Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-08-27

! NE w " that such a process is
palpably impracticable.
To begin with, diamond dust is not soluble in
| hydrofuoric reid. As a matter Of fact the
counterfeit gems are simply French paste,
which is a kind of glass containing an extra
| quantity OF lead. When cut in facets it has
more play Of color and FIRE than roca crystal,
| though without luster.
| Enormous quantities of paste diamonds are
imported to New York and distributed over the
united States every year. They cost about rs
cents apiece by the gross. They are made in
France, where the business of cutting them is an
extensive industry. Wholesale dealers here do
them up for sale in parcels of white paper,
| numbered according to size. Hundreds Of
thousands of them are mounted in plated jew
elry at Providence and Attleboro. A manu-
facturer who wishes to make fifty gross of
cheap diamond rings studs sends on a sam
pie ring or stud with order for a correspond
ing number Of ''stones' of the required size.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN GEMS
In the west there is great sale for "Rocky
mountain gems as they are called. They are
supposed to be precious stones of various kinds
obtained from rich deposits Of such valuable
minerals along the backbone of the continent
In reality they are nothing but cut glass. The
faklr who deals in them usually comes to town
In the guise of jewel merchant and hires
window in shoe shop or some other reputable
business establishment on the principal street.
wherein he spreads out attractively a lot of
red. blue and green "sparklers,' in
cindlng choice assortment of alleged
diamonds. The colored ones are repre-
scented as rubies sapphires and emeralds
all native. They are not worth 10 cents each
but they sell for dollars, being usually weighed
out by tho carat for the sake of impre ssiv eness
Not long ago vender of such wares in New
York palmed off number of 25-cent diamonds
M ha IN 81 & CA
against him, but he escaped on the ground that
the gems" had not been returned to him as
unsatisfactory within thirty days.
THE GULLIBLE PUBLIC
Mr.. Geo. F. kunz, the New York diamond ex-
pert, had conversation in Denver with one of
these fakirs, who told him that he had made
$1,000 at the business in three months ON a
capital Of SIT. "A lady came in here the other
day. SAID Mr.. hunz to writer for The STAR,
with some glass gems in silver settings. She
wanted them set in gold, but 1 suggested
to her that silver was quite good
enough for them She was astonished
to learn that they we're not real precious stones.
having been obliged to wait three weeks at a
hotel In Hot Springs, Ark, while a dealer
there pretended to be engaged in cutting
them. People are commonly gullible
that 1T is no wonder swindlers are SO plentiful.
,ilass diamonds and rubies are often made
bri6iant and given an artificial luster by silver
ing the settings at the back, or by
fitting small metal caps filed with mercury
over the stones behind. An old method is
to take piece of rock crystal, heat it and dip
it into cold colored solution. This cracks the
crystal, which is infiltrated BY the coloring
matter 30 a. to give il the look of a sapphire.
emerald or what not. OF course il has the an
pearance OF being very much fawed Another
process is to make the gem out Of two pieces
OF crystal, joining them with a transparent
rod hlfrnn II.
cement appears to the eye disseminated
through the stone.
THE EFFECTIVE DOUBLErs.
1.-The most effective counterfeits Of precious
stones are what are known as doublets To
make explanation clear let us consider a
diamond to be divided into two parts by the
plane of the girdle. Now. if you substitute
piece Of French paste for the lower part of the
stone and fasten ii with a transparent glue to
the upper part You have u doublet. 1t is
nothing but bit Of glass with q real diamond
top, but it is very likely to deceive even the eye
Of an expert The usual method of manufact-
ure is to take thin slip Of diamond for the
top. uniting it with gum mastic to the paste
bottom. Supposing that the top weighs a carat
and half and is worth SIPS. the imitation thus
produced will weigh four carats and will repre-
sent stone having value of $1,000 But
doublets are most commonly made with rubjes
sapphires and emeralds. To manufacture an
emerald in this way the top may be of red garnet,
white rock crystal or white topaz. Green glass
Is used for the bottom. and the two are attached
with gum mastic. Though it seems incredible,
the green OF the glass neutraliZes the red RAYS
of the garnet SO that they are not perceptibie.
lfgarnet is employed, the joining Ii best effected
by heating when the surfaces are slightly fused
The process is the same for rubies and sa pphires
only that red glass and blue glass are used for
them respectively.
CoLoRING sAPPHIREs,
"White sapphres are made to look blue and
thus multiplied many fold in value by a mere
touch Of blue coloring on the point at the bot
tom of the stone. throughout which the blue
rays distribute themselves. The same effect is
sometimes obtained by the use of little blue
enamel in the setting. Speaking of painting
gems, dare say you remember the sensation
that was made few years ago by a newly in
vented fraud which consisted in applying a blue
anlline wash to off-color and slightly yellow
diamonds. The process made them seem
brilliant blue white. increasing their apparent
value enormously. A great many Of these
cheats we're successfully marketed, but il hap
pened one day that purchaser washed one of
them in alcohol, which promptly removed the
tint. They were quite water proof.
SELLING POOR STONES.
Most Of the cheating in diamonds is done
by selling poor stones for good ones There is
popular notion that diamonds can be bought
more cheapiy from pawnbrokers than from
reputable jewellers. Nevertheless. it is likely
that the money lenders are very well acquainted
with the value Of the stones they offer for sale,
and the gems exposed in their windows on
white cards marked Great bargain, $780,
and 80 forth. are never worth the prices asked
for them. Such collections are the refuse of
the market, not desired by the dealers to whom
they have previously been offered, being COM
posed of otf-color. fawed and 'spread-that is,
too broad for their depth-stones. It pays to
buy the finest diamonds only, even though
they be small. Poor ones are a bad invest
ment, like shoddy clothes. They have gone
down very much in price within the last few
years. and it is not considered good form to
wear them. On trying to sell them the owner
always finds that he can get but a small frac-
ton OF what he paid for them, whereas gems of
first-rate quality will bring from SO to IS per
cent
OTHER METHODS OF CHEATING AND RoBBrNo.
Dishonest dealers sometimes arrange Off
colored diamonds black cotton or in black
paper and try to sell them at peoples houses or
at hotels in the evening. OF course, no person
who knows what he is about will buy precious
stones except by daylight. Yellow diamonds
are sometimes set with backing Of black paste
To make them seem white. Disreputable Jewell
ers will occasionally substitute inferior gems
for fine ones in necklaces or other Jewels
broug hit 10 them reDairinO nil avepta