The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1889-06-04

form of large heavy and apparently val
liable seal ring of solid gold, with
an engraved monogram in the ONYX
setting. The ends of the "box" con :
tanning the setting and the edges of the
hoop encircling the finger upon which il
was worn, were of good gold, but all the
rest OF the metal was a base alloy, hay-
ing the color and almost the weight Of
geld, but of almost no value. The edge
and end plates had simply been soldered
on. Evidently, the thing had been gotten
up expressly to deceive pawnbrokers. 1t
is their practice, when q gold ring Is
offered as pledge, to rub its edge on a
bit of milestone, and test the color with a
touch of acid. This ring stood the test
perfectly, for the only spots liable to be
rubbed were solid gold, but its worth was
not over dollar. while the unfortunate
pawnbroker had advanced three dollars
upon il. Of course il had been offered in
the evening, when the light was not good
enough for detection by sight, even with a
glass OF the fraudulent joining of the
metals.
Over on the east side of New York in the
Tenth and Seventeenth wards, live Q great
many skilful jewellers, workmen. who, by
reason OF the large competition in their in
dustry, never get very large wages. and
who, owing to the periodicily of the Jewell
ry manufacturing business, which has short
SEASONS OF abnorm 81 activity, with long
stretches OF dizziness between, can never
count upon steady employment for the
maintenance OF themselves ard their fire.
quently large families. Numbers of these
men, when out Of employment by manufac-
turers, work at home two or three DAYS of
each week and devote the remaining time
10 dlsposing-with the aid of their families
-of the products of their industry. The
things they make are technically SHOWN q,
"garret shop goods" Their capir al being
small and their skill often very considers-
bic. they turn out work at q very low cost
and OF but little value, that looks exceed
ingly well, at least until il has had little
wear-and naturally they seek for the
largest sttainrble returns from their labor.
Cunning In The composition of alloy, apt in
copying or designing graceful forms, deft
10 modelling them and skilful in the econ
omical applications of the little bits of
gold that they-haying neither crucibls
nor furnace and needing none-melt on
charcoal with blow pipe, they will get
up ring not worth dollar, which they
will probably sell in a saloon or to some
woman at her hcme for four or five dollars
or even more. The simathy evoking tale
Of hard times" 'ring cherished as a men.
to OF affections" "bread more needed than
jewels" and all that sort of a thing goes
without extra charge. If all else fails,
there is the pawnbroker to fall back upon
aud 1t is with an eye on him that the gold
is put where ii will do most good.
But it is not only the poverty driven
workmen who play such sharp tricks in
the Jewel business nor even the unscrupu-
lous manufacturers who make gold chains
OF silver-illsd wire. 1t is fact we'll known
now among diamond experts that an sod
color" or yellouish diamond, if dipped in
blue aniline ink, will show no trace of its
yellowish tinge, but seem q brilliant pure
white stone of many times the value of its
dingy brother-until it is washed, and il
has to be washed in alcohol to expose its
real character. That discovery was made
IN Paris. 1t is said to be matter of posi-
tive knowledge aod common whispered re-
port in the trade, that when that trick be.
came known to q certain firm of diamond
dealers in New York, they made
bold plunge for sudden fortune.
Not only did they buy up all the impos-
ing looking yellow stones they could get
cheaply 10 this country, but ordered .
large quantity. from Europe. An aniline
bath for the lot transformed them into
white brilliants. Then, several men were
sent out travelling all over the country, TO
sell and pawn those metamorphosed dia-
monds for as much as they could obtain.
In nearly all instances the nrices mt uDOu
them were high enough to avert suspicion
IS to either their value or the right to dis
poss of them, yet sufficiently below the
valne of stones, their weight and apparent
purity, to make them seem great bargains.