San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-05-16
GEMS AND JEWELS RARE.
DIAMONDS STILL KEEP THE LEAD
AMONG VALUABLE STONES.

Emeralds and Rubies Getting Scarce.
A Doublet-An Uncommon Stone-Gems
Distinctively American.
Diamonds are still trumps among
Jewels" said jewelers. clerk in a State
street store, ''and, in spite of the chang
ing fashions in jewels, the diamond re-
mains the king of precious stones as far as
popularity goes Turquoise, sapphires,
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,
a fine three carat ruby is worth $45 any
time, and the emerald is worth nearly as
much Some very common rubies will
bring $50 to 800. There are fewer rubies
being found every year. 1t is the same
with emeralds, besides the latter are sci.
dom perfect. l cannot recollect having
ever seen a flawless emerald, and / don't
believe any one else in the store ever did
either. In every one of them will be
found a feather, a crack, or cloud of
some kind. 1t seems as if every stone had
been struck with hammer and stunned
The edges will be all right, but the
center will look as if it had cracked with
or flaw of some sort. Rubies are apt to
be the same, although not so much so as
emeralds. Those emeralds on that cotton
what a doublct is? Why, it's manu-
featured stone; that is, it is joining of
two stones. Look at this emerald Pretty,
isn't it? Beautiful tint of green. Now
turn it upside down. There, see that rim
IF ha aI1 or ol1ro
has that, no matter what the color of the
amalgamated stones was. But it only
shows when you turn the stone upside
down. See, they have even put 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 it that"
''Do you not have to guard against
spuriousness in other gems besides the
diamond:"
Certainly. Turquoise is simulated by
jewel counterfeiters. Two small and infe-
that will cause even experts to exer Use
the greatest care in examining. Or
they will be pulverized and mixed up
the new jewel will have nearly all the
brilliancy of color and polish of surface
possessed by the genuine article. The
light blue Persian turquoise is the rare
variety at present and is very expensive"
''In the window is white sapphire.
How is that? l supposed all sapphires
were blue"
''Then you supposed wrong, but you
unit he r. 10 hi,1x
that all sapphires are blue, but that is far
from the truth. The one in the window
is pure white, as pure as a diamond. Be-
sides those there are violet, pink and
yellow sapphires. The violet and pink
extra fine jewels. The yellow sapphires
which comes also in yellow and brown
and pale green. 1t is rather uncommon
stone and very beautiful one"
"What is that green stone on the cot
ton in the corner?"
''That is another very uncommon stone.
They call it Alexandria. 1t is an orien-
tai jewel, and there are not many brought
to this country. 1t is very expensive and
is very highly priced by connoisseurs, who
are the purchasers of most of them. 1t is
the day it is as you see it, dirty green,
but by night it is full of reddish lights.
1t comes in various sizes, from one to
eight carats, and is sometimes almost as
expensive as a diamond"
Are opals popular?'
"Much moro so than they were. There
was time when you could hardly sell an
opal at any price. Now there is a CON-
tious regarded them as unlucky, and so
widespread was the hallucination that it
was seldom you saw one worn"
'How about cat's-eyesF'
'Cat's eyes are very hard stones, found
in various countries. The best come from
Persia and the east. / have one of q
brownish tint that is worth $500 any day.
A cats eye weighing three carats will
pensive and very popular. The tigers
eye is not a 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
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 valable?'
81 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. do not think
this country, however, will ever produce
very many diamonds; still it Is interest
ing to know that genuine stones can really
be met with occasionally. Here's an odd
stone, that notified green and black one