Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-02-12

Historical f.Pus-PFeseRt Condition
and IendenCy az the Trade.

sSisfOgiFRs f.PHps-PFeseRt Condition
and Tendency az the Frado.
A Graphic reporter yesterday dropped Ia c
the store OF prominent diamond broxer On
broadway, and had a. entertaining coavers T.
ton with the dealer on the subject OF dtapo nd 4
The diamond Il an Interesting theme fol-
extended study, said TIE dealer, whose Tina
appeared for the moment to os uno,ruD,ad
Indeed. the history OF some notable gems ar
as romantic ana complete as tno5a OF th4
greatest o. mankind. I have soma rhetorical
specimena here, for that matter. But you asked
me about the value OF dian0nds | supoosa ~
the vaults OF the Equitable building can he
IDInd Tue most valuable OF any In Ih4 city
Ihere are rev exceedingly valuable ones ex.
PJS,,I ioi sait. diamonds are hot worn AZ much
as thtS were some years ago. ] notice that
s9H4e OF our WedltliaSt ladies wear plain lew
ny noN Ia preference TO diamonds. Ga state
LESSONS mrs. John JACOB Astor wears dii-
nlouuS worm several fortunes. Mrs. A. T.
stewart seldom wears them. Il is chiefly the
middle class OF society that display them to
any extent or best trade i5 among the middle
OF society,
"B1t as to original value Nov. have 10 ada
study OF diamonds, and history tells me that
long before the Christian era the cry5talliZei
form OF pure carbon was known Tor itS value as
an Instrument for cutting, and had It's plaza In
R!Joutry. According 10 indian traditions the
famous koh-1-no0r was found In the mines of
GolCOnda long before C1ri5t'5 birth. For q
tuiie5 II was the symbol OF succession among
the Soyerrigns OF Central india aud In the
fourteenth century 1t became one of the treas
ures or Delhi. Afterwards It came into tha
Possession OF the Persian m0narchS, and at the
victory OF the rebel Nad!r Shan If was glitter
Ing IN the turban OF tbs Va1qui5hed M0ham-
ned Shah. Nadir politely asked ohamm3d 10
exchange turban5 With him as a mark OF friend.
snip. For several centuries the Persian mon.
arch5 Possessed IL, aud Ia 1913 ftw WAS made me
price or Shlh ShuJah'S lioerty By his Conqueror
hunJest Singh, OF Punjauo. with the annexa.
ton OF Punjaub TO the East IudIa C0mpany's
territory In 1850 the KGh -tlno1r became the
property OF the Queen OF England whose Gro Sn
Il now adorns, together with 4g6 other gems
the latter bsing valued at s-;,2 .o0J. the Kohl
neor since being reeut weighs l22ii carats, and
Is valued at $500, 00D. But this Is only one
among many historic gems. The King OF Por
tQ8al owns One which. IL genuine, Of which
there Is some doubt Is worth about 81, 900 900"
How about the Shah OF Per5ia'5 diamonds"
81 Is said that they are mostly bogus. And
Ids accounts for the fact that diamonds are
n0t so much worn now as formerly. There Is
50 much or the cheap trash 10 the market,
which can hardly be distinguished from the
genuine except by an expert have diamonds
here that cost $4,000 that will sell for half
price.
But" continued the desler, you've heard
OF The Orion diamond, one OF the ornaments OF
the imperial scepter OF Russia. lt was origi-
naiiy the eye or an Indian idol from whence II
was stolen by French soldier, who thought
he was getting a fortune when he sold tt In
Madras for 1900. Catharlne H. OF Russia
PAID Sis 800 for II. The Sansy is $3.50. 900
brilliant belonging to Russia. Henry III. once
sent this jewel TO the Swiss government by a
servant. The seryaat was a55aS3inated but
'w !llowed the diamond before he died,
and 1t was afterwards taken from
his stomach. OF other famous diamonds
there are the French Eugenie, the
Tuscany. the NaSsac. belonging ID the Marquis
0f Westminster, aud valued at sl4S,0OO, The
Napoleon Regent, the Hope, blue diamond,
The Dresden OF London, the Brazilian the Car,
the shah, the Polar Star, and others OF almost
fabulous worth. None OF the most notable
iflr1 np6 in vrIrfF ad
though It was recently reported that Mrs. John
u. Mackey, the wife OF the mining king, who
owns $l,ho,o00 worth OF diamonds, Is said to
have purchased one that used to adorn
crown.
