The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1881-11-03
PRECIOUS STONES.
The characteristics By Which Jewell
ers Can Recognize Diamonds
Handled by Them.

Inc GElflrSlClerlSaiCH Dy " llCA = 1eNA 5A-
ers Can Recognize Diamonds
Handled by Them.
A New York reporter interviewed Mr..
Andrews, Of Tifauy's. How are you
to identify unset diamonds % the re
porter asked. "Here, now, Is a dia-
mond," he said, holding up flashing
yellow crystal as big as a pigeons egg
''that is one Of the remarkable diamonds
Of the world, and could be identified
anywhere. It weighs 125 earats, and is
worth $4,000. While yellow diamonds
are plentiful, yet there are few with q
clear, decided tint like this; and it Is pc
culiar 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
a brilliant there IS only one row of facets
between girdle and table. Here is a
diamond, picking up q brilliant clear as
q drop of dew and flashing with eOlOrs
like a rainbow, "that weighs only two
and one half carats, and it is yet worth
81, 500, from the fact that it is of the
puTest water. A diamond as notable as
this We could positively identify from its
characteristics. Here is another, " pick
ing up yellow stone, "that weighs
nearly as much, two and three-fourths
carats, and Is yet worth only S275, be-
cause 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 q ready
means of Identification. Here is a black
diamond" he said, holding up a large
brilliant that oddly combined perfect
transparency with a blackish tint /;
" this is one of the largest ana best
black diamonds In the world. It weighs
five carats, and is worth $500. Now,
here, picking up beautiful diamond Of
a clear pink hue, is a curiosity, that
we could readily identify anywhere, It
weighs eight carats, less a sixteenth,
and is worth $1,000. The color is q
rare one, and it is exquisitely pure.
Here is another extraordinary diamond. 4"
He showed a large pearl-shaped stone Of
a cinnamon color. ''That is an East
Indian gem, and 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
s., 600. Such marked stones as those I
have shown you we could positively
identify by their characteristics. But
there Wo1ld be no means of Identifying
such stones as these" he said, as he
poured a handful Of small diamonds on
the table They were nearly all of
color, and Of small size.
" How, then, do you avoid mistakes
and protect yourself against fraudulent
claims when you take diamonds to set %
"In the first place, we will have
nothing to do with paste, no matter
what price might be offered us to set it,
Nobody in the store is allowed to wear
a 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 a 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 q dishonest SER
want had removed the diamond and sub
stituted a paste gem. She had never
known the difference, although an ex-
pert does not hesitate a moment in pro-
nouncing upon the commences of q
stone.
"When a diamond IS brought to US, %
Mr.. Andrews went on, ''it goes imme-
diatelr into the hands Of an expert who
gives IL microscopic scrutiny. It is
weighed. any chip or flaw is noted, and
all these facts arerecOrded together with
a little diagram indicating the location
of the defects. Then it goes into the
workman's hands. This enables US to
be certain that we are returning exactly
the same diamond that we take In. No
one diamond In a thousand Is free from
flaws, so that there are always identify
ing characteristics. People are fre-
uuently surprised to find their diamonds
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 fre-
quently the cutting OUtOf q defect would
lose d half a carat or more Of weight.
"Wiu diamonds chip off in wear
ing?
''Very rarely. You may lay a dia-
mond on On anvil aid strike it with q
hammer and it will not break. At the
same time a diamond has a Igrain, and a
blow that happens to strike 1t along the
line of cleavage may clip it. Most of
the defects in stones are natural Per-
feet pearls are even rarer than perfect
diamonds. Irecollect that a dealer once
brought to us a collection of pearls
valued at $3.50, 600, and there was only
one absolutely perfect Onein the lot. The
rarity of perfect pearls makes us con-
slider this one of our most rAtraurhuary
fieces Of jewelry."
He showed a pearl necklace the
pearls ranging in size from peas to
hIberts. They were all perfectly round,
and some were iridescent. "ThOse we
call Orients, he said, "and they are
extremely rare. The necklace is worth
$50, 600,