Morning journal and courier., 1883-11-24
Gems and Gem Collectors.

! asked the reporter of jeweler.
 l Mot always the richest people," was tho l reply. "There are numbers of collectors
 who pay exorbitant prices for curious ol l outer stones. All wealthy people, of course | have their gems, and young men of fashion 1 I have customer, Spanish nobleman, who | come here about once year, who spends | $20, 900 yearly in jewelry. It is 8 perfect
 mania with him. He gets tired of the sets
 brings them back, and we buy them and sell him something new. I have known him to l wear nearly $1O0, GOO worth of jswelry, yet | not look overdressed. His sleeve buttons l were two enormous diamonds, cut with his arms, and so ruined in his watch were sci
 rubies and diamonds of great price his studs were white old India stones; and in seal he had 8 ruby that was of incal
 culable price. He would be perfect mine l to thief; and have heard it said that he had the finest collection of gems south of the | United States
 'The topaz is fashionable-that is, the rare kinds. One, known as the Grand Mogul, is
 valued in Europe at $15O, 900. It weighs l 1574 carats. Among the crown jewels oi 1 France, there was an amethyst of beautiful violet and red tint, valued at $2,O00. Here
 are some stones,' he said, rolling out a lot oi | emeralds, beryls and aquamarines, "that | though chemically the same, differ much com l mercially. The aquamarine is a favorite with ladies, because it retains it's brilliancy in arti 1 hcial light. Here, for an example, is blue sapphire of two carats that, as you see, if resplendent with light, but st night is com paratively insignificant; while this aqua marine, valued at $15, glows in the evening with remarkable brilliancy. I sell numbers of them for evening wear, and they make g fine display. They vary from $6. for very | small ones, to $75 and $100 an ounce-noi carat. MT. Hope, probably the greatest gem n(1IA nkEmS t., some years ago, weighing 64 ounces. and val ued at $2, ,325. It came from the Cangayum mine East Indies. There is beryl over two inches long in the crown of England; and an aquamsrine has been found in the town of Monzinskaia, Russia, that is reported to have brought, on the authority of Prof. Dieulafait, over $100, 900. So, you see, the cheapest stones, so to speak, bring big prices some times. Turquoise Is much used now, to pro- duce effects in fancy jewelry where g sort of mes ic Is required. That it was valued in this country is proved by the discovery of an old turquoise mine in Mexico. The shaft leads in under mountain, and even the rough tools of the unknown miners were found there. There are two kinds, the old and new rock and, to show the difference between the two: When the Dree collection was sold, an old rock turquoise, that meas ured 47 inches by 43, brought nearly $100, while new rock stone, 39 by 37 inches, was sold for $22 50.
 "Other gems in great demand now are the hyacinthe, heliotrope, zircon, peridot and tourmaline. The latter Is beautiful gem, always found crystallized, many Of them rhombohedral and of many colors. Those from Elba are white and black. Siberia pro- duces rich red ones, Sweden blue, aud Brazil green and blue. These show the curious phenomenon of dichroism, or showing two or more colors. Lapislazuli and labradorite, rich stones, are greatly used in sleeye-but- tons. The former has long been esteemed, and the old French crown jewels contained 8 cross of it valued at S37, 900. A sabre, with handle of this, was presented to Louis XVI by Tippu Saib, that cost nearly $2, 1000. Here is quartz crystal, not gem, that is valued at $10o. It is 8 per feet ball. In the days of old Rome they were used to cool the hands Quartz forms the base of many cheap gems. The occi- dental topaz is alumins quartz and iron. With some bituminous substance, it be- comes the aIencon diamond with oxide of magnesia, the occidental amethyst. The addition of iron and alumina forms the water sapphire. The rose coloring, given 1t by iron and magnesia, forms the Brazil len ruby while the hyReinth of Compos- telIa is formed by quartz and large pro- portion of oxide of iron, and so on. The amethyst and the water sapphire, however, are the only ones that have any real value.
 
 of these gems are not aware of the interest ing fact about them but they should have Q historical value to the owner, as well as be- ing merely an ornament, and though there is hardly one jeveler out of 8 hundred that knows anything about gems, chemically, a thorough history of every stone should go with It."
 Does the rage for gems put the prices up ?" asked the reporter.
 t'Certainly,' D was the reply; ''the price of diamonds especially is on the rise, and that of uncut stones has advanced 40 per cent, and cut 20. This is due to the fact that they are not being produced in such quantities Lately the market has besn overloaded the large dealers are holding them for rise, or have filled up their stock with all they could get at the low price. The amount of money put in gems in this country is shown by the official reports of treasury agents. Thus, 1880, $6, ,699, ,4S9 worth of gems were import cd in 1881, $8, ,090, All, and in 1882, $8, 444,- 525; and when you remember that, in all probability, about many diamonds are smuggled, or paes through the custom house, it is fair to say that we import $20, GOO, ,000 worth of gems every year. And here comes a question" said the expert. "Gems don't wear out, and the stones are always the same 1; now where do they go to? They certainly don't follow the pin, but are commodity al ways in demand, and tho actual supply may be said not to decrease; that is, the demand for them is not actuated by lack, as wi.h steel or other commodities; in fact, there is no waste, but the demand keeps on all the while"