diamond commerce proper begun In II2S,
when the Brazilian mines were opened. In 1865
some children playing upon the banks OF the
Orange river found a diamond weighing two
and quarter carats. and this led 10 the open
ing OF the South African diamond fields. EX-
tensiye mines have also been opened ia Aus
tratta.
Like almost all other minerals diamonds and
diamond dust have been the circulating medium
OF exchange IN many countries and, indeed, In
Brazil have purchased even human liberty. the
slave miner being given his freedom If he should
discover diamond or Ia caratS weight and
over. Diamond mines have also been diScov
cred In the L nited States. in k0utherf0rd coun-
~, y. c.: Hall county, Ca; Franklin county,
Y. C.. and IN Virginia. The most valuable dia-
moni found In the nlted States was picked up
by poor worhingInan at Manchester, Va, In
so IL weighed 25.I carats but was so badly
used 10y It's ignorant finder that Its value was
greatly deteriorated.'
How about the trade in New York;
Nearly every jeweler and broker dabole5 in
diamonds. but can't say that the trade has
benefited the original dealers, II is estimated
hat over sl0,0a0,G00 worth OF diamonds have
Uccn retailed here during the pas year. iC I S
La ri to say how large the WhOleS ale trade has
been. The past year the demand was for fine
diamonds. and q lac stone which In former
years had 10 be sold for $500 or 500 now sells
Tor from s61e 10 500.
We don't sell diamonds by any schedule OF
wei-ht. \ tWo-carat stone may sell Tor SIS,
and enc just as heavy for $50 Nor can they
De sold Tor a certain sum per carat \ Fine
brilliant weighing one Carat may cost S2nn,
While a two-cardt stone OF equal tneness sens
Tor 500 or 5000. The average diam md sold
mere Weighs about one and a-quarter carats,
AMI costs about 500. They are mostly African
ard Brazilian stones and are shipped from Lon
don and Amsterdam by Tiffany 4 Co., Randall,
Barmore Is Co., Alfred II. Smith & Co., Buck
lngham, cole u Saunders, Lyon q Saunders
Lyon a Hardy, aid other New 0Tk and Boston
firms
There Is an illusion under which some
diamond buyers labor. There was a mine in
Brazil which formerly produced stones m ignlti-
cent for their eiearness and brilliant retroactive
powers. Ii was called the Old mine and many
OF the particularly fine stones now sold are
called the old mine stones There Is no differ
eDce In the intrinsic value or the stone, the rich
merely deiighttnG 10 pay good sum for the
name"
The present local fancy In the way OF diamond
jeWelry Is the combination OF diamonds, rubies
and SapphireS, set lush IN hammered gold or
In what Is called knife edge setting, Ia which
the last setting IS so fine as to b. scarcely per
cepti6ie at short distance, the gem alone ap-
pfaring 70 view. one line piece OF this work Is
a dragon ly. The head Is q ruby, the thorax
aud abdomen are diamonds while twenty-five
diamonds sparkle in the wings. The dragon
ny Is poised upon spiral. the slightest vibra-
ton OF which makes the costly little insect emit
SPARKS o. beautiful white red and hlnp Ifpht
Ruoies are becoming so scarce that their price
exceeds that OF diamonds Small diamonds
ranging from SIX TO ten caratS In pairs are the
greatest In demand In this aud other markets.
". T. Grapttc.
THE LONDON .'NONS GER"
An Old story RetOId.