The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-09-16

1 ~ tulo "uou "
And total in the rest Of the world ,OOo
Grand total per LOG
or O total demand per annum for setting ana
working diamonds into ornaments, 42S, 800 carats.
As the above estimate is extremely MODE
| rate there is no eXaggeration In assuming that
| annual requirements for diamonds exceedeo
the supply nearly four times before the All.
can discoveries. 1t is even doubtful whether
the 240, 900 carats of rough diamonds produc,
ed before the African discovery reaiy ,yS ieaSed
more than 100, 900 carats OF cut CT ponsned
| brIlliants. Since the discoveries Of diamonds
In Africa the total amount of yield per annum
| has been augmented by at least zoo, UOO caraCs
In the rough state. The total annual produc-
| ton at present would therefore De: Reugn
diamonds, $4,000 carats; which. when Te Sno
ed by cutting and pollsnlng, Woula yieio Z%o'-
| 600 carats az brilllants.
The startling question arises, How can q
demand of 423, 600 carats have been supplied
three years ago by say 2 10000 carats brllliants
produced ? Or how can even now 8 demand
OF 423, 900 carats of brilliants be adequately sup
piled by 22O, 900 carats of production
mond Ia lndeslructible. Gold, for Instance, is
perishable, as 1t Is calculated that ten per
cent. of the annual production of gold, to use
q quaint term, evaporates, In gliding, mixing
| with other metals, &c. This does not Include
| gold used in ornament or watches, asmuc
as that portion is IN q collectable state OF ex-
istence. Diamonds, IN the other hand, are
indestructible, and their accumulation Is there
fore enormous Since ITO, q period OF one
hundred years, the mines In Brazil have yield
ed an average OF $50. 600 carats per annum 10
the rough, or say $4,000 carats net cut orll-
liants, or o total OF 1900, 900 carats. OF this
vast amount perhaps not 500,0 600 carats nave
been destroyed, as the destruction OF q dla-
mond can only take place In q total loss at sea
=. Ts 4 - thArafnnn narTantlU lntQIItO1hIQ
That of the vast amount ofdlamonds USED annu-
ally In ornaments the greater portion are Sim
ply reset, and have existed for ages. Rlcn fami-
lies become poor, aud their diamonds are
thrown on the market; dynastles TALL, anu
their diamonds 60 to the auctioneers snoP.
Within the last year the Bonaparte family
alone threw on the market f250, 600 worth OF
diamonds. When young Bomba of Naples
was driven away by Garlbaldi, IN l860-6l, ne
sold over q million dollars worth OF diamonds.
In short, If, by some possibility. the whole
amount OF diamonds now e&letlng could Do
kept In the owners possession Tor one snort
year, the scarcity OF diamonds, owing 10 me
demand of new purchasers, would run up the
price uf brllliants to three lines their present
value.
great revolution in the demand for ola.
monds has taken place since 1850. The great
gold discoveries In California and Australia.
the immense accumulation and dlnnslon OF
wealth that has followed the numerous newly
started industries, has had the effect OF max
ing the diamond q popular possession and al
most q necessity. In short, the comparatively
| few rlch>excluslve wearers and possessors OF
! diamonds before 1850 has been augmented by
| the plebeian millions. or, where thirty years
ago only fifty people in a community INDUCED
In the ornamentation OF diamonds, ten thou-
| sand have risen, who, on a much smaller scale
Every true,) have taken TO wear them.
i rr...ro too ordognoA n on that Mt tho ola.
monds found very few. comparatively, are OF
| a fine white color. And 1t Is no doubt owing
10 this very fact that everybody is anxious TO
get q fine white diamond.
HThe Arizona diamond fever ls, Of course,
not developed yet. But suppose 1t should be
a demonstrated fact; and suppose, further,
| the Yield should resemble, not the African dla-
mond In lis general large SIZE anu on'co,or,
| but that Of the Brazilian, small and good color.
| aud the yield should be 200, 600 carats per an-
| mum, the effect on the price OF fine diamonds
| would not be very much. And here Is the
| reason for It.: an average pair OF 500 carats line
| Rio rough diamonds, known as melage, con-
talns 10 it stones from one-slxteenth carat up
10 three carats and four carats each, rough.
In such a parcel of 500 carats not more than
ten stones would be of four carats each. In
fact, the parcel would be thus assorted:
Carats.
10 stones, 4 cara;S each, rough................. 40
10 stones, 8 carats each. rongh................SO
so stones, 2 carats each, rough..............lO0
100 stones. / carat each, rough...."..........l0o
Rest averaging Lie to x carat each..."......2so
Total In the rough.
Carrots.
10 stones, averaging 2 carats each.......... 20
10 stones, averaging TX caratS eE -h........ Is
| so stones, averaging / carat each......... so
100 stones. averaging x carat each......... 62h
| And Of small
Total
On these only $50 to 100 carats would be
| white, the rest, as usual, would be of-colored.
| Now. be It remembered, that the above given
| diamonds are supposed to be q genuine par
Gel of fine Rio rough melage diamonds. Al
the best, therefore, if the Arizona yield
should turn out prolific enough TO bring to
| the surface 200. 900 carats of rough diamon9s,
| and # thew are as fine as the Rio diamonds,
| the utmost of fine brilliants that could be ex-
| pected from such a yield would only DO