Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-05-08
GEMS AND JEWELS RARE.
DIAMONDS STILL KEEP THE LEAD
AMONG VALUABLE STONES.

AMONG VALUABLE STONES.
Chat with Chicago jewelers. Clerk
Emeralds and Kubies Getting Scarce
A Doubiei-An Uncommon stone-Gems
DIstInctively American.
Diamonds are still trumps among
Jewels" said q jewelers. clerk in State
street store, ''and, in spite Of the chang
ing fashions in jewels, the diamond re-
mains the king OF precious stones ~ far as
popularity goes Turquoise, sapphi'es,
emeralds and rubies are increasing in
popularity, however, and are very expen-
sive The emerald and ruby seem tC be get
ting scarcer and dearer every year why,
n fine three carat ruby is worth $40 any
lime and the emerald is worth nearly as
much. Some very common rubies VIII
bring $50 to 500 There are fewer rubies
being found every year. II Is the same
with emeraids, besides the latter are sell
dom perfect. | cannot recollect having
ever seen IA fawless emerald, and don
believe any one else in the store ever did
either. In every one OF them will be
found feather, n crack, or "a cloud OF
some kind IL seems a. If every stone had
been struck with II hammer and stunned.
The edges will De all right, but the
center viii look as if il had cracked with
out splitting, or else there will be n cloud
or flaw Of some sort. Rubies are apt to
be the same, although not so much SO as
emeralds Those emeraldS on that cotton
there are 'doublets.' Don't you know
what doubet is2 Why, it's a manu-
featured stone; that is it is joining OF
two stones. Look at this emerald. Pretty,
isn't itY Beautiful tint Of green. Now
turn 1t upside down. There, see that rim
OF red around the edges doublet always
has that, no matter what the color Of the
amagamated stones was. But it only
shows when you turn the stone upside
down. See, they have even put a flaw in
the surface to further simulate genuine
ness. They can make doublets Of any
stones which will cement together, and
make them so cleverly that the unprac-
ticed eye will never detect the fraud-if
you call ii that"
''Do you not have to guard against
spuriousness in other gems besides the
diamcndF'
Certainly. Turquoise IL simulated by
Jewel counterfeiters Two small and infe-
rior stones will be doubled into a stone
that will cause even experts to exc" Use
the greatest care in examining Or
they will be puverzed and mixed up
with foreign matter in such way that
the new jewel will have nearly all the
brilliancy OF color and polish of surface
possessed by the genuine article. The
light blue Persian tlrQUo e is the rare
variety at present and is very expensive"
In the window is white sapphire.
How is THAR | supposed all sapphires
were blue
Then you supposed wrong. but you
are with the majority. Most people think
that all sapphres are blue, but tuat is far
from the truth. The one in the window
is pure white, rs pure as a diamond. Be-
sides those there nre violet, pink and
yellow sapphires The violet and pink
varieties are very beautiful and considered
extra fine jewels The yellow sapphires
partake of the nature Of the chrysoberyl,
which comes also in yellow and brown
and pale green. 1t is n rather uncommon
stone and n very beautiful one"
"What is that green stone on the cot
ton in the corner"
THAT is another very uncommon stone.
They call it AleXandrite. 1t is an orien-
tai jewel, and there are not many brought
to this country. 1t is very expensive aud
10 WY Hi-HiN IA ACAi ny tNllIhiSStulS, W nv
are the purchasers Of most of them. 1t is
n peculiar stone. changing its light. In
the day it is "a you see it, a dirty Green.
but 10y night it is full Of reddish lights.
II comes in various sizes. from one to
eight carats, and is sometimes almost as
expensive rs "A diamond"
Are opals POPULAR"
"Much more SO than they We're. There
was n time when you could hardly sell an
opal at any nrice. Now there is a CON
slant demand for them. The supersti-
tious regarded them as unlucky, and SO
widespread was the hallucination that it
was seldom You saw one worn"
"How about ut's-eyes?"
Cats eyes are very hard stones, found
in various countries. The best come from
Persia and the east. have one Of a
brownish tint that is worth 500 any day
A cats eye weighing three carats will
bring 5000 easily. Tigers eye are mex
pensive and very popular The tiger $
eye is not stone, as is generally supposed,
but petrified wood 1t is found in very
large quantities in northern Michigan,
but most Of the better kind comes from a
petritied forest Of Arizona. There they
find it in sections as large as tree trunk.
They are made up into scarf pins, rings
and other articles of jewelry."
(Which distinctively American stone is
the most valab.es'
II can't say that any distinctively
American stone is very valuable, but we
produce few diamonds. They come
from Iowa and Wisconsin. They are
small and are too yellow. l do not think
this country, however, will ever produce
very many diamonds; still 1t is interest
ing to know that genuine stones caHfeally
be met with occasionally. Here's an odd
stone. that notified green and black one,
They call 1t chrocilodite. They come
from northern Michigan, and in that size
are worth about SIS. Sometimes they
are notified and divide exactly like the
upper shell Of turtle, and once made g
scarf pin of one of them, fixing on the
legs, tail and head OF gold. We sell
quite few of those aquarlarines
and the pink topaz, which is quite
common nowadays, is greatly sought
after Here are some pearls. No, that's
an imitation, l thought you would be de-
ceived. think they are made Of wax,
but they have succeeded in making as per-
feet an imitation as is possible. They pre-
serve, too. the irregular shape of the
genuine pearl BY the way. might say
right here that some OF the prettest pearls
we get are found in the fresh water CLANS
of Illinois and Other western states. Look
at these and the lewelcr showed hand
full of pearls all the way from twice the
size OF a grain OF wheat down to tbPt OF a
pins head They We're irregular in shape,
but must OF them were full of subdued
and delicate half tinIs Of blue, purple and
pink. These are first rate pearls for
their size and come from the Miami,