The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1885-09-19
VOLUME XVI.

price on condition that he would not be
held responsible if it was afterwards
discovered to be an imitation. This
was agreed to and a document was
drawn up by which the jeweler agreed
to give 800 francs for the ring and to
hold the vender, who had bought it and
still believed it to be imitation, not re-
sponsible after the sale. The transac-
ton was concluded in the presence OF
witnesses. Just before the money was
paid over and the ring delivered, the
sharper skillfully substituted the inita-
ton and palmed the diamond. In a
few days afterwards, when the fraud
was discovered, although the schemer
was still Cd the spot, the dupe had nc
remedy, as, in the document he had
signed, he had agreed to purchase the
stone whether imitation or not. could
tell you many well-verified anecdotes OF
this description, but they are all varia.
tions of one plan. After confidence is
inspired a sudden skillful stroke i.
played which is generally undiscovered
until it is too late" .,ls5sft
'Is it fact that stones having all the
properties Of the diamond have beer
produced by scientific mcansp"
''The first effort to produce diamond:
dates back to the middle ages. Thrust
be admitted. however, that during. the
last half century the systematic expert.
ments of many scientists, in France
especially, have been awarded with
some amount of success. Such great
minds as Sir David Brewster, De La
tour, Gannal, Depretz, etc., have given
themselves to this exciting pursuit.
The scope and method of their expert
ments are too involved for brief ex-
PLANTATION. 1t is undeniable from the
experiments of Depretz and De Chan
courtois (Which are the most recently
that diamonds can be produced by the
action OF strong electric currents and
intense heat. The gems produced so
far have been of the very smallest size;
the only problem now is whether gems
OF merchantable dimensions can be
manufactured in the same way"
A few days ago Tribune reporter
renewed his acquaintance with men,
Der of one Of the largest New York
firms who import precious stones. After
some general conversation the talked
veered around to the present condition
of the gem business. ''How have you
found trade this trip" was asked.
"Tolerably good" replied the i'm
porter.
what are the quotations for dia-
monds now. Are they higher or lower
than in former yearsP'
THAT all depends on the grade. The
tendency for the last few years seems
to be as follows: For old mine stones
or fine specimens of other kinds the
price is almost stationary, or if there is
any change it is in an upward direction.
The fawed or imperfect goods are con-
tinually going down, and from the
present outlook it is hard to say what
will be the ultimate value of the stuff. "
81 have heard great deal of old mine
stones; what does the term meanpn
IAN old mine stone originally was a
gem of peculiar color and especially
fine fire found in the Golconda district
Now the term is much broader. 1t en-
braces all stones of the blush white cast
so priced by connoisseurs. Many called
old mine now were found in Brazil,
some fine specimens even in Africa.
These gems, wherever found, always
command the highest price; that is to
say for white stones; of course a rarity
in the shape of fine black or rose col
ored diamond always brings an extra
ordinary price.
What is the present selling price of
fine stonesp'
"Storekeepers generally ask between
800 and 1925 for flawless carat stones
of the first water Our carat is the
same as the English, and in ordinary
troy weight is 3.174 grains. The price
| have named is that usually Obtained
for average fine stones, but there are
always especially fine gems in the mar
ket which bring almost double that
amount. ] have at present paper of
carat stones that can not sell under
Sl75 carat net To make the average
profit on these goods the storekeeper
will have to get from 1920 to $3.50 per
carat for Them
"How do you compute the value of
stones above carat in we ght?N
THE old rule formulated by Tavern err
two centuries ago was that the prices
of two Almonds are proportional to
the square of their weight According
to this. if one carat stone of the first
water is worth 300, two carat would
be worth $400, and so on. This rule,
which was quite correct at that time,
would now be very misleading. 1t
assigns to diamonds a much higher
price than at present. Here is the list
we go by now. prepared during the last
ten years by the best authorities in
America: