Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-01-14
DYEENG PRECIOUS STONES.
How Onerstein People Garry on the Iadus
try of Making erumm sGem Jswolry.
Pail Mall Gazette.

try of Making Srumm Sc IN JSWoiry.
Pail Mall Gazette.
There is an industrial village called
Oberstein, on the Maize. snd not isr from
the Rhine, which have visited, and cor
corning which l can therefore speak from
personal experience. That village is &C.
casionslly visited by English people, VINO,
after inspecting it's shops, fenc}-as
tourists delight to do-tha. they have dis
covered an unknown source of precious
things Exquisite jewelry, superb
leps laZuli necklaces, every bead OF
which is a treasure; gorgeous sgates,
marvellous crocidolite CT undreamed-
OF tints-ol late even blood-red tint
hiss been obtained. Alas. for the
tourists future sslf-co1 ii fence, when on
his return home he fl IDS his iswelry all
brass, his lspides all dyed! That villages
industry is devoted to the making ct what
is known as Brummsgem Iewelry and the
dyeipg of chslcedQny, etc, for export.
lis products a1e solfeverywhere.
Pleasant, very! Can you explain the
proce SIS, as it seems extraordinary that
anything so hard as agate should be
capable of being dyed right through?
"Agste is only one form OF chalcedony
out of many. TIE onyx, csrnelian, blood
some, are other forms familiar TO most
people. I saw the processes, but the
workers were too wary to explain their
secrets. Different families have different
processes for producing similar results,
and in some cases one fsmily's process
will fail with given piece Of stone WIN en-
another's will succeed. II is Impossible
for the most experienced experts to say
beforehand, without trial, what colors
the various bands OF the chslcedony
will take. Before purchasing 'lots' OF
stone for manipulation at the auctions
whence the supply OF raw material is OBJ
tanned every pit or piece Of each 'lot' has
to be tested by trial, small chips being
used for this purpose. As regards the
processes, ell can say is that in the case
Of egates and onyXes, these being 'oandt d
chslceGony'-that Is, cbalcedopy with
bands of various degrees Of density-the
specimens are placed in pots containing
the coloring matter and are then SUD-
j. cted to s great heat for periods varying
from few hours up TO fortnight Or
more. Certain bands take color, others
do not. The stone is after the first given
a second snd perhaps several more stew
logs in pots containing different coloring
mix ures. In time every band has re-
ceived the color partial TO it, so to speak
The results are the beautiful OnyXes AND
agates you see everywhere. The c.rne-
liau, not being banded, and being OF a
different density, is treated differen ly
to enrich the natural color. hest being
the most potent factor. F.ourspar is CO.
pable Of great improvement in its appear
ance by being subjected to heat, and the
crocldolite, which has lately come so
much 10 the front, owing to recent large
discoveries, but the price Of an onrce Of
which not long ago would buy ton to day,
is also dyed past recognition, means of
giving it, as have said, blood red tint
having been hit upon. One family has
the sole secret OF converting crocidolite
into Seats. eye The 'cat's-eye' and the
emerald are the most EASILY initiated
stones. Arsgonite, crocidolite, and even
ibrous gypsum, and some Of the horn
blondes are few OF the substances from
which imitation 'cst's-eyes' are made. l
have n 1t mentioned all The stones treated
at O5ersteip, but those have given You
are the first that occur to me-"