, 1889-06-01
MAKE-eeLIevE DIAMONDS.
The Way French Paste Il Made and
Slammed on NJ the Real Article


The Way French Pasto Is Made and
Slammed on NJ tho Real Article.
The formula for compromising French
paste, which Is a peculiar kind of glass
perfected In Paris by Donault- Wieland,
is as follows: Rock crystal, six ounces;
red lead, nine and aquarter ounces; pure
carbonate Of potash, three ounces and
three drachms; boracic acid, three
drachms; white arsenic, six grains.
When fused, thoroughly interblended,
cooled, cut and polished, in diamond
forms, 1t takes n good expert 10 tell the
gems so made from the real ones. Tho
moro oxide of lead is added, up to a GER
tain point, the greater is the resultant
brilliancy, but the softer the glass and
consequently the less permanency TO its
effect.
Persons of means invest In bogus gems
for various reasons. One does not care
to keep locked up In mere ornament the
large amount of money that would be
required 10 purchase diamonds in such
size and number as society might expect
him or her to have, so a few really fine
stones arc purchased for habitual wear,
to challenge criticism, and q brilliant ar
ray OF French pastes" is provided for
show upon occasions when big display is
expected and there will be no danger of
close critical inspection. The few real
stones have made n reputation that
covers the others. Who Is going to sus-
pect q very rich man or one
of the ''400"-of wearing bogus gems?
And yet the very rich are just the ones
who do veal them most. Another per-
son In society may be the actual owner
of n fine lot of family diamonds, which
are temporarily In pledge, a fact that
must not DO suspected by others, and will
not, SC long as French paste" can show
its honest glitter in the seeming likeness
of the hypothecated treasures. Still
another may own plenty of diamonds
md actually ave them In possession,
too, yet be too prudent to expose them to
the danger of loss or theft in q mixed
multitude, 80 long MS all the effect of
their splcndor may be produced at much
less risk.
Rubies and sapphires are even more
successfully initiated than diamonds.
The limitations of them actually possess
b samo chemical composition as the
real stones. Equal quantities of aluminia
and red lead are heated to a red heat In
an earthenware crucible. A vitreous
substance Is formed, which consists of
silicate of lead and crystal of white
corondum. These are fused with BIZ
chromate of potassium to form the ruby,
or with q little oxide of cobalt and n very
small quantity of bichromate of potas-
SUM to mako the sapphire. The gems
so made are expensive, but much less so
than the real stones, and are very hard,
with fine luster and excellent color, II
the proportions of tho materials are ex-
actly right Emeralds, topazes, garnets
and various other more or less valuable
gems are well initiated in glass colored
with different ~ilicates and oxides. Sham
pearls arc also so well made that, when
properly set, they cannot be distinguished
from genuine ones. They are simply
beads of clear glass coated inside with n
lustrous solution obtained from the scales
of some small fshes-bleak and dace. 1t
takes the scales of 10000 of the fishes to
mako two pounds of tho solution, which
Is called Essence d'Orient." The imita-
ton pearls are more durable thar the
real ones, which are liable to be injured
by p~erspiration or various other incidents
of wear.-Philadelphia Times.