The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-09-08
JEWEL ROGUERlFS.


from recent exposures and explanations
to be almost more applicable to jewellers
than to other traders; and if only one.
half of the misdemeanors with which
they are enlarged be true. they de-
serve to be placed in the front rank of
trade tricksters. They are, however,
jewelers. and jewelers.. and although
happily, as a class, they are above sus-
picion, yet, as our courts of justice oc-
easionally reveal. there are also not a
few black sheep in the flock-men who
do no scruple to deal in "doublets"
and paste, and who pass off gems and
jewels as genuine. that they know to be
either altogether false. or to possess
some hidden flaw sufficient to greatly
lessen their value. Every now and then
we find in the newspapers a paragraph
or longer articles concerning mystery
gold, 4" forged gems" or false jewels"
Recent examples of this kind of news
have appeared to the effect that an i'm
portant discovery had been made TT
gardIng the crown of a Oreign poten-
tate, as well as the diamond necklace of
lady of rank, May of the gems in the
latter article being made Of paste; while
the diadem of the king is announced to
be little better than a theatrical bauble,
most of the real stones having been ex-
tracted and their places filled with imi-
tation ones. Another announcement
of the kind calls attention to the fact of
several initiation stones having been
found in jeweled collar hitherto sup
posed 10 be Of very great value, and
which had been sold by an illustrious
person in ignorance of the fact.
What IS paSte2" asked a London
magistrate in the course of his examina-
ton into a charge of selling imitation
stones for real ones. Paste, sir" re-
Piled the witness, means a mixture of
violin glass and borax;" from which, as
we have been informed, the closest imi-
tation of diamonds anu other precious
stones can be made. Visitors to Paris
who have feasted their eyes on the
made-up gems so lavishly displayed in
the jewelers. windows of the Rue de la
Paix and the Palais Royal, feel surprised
wien they are told that four-fifths of
the glitterinr baubleS are composed of
paste and are of little value as COM
pared with the real gems. 1t used to be
said that most of the jeWelry shown in
the Palais Royal was manufactured for
use on the stage; but the actresses of
to-day, unless Obliged to wear paste,
will, when they can afford it, adOrn
their pc sons with none but real gems.
The names OF several artists might
easily be given who are reputed to be
passing rich in diamonds and rubie',
vhN hoo 81 4
of great price. Some actresses, indeed,
seem to draw audiences nowadays as
much by the aid Of their jewels as their
talents. When a female star visits the
provinces, pains are frequently taken to
proclaim the number and value of her
gems and Jewels. Who, then, wears
the paste diamonds and other imitation
gems VIII ch are manufactured To this
question, an answer of a rather startling
kind has more than once been given and |
one of the latest may here be noted. a !
gentleman who was deeply involved in |
the pursuits of the turf requiring a con- |
siderable sum of money to pay his debts |
of honor, stole his Wife's jewels in order |
to pawn them. To his CONSERVATION, !
the pawnbreker refused to look at them. !
''Why?' was feVerishly asked. "Be-
cause they are paste, Paste! My |
wife's jewels paste ?'' Eyes. supplied |
her with them" The originals are in /
Jov sfe; advanced 1880 upon them"
u IvrIuuaeely,. the gentleman wife |
was as great gambler as her husband, |
and she had been obliged to paWR her
own diamonds. to meet her own habili- |
ties.
The ingenuity of persons who "get |
up" precious stones and mock-pearls for
1.-The trade" has been often commented /
upon and. frequently censured. A Lon
don lapidary who works in the groove
indicated was called upon, a few months
ago, in a court of law, to explain his
mode of procedure. II make all my
limitations out of real stones" was his
reply to the judge. On being asked to
be more explicit, he said Perhaps II
possess some pale stones which are of !
small value; these split by aid Of my !
tools; then introducing q deeper,ton I
of color. join them together again, +
having considerably increased their i
salacle value" In this manner the 4
colors of many stones are said to be in
such as emeralds, sapphires,
and others. Diamonds are
constantly utilized by being split, each
half of gem perhaps doing Cuty on 3
paste foundation on which it has been
carefully mounted. A stone which may
be Of the value Of ten pounds having
been split at little cost, is carefully
and becomes transformed
into two gems, each affirmed to b.
worth that sum. 1t requires q clever
expert to detect such frauds when they
areeleverly executed, or to discover that
the "6re" impaired to, certain stones
that would otherwise be dull OF hue and
greatly deficient in sparkle, is conferred
By so simple an expedient as a backing
Of tinfoil.
The invention of what are called
naoublets" In diamond-dealing can be
traced back for centuries. One mode of
getting up false stones has been de-
,eribed by Jerome ardan, who has
published in detail the method of the in
yentor, one ZocolinO. This persons
way OF working was to procure a thin
1aSe of very inferior and cheap ex
ample OF the stone he desired to i'm
prove" choosing those which had little
color, and ID ght in consequence be pro-
cured at nominal price. As bottom
or his makeup, he took bit OF
crystal which he had shaped to his pur ,
pose; covering this with a transparent
.lue with which he had mixed the neces-
Jsry coloring material, so as to be ]. Ike
of thu uar, no in