Huntsville gazette., 1881-08-27
How Diamonds are Identified.

1
A witness in court recently testified
that there was in Tiffany's wax I'M
preston Of diamond alleged to have
been stolen. A reporter of the Sun
asked at Tiffany & Co.'s for information
as to their methods of recording and
/ Identifying diamonds.
/ Mr.. j. Il. Andrews, who has charge
of the diamond department, said that
the statement was erroneous. s'We do
not take wax impressions of diamonds"
he said, ssexcept when we send an order
abroad for diamond Of special shape
or order to match one we have. 1t
would be very hard to describe all the
facets Of diamond so that it could be
matched exactly, but by taking wax
impression we can reproduce the exact
size or shape. Still, a wax impression
would give no idea of color or purity,
and these characteristics make all the
difference in the world in the value of
precious stones. A diamond as big as a
little pea may be worth $500 or it may
be worth $4,000"
"How, then, are you able to identify
unset diamonds?''
Mr.. Andrews took the reporter into q
little glass-inclosed room, and taking
some hundreds of thousands of dollars
worth of diamonds out of safe, placed
them upon a table covered with black
cloth.
"Here, now, is diamond,' he said,
holding up flashing yellow crystal as
big as pigeons egg, ''that is one Of
the remarkable diamonds of the world,
and could be identified anywhere. 1t
weighs 125 carats, and is worth $50, 900.
While yellow diamonds are plentiful,
yet there are few with clear, decided
tint like this; and it is peculiar in its
cutting, from the fact that it has two
rows Of facets from the girdle, or largest
| circumference of the stone, to the table,
as the fiat top of the stone is called. In
the ordinary style of cutting brilliant
there is only one row Of facets between
girdle and table. Here is diamond"
picking up brilliant clear as drop OF
dew and flashing with colors like rain
bow, "that weighs only 2 5-S carats,
and is yet worth $1,000, from the fact
that it is of the purest water. A dia-
mond notable as this we could
positively identify from its char
acteristics. Here is another" pick
ing up a yellow stone, "that weighs
nearly as much, 2 3-4 carats, and
is yet worth only $275, because of its
color. Yellow diamonds are hard to
identify by appearance, because they
are so plentiful. Diamonds come of all
colors, pink, blue and brown being rare
and worth much more than yellow.
The pure white, free from stain or flaw,
is the most valuable of all. Odd colors
are so rare that they afford ready
means of Identification. Here is black
diamond" he said, holding up large
brilliant that oddly combines perfect
transparency with blackish tint,
"that is one of The largest
and best black diamonds in the
world. 1t weighs only five carats, and
is worth $1,000. Now, here," picking
up beautiful diamond of a clear pink
hue, sis a great curiosity, that we could
readily identify anywhere. 1t weighs
eight carats, less sixteenth, and is
worth $1,000. The color is a rare one,
and it is exquisitely pure. Here is an
other extraordinary diamond" He
showed large pear-shaped stone of
cinnamon color. "That is an East In
dian gem, aud is very old. Although it
weighs seventeen carats, it is not worth
as much as the smaller pink brilliant,
on account of its color. Its value is
$4,000. Such marked stones as those I
have shown you we could positively
| identify by their characteristics. But
there would be no means of identifying
such stones as these" he said, as he
poured handful of small diamonds on
the table. They were nearly all off color,
and of small size.
"How, then, do you avoid mistakes,
and protect yourself against fraudulent
claims when you take diamonds to set?"
SIN the first place, we will have moth
ing to do with paste, no matter what
price might be offered us to set it. No
body in the store is allowed to wear
paste gem, and if by mistake paste
brilliant is taken in at the repair counter
it is Immediately sent back to the owner.
That rarely happens. Some time ago,
when we refused to reset stone on the
ground that it was paste, the owner was
greatly surprised to hear that it was not
genuine. The lady investigated the
matter and found that dishonest SER
want had removed the diamond and SUBJ
stituted paste gem. She had never
known the difference, although an ex-
pert does not hesitate moment in pro-
nouncing upon the genuineness of a
stone.
"When diamond is brought to us,n
Mr.. Andrews went on, ssit goes imme-
diately into the hands of an expert who
gives it microscopic scrutiny. 1t is
weighed, any chip or flaw is noted, and
all these facts are recorded together
with a little diagram indicating the To-
cation of the defects. Then it goes into
the workman's hands. This enables us
to be certain that we are returning ex-
actly the same diamond that we take in.
Not one diamond in thousand is free
from flaws, so that there are always
identifying characteristics. People are
frequently surprised to find their dia-
monds have defects, but it is often the
case that the cutter will leave in a flaw
that can be covered by the setting, as
very frequently the cutting out of de-
feet would lose.a half carat or more of
weight -
| yyT.