St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1888-05-12
VALUABLE DIAMONDS.

VALUABLE DIAMONDS.
4 Dealer Chats Abess shsf Rarsst Gen
Ever Seen In This 0t9rsy.
'The most valuable didIG0nd. for its
size. that has ever been this coun.
try is now here in the hands Of dealer
on Maiden lane. not for Ale. but that
he may. II possible. find 4 mate to it
. job that he is about living up in
despair. ! have bought dl hmonds from
him. and can obtain for ybu tho priv
ilege Of seeing this magnificent stone.
II you care to have lock at q gem
that is worth remembering all your
life When I tell you that it weighs
but three and five-eighths earats. les.
> thirty-second; that tho owner has
refused over 81. 600 for it Sand that he
will chcerfully give 80 dpo. or. pcr.
hapa more. for . match p II. you will
probably find in those facH = practical
answer to the question diamonds
have become cheap 4urope and
America have been ransadked to find
its mate. but thus far in vain. A blue
stone Of ito purity Of tint. perfection
of make and size is ndt known to
exist, either in private c4llections Of
gems. in the hands of dea1ers or even
among royal treasures Not = great
while since the nswspapsrq made men.
ton Of . pair Of diau| pnds then
in New York. that Nkixhcd 10.
gether fifteen carats and xere held at
$50. 600 That seemed Nkc q pretty
good price for stones thatsarc getting
common and cheap but it; b FAR less.
in proportion. than the worth Of this
blue stone. At its detsrueiaod value.
upon the basis Of its preslet size. il it
were as large as ono Of that matched
pair it would bc worth about So. 600,
and. rs the value OF matched pair Of
fine diamonds is far moro than double
that Of one of the pair sinsiy. two such
blue stones weighing together fifteen
carats would cost almost .aKing's ran
som'-far more any way. than es4.-
OOO." A
The promised private Wow Of tho
wonderful blue stone was obtain few
days later It was truly an amazingly
beautiful gem. we'll worthy Of tho en-.
thusiasm with Which the connoisseur
spoke Of il. Temporarily Set in spring
clamps for convenience sf handling
without soiling it, daxzlisG facets it
was put beside an absolutely Aawlcss
brilliant Of the first water of almost
equal size. that alone had appeared a
thing Of ma,chless beauty. Compared
with the resplendent glory q tho other
stone. however. tho white ono seemed
to fade and grow dull. 1hc blue Of
this matchless gem is Of that
rarest tint that Is deemed the
absolute perfection Of the dia-
mond. giving It the hlyhcst re-
fractive power and greatest brilliancc
Of color. All the various and marvel.
ously-,inted fires that glow deep in
the heart If tho royal opal seemed 10
dart in vivificd and intensified flames
from its facets Quivering in the
spring-shanked clamps its cvcr-chang-
ing play Of dazzlingly brilliant color
provoked an optical illusion by which
it appeared to dilate and contract. rs
il it were pulsating with life.
The adventures Of this regal gem
have been rather romantic. In 1910
it disappeared from among tho treas
ures Of Isabella of Spain. but whether
it was captured in the looting Of the
palace or was stolen by an officer Of
the royal household under cover of
tho prevailing disturbancos-as Is by
como allcged-is undetermined Al
all events. it got to Amsterdam
where it was recut with great i'm
Pavement Of its brilliancy. and
twenty years later was rcsold tn |
Queen Isabella, whose circumstances
had bothered in that interim. But BY
1871 her vicissitudinous luck had
changed again. and she had to sell il |
in Paris An American gentleman
bought it and brought it over here.
thinking that he knew ct
mate for il. but when tho stone
he had in mind was compared
with it the intended match seemed
hardly more than blue glass Back to
Paris he sent his gem. to have a mate
found for it there. and for several
years the quest was continued vainly
all over Europe. Two or three years
ago hc got 1t back. hoping that in the
mean time the many diamonds bought
In late years by our numerous million
aires might be match for it. There
docs not however. seem to be as yet
any prospect Of realization for his
hope. Since it has been In his hands
be has had it subjected TO another
cutting for the perfec'ing Of some Of
il facets. in which operation it was
by a thirty-second of carat
from its previous weight Of ST carats
Rubies can hardly bc said to have
become cheap. my more than dia-
nonda One. owned in this city. that
s only four carats in weight is es-
:cemed to be worth g. 600. and that
Notwithstanding the fact that it is not
II tho true pigeon BLOOD tint In
,thcr respects than color. how ever. il
S said to be one Of the most perfectly
'aultless rubies in the world. y
San
"A man who lives near Shelby.
lille. Mo-. ID a firm believer in tho
legend. He wanted to
Know for sure" whether or not there
a. ~ - ,,~~,, .cr:u~ and a. nm thn |