Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1891-09-30
DAZZLING DIAMONDS.
A Dealers Interesting Talk on the Sclntil.
lating Beauties.

OAZZEING DIAMONDS.
A Dealers Interesting Talk on the ScIntil-
lating Beauties.
"Women exhibit much more refined
taste in the wearing of iewelry than
they did few years ago." remarked a
well-known jeweler to reporter this
morning, "but the dear things cost just
as much to ornament as ever, if not
more. The unobtrusive diamond that
wrinkles from the center of a tiny
pendant costs fully as much as the
gorgeous photographic gold medals with
which women were wont to bedeck
themselves short time ago.
photographic gold medals may not
be a correct term for the old style of
jewelry, scientifically speaking" he
continued, "but it expresses my opinion
of that sort of stuff. Why, our women
looked like barbarians few years ago,
and they needed but ring through
their noses to be real bowling Orientals.
They were painfully loud, even as it
was.
How do we jewellers like the change?
Bless you, we are delighted. We save
thousands Of dollars annually In stor-
age alone. Our stock now can be kept
within reasonable bounds. The jewelry
worn to-day is more expensive than that
Of former years, as precious stones are
being used more and more. Diamonds,
for instance, are now within the reach
of anybody who is comfortably fixed.
Time can not dull the pure brilliancy OF
these stones, and, while all that have
ever been on the market are still there,
others are being added from time to
time, as the diamond fields are more
thoroughly worked. A small diamond
of the purest water can be purchased
for five dollars. OF course, the immense
stones, such as are worth several thou
sands OF dollars, are bought up from
time to time by rich families, and thus
for q time taken out of the market;
but still many diamond has passed
through many a proud race and
at last has found a resting place in a
jewelers. casket. A diamond is like a
man. Let them rise to whatever proud
heights they may, and let the whole
world gaze enraptured upon their daz-
zling brilliancy, it is to this end they
must both return and begin new life
in simple casket.
Here is a jewel that illustrates my
point exactly. Twenty-three years ago
last February, as / was about to close
up one terribly stormy night, shabby
young man entered my shop and Of
fered to sell me gold ring containing
this stone surrounded by ring of small
sparklers. He asked one hundred and
fifty dollars for the ring, saying 1t was
all he had in the world. Ordinarily, 1
would have fatty refused to deal with
such person, fearing to buy stolen
property, and indeed, 1 put him off
that night with lame excuse, al
though admitted the value of the
stone, and asked him to call around
the next day. He declared that he
must dispose of 1t that night, and his
anxiety made me more fearful, and at
last firmly refused to have anything
further to do with him until the next
day. On the morrow he came to me,
saying that he had pawned the ring for
a trifing sum, as he was forced to do so
to get accommodation for the night but
desired me to go with him to the pawn
brokers' shop and examine the stone
more closely. I did so, and struck a
bargain with him and paying him the
difference between my price and the
pawn debt, carried off the jewel. / was
strictly business man then, and asked
no questions, although the fellow could
probably have told an interesting story
about the stone. Well, / reset the
stone in a lady's ring and a month later
it was carried off by an exultant lover,
and it sparkled on the hand of blush
ing bride in high life soon after. We
jewelers. keep track of fine stone for
years, for we realize the ups and downs
of fortune. Well to give you the
facts of the case without the
romance, ten years later / paid
a half-starved, shivering woman
exactly what her lover had paid
me for the ring week before her mar
riage, and as she led away her golden
haired girl she felt that she was rich
with what she would have thrown aside
decade before. The next purchaser
was a portly old gentleman, who gave
it to his young wife. whom he had taken
from her school books to assume the
management of grand old mansion
1t was just two years ago that the old
gentleman. still hale and hearty, en-
tered my shop leading by the hand a
bright-eyed little fellow, whom he in
troduced as his son and heir. Then he
stated the object of his visit. He said
the ring reminded him too much and too
painfully of the fair young mother who
never saw the face of her baby boy He
offered it to me at bargain, and now
for two years it has remained in this
simple casket waiting for another ad-
venture. Times-Star.