret of the Gems.


That many things glitter which
are not gold is well known; but do
the wearers OF jeweIy know that the
bright and beautiful colors exhibited
10y most ol their much-prized gems
are purely artificial Nature sup
plies the raw material, and ant steps
10 10 embelish it. The brilliant
necklace or bracelet, which, with
the native hue Of the stone, would
10y no means be considered orna-
mental, becomes matchcss 10 tint
and luster after passing through the
hands Of lhe arlihcer Your chem
ISL always discovering something,
and always ready with marvellous
transformations, Is truly remarkable
personuge He is jealous Of his Sc
crels, but not always able TO keep
them. II he had set a seal on his do
lngs, oar readers would not have
been entertained with tho present
article, in which we shall reveal some
Of his processes
Let Us bepm with the agale-ralh-
er common stone found almost ey-
cry where, and in numerous varieties,
among which are the chalcedony,
cornelIan, onyx, sardonyx, and hello-
uope. They all consist principally
Of quartz, and are more or less pei
lucid, In some places they are sur
prisngly abundant. One of these
places is Obserstein, some thirty or
forty miles up the Nahe, a region
not often visited by summer tourists,
yet interesting enough TO repay him
who shall explore IT'S devious by-waJ 5
and paths along the rlver. At the
village Just mentioned, and al ldal,
four miles distant, formations OF
coarse red conglomeraje are met
with, inlerspersed with trap and
greunslone aud IN soft stratum IN
these rocks, agales are found IN con
siderable quantities The workings
9 may indeed be called agate quarries
for they are carried on ia the precip-
tous side of hIl and to him who
sees them for the first time there is
something remarkable in the species
of industry created 10y the presence
of the stones. The nodues ot agate,
: as they come from their long undls-
lurbed bed, are general, an ashen-
graz color. The first operation in
the process of transformation is to
wash them perfectly clean; thea to
put them into vessel containing a
mixture Of honey aud water, which
being closely covered, is plunged in
to hot ashes Two or three weeks. -
| The essential thing is to keep the H.
quid from boiling but high temp
cruture. After a sufficient interval.
the stones are taken out, cleansed,
passed through a bath of sulphuric
acid, and then they undergo second
course of roasting IN the hot ashes.
To produce a color in the stones,
1t is necessary that they should be
penetrated by some carbonizable
substance. This is effected by the
honey, which, under the influence of
long-coutInued heat, finds its way
into the interior OF the crystal, where
IT'S caTbon,zOtIon, if not complete in
the first instance, is completed by the
sui phuric acid. Some lapidarles use
olive oil instead Of honey. The
shade Of color depends upon the po-
rosIiy OF the layers of the stone the
most porous becomes at times per-
leclly black. Some are colored in
two or three hours, Others in rs many
days, others in week or two, aud
some resist all attempts to change
their natural hue. Some, when taxi
en- out of the pan, are found to be a
rick dark brown or chocolate 9th
ers, again, having been penetrated
by the coloIlng matter between the
/ layers, are striped alternately white,
grey and brown like the onyx, or
sardonyx. BY soaking the stones in
a solution Of sulphale of iron and
then placing them Tor few hours IN
the oven, a 6ue corneian red is pro-
duced IN tho porous layers, while
those not porous remain nnaliered.
Thus ii no, unirequently happens
'lhat very coarse and common stones