The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-10-11
FRENCH PASTE JEWELS.
NOW DIAMONDS. RUBIES AND Sap
PH1RES ARE co UNTERFEITED.

"A IkODert ElStnero' AuLnOTohb--Oho Oh
the Doctor-shopping as a Fine Art.
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 a quarter ounces; pure car
Donate of potash, three ounces and
and three drachms; boracic acid, three
d%rachns; white arsenic, six grains.
When fused, thoroughly interblended,
cooled, cut and polished, in diamond
forms, it takes a good expert to tell
the gems so made from the real ones.
The more oxide of lead is added, up
to a certain point, the greater is the
resultant brilliancy, but the softer the
glass and consequently the less per-
manency 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 to purchase
diamonds in such size and number as
society, might expect him or her to
have, so n few really fine stones are
purchased for habitual wear, to chai-
lenge criticism, and a brilliant array
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 a
reputation that overs the others.
Who is going to suspect a very rich
man or woman-say n OF n '40O'
-of wearing bogus gems?
And yet the very rich are just the
ones who do wear them most.
Another person In society may oe the
actual owner of a fine lot OF family
diamonds, which are temporarily in
| pledge, q fact that must not be sus-
pected by others, and will not SO long
as French paste" can show its honest
glitter in the seeming likeness of the
~hypothecated treasures. Still another
may own plenty of diamonds and
actually have them in possession, too,
yet be too prudent to expose them to
the danger of loss or theft in a mixed
multitude, so long as all the effect OF
their splendor may be produced at
much less risk.
Rubies and sapphires are ever more
successfully initiated than diamonds.
The limitations of them actually pos
sess the same chemical composition as
the real stones. Equal quantities OF
aluminia and red lead are heated to a
red heat in an earthen crucible. A
vitreous substance is formed, which
consists of silicate of lead and crystal
! of white corondum. These are fused
with bichromate of potassium to form
the ruby, or with a little oxide Of
cobalt and a very small quantity OF
bichromate of potassium to make the
sapphire. The gems SO made are ex-
pensive, but much less SO than the
real stones, and are very hard, with
| fine lustre and excellent color, ii
| the proportions of the materials are
exactly right. Emeralds, topaZes,
garnets and various other o. or
less valuable gems are well initiated
in glass covered with different s~ilicates
and oxides. Sham pearls are 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 a
lustrous solution obtained from the
scales of some small fishes-bleak and
dace. 1t takes the scales of 100000 of
the fishes to make two pounds of the
solution. which is called Essence
d'Orient.n The imitation pearls are
more durable than the real ones,
which are liable to be injured by pers-
| piration or various other incidents of
wear.-PhalGdezphda Times.
Living in Mexico.
The cost of living in Mexico need
not be great. A good room can be
had for 81 a day and board at a good
cafe for $2S a month. Whatever may
be the experience OF foreigners who
will stop at places where they are
robbed, who will hire guides to go
every block or two with them and
who are too ignorant of the language
| to protect themselves-in spite of this,
a much smaller income suffices me
here than in the same-siZed cities of
the United States. One does not
always get the same quality of fare or
attendance, or what else he pays for,
as in the States, but Mexico ought
not be judged yet by New York or
Paris standards. The wonder is that
a country so long isolated from the
rest of the world and struggling with
so many difficulties of race, religion
and education should possess as many
of the comforts of high civilization as
it really does Washington Star.
A Bold Stroke for a Wife.
Among the passengers who boarded
the Burlington express for the north
Friday was a comely young German
| girl named Anna Schwartz. She has
been living with a respectable family
in this city for q number OF years and
| bears an irreproachable character. In
| Orient, ID. IT,, a well to do German
farmer named Jacob S~hillinger has
resided for a number of years and
amassed a competency. Several
months ago he wrote letter to his old
home in Germany, telling them that
he was lonely and wanted them to
| send him a wife. His people cast
| about them and learned that a young
girl of their village had come to
America four or five years ago and
| settled in Kansas City. They obtained
| her address and sent it to Jacob Shil-
| linger, who forthwith wrote to her.
| They had never seen each other, but
knew each others families, and the
| result was that Anna agreed to be-
come Mrs. Shillinger and the mistress
of a Dakota ranch. Jacob was too
busy with his wheat and hay to come
| to Kansas City after the fraulein, and
Yesterday morning Mr.. Harry Orr, of
II n.lsAu+lx .1IJ 49, ,1.of+xV H..