The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-09-20
TRICKS OF GEM DEALERS.
Inexperienced Purchasers Often De
ceived by Dishonest Peddlsrs.

ceived by Dishonest Peddlsrs.
From the Detroit Free Press.
AS no diamonds are produced in Nortl
America, the supply must come from foi
eign markets. The temptation to smuggit
would be great were it not that the govern
ment has wisely placed the duty on all cl-
and unset precious stones at the nomina
rate of 10 per cent. This low rate secures
more income from this source than a tariff
of IS per cent. or more, as the incentive t.
sluuggle is not sufficient to tempt any but
the most avaricious or foolhardy among i'm
porters.
To buy dlamonds-and the same may be
said of all other precious stones and pearls
in Europe advantageously, the buyer
must be sufficiently well informed from
long practice in buying in these markets
and from a special study of the nature Ct
precious stones, to enable him to place cor
rect values on parcels submitted for his in
spection.
The novice, or one having only the limited
knowledge of the subject of gems which
is acquired by occasionally handling them,
can not possess the qualifications needed
to deal successfully with the ''sharpestn and
shrewdest lot of merchants and brokers in
any line of trade, as the diamond merchants
and brokers of Hatton Garden and Paris
are admitted to be.
Amsterdam is the great workshop where
most of the diamond cutting has been done
for centuries. Antwerp, Harlaem, Lon
don and other places now cut large quaint
ties of diamonds, while London has always
led in the cutting and polishing of the fine
colored stones like the ruby, sapphire and
emerald.
Although Amsterdam cuts a large per-
centage OF stones, the ma kets for their ale
are London and Paris. Not only are the
large stocks of cut and uncut diamond ,
owned in these cities, but the controlling iu-
terest in the mines is owned here also. On
tho discovery of the great deposits of dia-
| monds in Africa. mining was done by claim
| owners, who were known as 'diggers"
| Now these claims are owned by several cor
porations having headquarters in London
| and Paris, and these corporations regulate
| the production of the mines. Prices are
| thus kept at more uniform rates, and "a
break in the market is prevented. If there
| should be a sharp demand in Paris stocks
| are sent over from London, and vice versa.
| Brokers are the mediums through which
most transactions in the precious stones are
made. The craft is made up from both
sexes The writer has recollection of quite
| extensive transactions with female dia-
mond broker, who displayed as much
shrewdness and business Intelligence as any
| of the male members of the profession he
has met.
There are "tricks of the trade" innumer-
able. One consists i'll showing the very
| lowest grade of stones first, so that when at
| last rather inferior grade is reached 10y a
| crescendo process the buyer b comes some
| what confused i'll his efforts to fix in his eve
| the exact quality under examination. For
aid in selecting very high grad. diamonds
a 'test stone" OF known quality is invsl-
liable.
Diamonds of staple or medium quality
ranging from one grain to six grains. or
from one-half TO one and one half carats
weight, may be purchased as advantage
ously of the New York importers as in the
| foreign markets, but the larger and finer
| grades are found in London and Paris in
| much greater quantities, giving wider
| choice for the lullcious buyer.
In these higher grades there are very
| slight fluctuations i'll prices from year 10
year and, therefore, as an Investment, I ey
are the better goods TO buy, particularly
when they are well bought.
Even in so large market as London, IL a
dealer wants a pair OF unusually fine gems
or "A very fine solitaire, IL is not prudent to
place an orde With more than one broker,
| for IL two or more are started on the hunt
a process of bidding against one another
ensues aud prices go up. The ''stlll hunt is
the most profitable.
s ould ruby OF three carats and the
finest quality be desired, the intending pur-
chaser would find it necessary to wait per-
| haps for mohths before such Il stone could
! be found. and then at first hands it would
cost the price of a kings ransom--say about
the ransom of Sandwich Island king
| $4,000.