The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1889-09-26
GEMS THAT ARE BOGUS.
PRECIOUS STONES MADE BY ARTI.
FICIAL MEANS,

Dollars Worth of Sparks.
"That is very beautiful stone, said
Star reporter to Washington jeweler,
calling the latter's attention to dark
purple gem of considerable size, with a
vivid red fire, which lay in satin lined
box within the glass show case, sit
seems very cheap, too, for its apparent
value"
'lt is cheap for the reason that it is
not a real stone,' replied the dealer.
"An imitation
mo; it is not an imitation, On the
contrary il does not at all resemble, to
the eye of an expert, any gem that is
known in nature. II is simply chemi.
cal product; that is ALL You see, the
chemists having abandoned the manufac-
ture of gold as hopeless are trying now
to make precious stones artifcially, and
with some success | dare say you are
not aware that actual, bona-fde diamonds
have been artidcially manufactured for
years. An English experimenter first ac-
accomplished the feat and 1t has been sue
cessfully repeated many times since. The
only trouble is that the diamonds turned
out by chemical artitice are almost micro
scopic and therefore practically worthless.
"But other stones can be made artif-
cially of profitable size9"
IA few. No real gem, however, except
the diamond, has been fairly reproduced
exactly as it is found in nature, though
limitations are plentiful enough, The
precious stones made by the chemists, if
such they may be called are new inven-
tons to the lapidary. Many of them are
very beautiful. This purple one you
have asked about, for instance is lovely.
1t has been named the violence du cap, I"
and is as attractive jewel as many ma.
tural ones, four times its price. French
chemists are the great experts in this
branch of manufacture. and their inven-
tions are usually kept secret. Some of
the artificial gems they make are doubt
less pretty costly to produce, as for that
matter are the microscopic diamonds,
which are as expensive to turn out as
good big ones in the market"
"Are rubies made artifcially'"
Eyes; but not with entire success.
Two or three years ago, certain French
chemists claimed that they had discov-
cred a process for absolutely manufacture
ing big rubies in the labratory, by fusing
together small ruby sparks, such as can
be bought for almost nothing. If you
will remember that the value of the ruby
is neatly double that of the diamond, the
color and quality otherwise being first
rate, you can imagine what an agitation
such an announcement occasioned among
dealers. Nor was the announcement al
together without truth, as appeared from
the report made on the subject by the
celebrated Professor Friedel, of the
French Institute, who said that he found
the chemical composition, density, crys-
talline form and retroactive power of the
artificial specimens to correspond in every
respect with the natural ruby. The only
difference he could find was slight va
riation in the shape of the tiny air bub-
bles. However, the dealers threatened
to prosecute any one for fraud who ven
tured to issue the artificial rubies as real
ones, and inasmuch as their combination
is very rich and powerful, and the laws
against selling counterfeit jewels for ac-
tual ones are very strict in France, the
fused rubies have never got upon the
market. 1t was great scheme to make
| a $40, 900 ruby out of five dollars worth
of sparks.
THE sparks you speak of are real
| rubies, of course,"
sob! yes. That is the trouble about
rubies. There are plenty of them, but
very few good sized ones. The greatest
ruby fields in the world are those of
Burmah, where the natives have for
centuries been digging for them in the
most primitive and therefore most I'M
profitable manner. They are found in
| quantities in successive strata, with lay
ers Of earth and clay between at little
depth below the surface soil But nearly
all are so small as to be scarcely valuable.
Only occasionally big one, with the true
pigeon s-blood color, turns up. Rubies
are also largely obtained in Ceylon, where
the natives make business of hunting
| for them in the streams that come down
| from the huge cone of mountains in the
central part of the island. where it has
| been supposed for centuries that great
matrix of rubies existed, above the
clouds, from whence those found in the
rivers are washed down. Nor is such a
theory entirely without reason, though
nobody has been able to find the matrix
yet When discovered 1T will afford 8
profitable opportunity for the use of 8
few pounds of dynamite.
care there pearls from Ceylons"
''Yes, the waters theresbout are &
great pearl-fishing ground. Next spring
will be the harvest of pearls at Ceylon
which comes only once in three years
Between the harvests the natives wal
patiently for the oysters to grow. Pearls
are largely counterfeited, as you know
the best limitations being made of hollow
glass beads, lined with transparent wa,
and scales taken from living fish. Thu
pearl is chiefly composed of carbonate O
lime, with films of animal membrane be
tween its many layers. These membrau,
films, becoming dry, gives the pearl it
hardness. The substance of the pearl is
Shiny secretion of the oyster, which il
ordinarily deposited upon the interior
surface of the shell, forming what i
called mother of pearl. Grains of sane
or other foreign bodies, lodging within
the shell produce an irritation of tn