Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-07-30

20 that the common saying used in reference to
notorfously lucky man, that he cannot take
an oyster in his mouth without finding pearl
In it, lacks significance in fact
NEW IDEA IN yEwKLA
"dere ID an entirely new idea in Jewels
necklace Of pearls, with diamonds cut in the
shape Of beads and strung between the pearls.
two pearls for each diamond. The price is only
&22,O00. Another novelty Is green garnets
They come from Sysserk in the Urai noun
tains, and are very brilliant having play Of
color like diamonds. The finest small ones are
worth more than emeralds of the same size.
They are utilized chiefly Just now for making
jeweled frogs, fishes grasshoppers and katydids,
which are the latest fad in brooches and pins.
Il returned only = short time ago from q
most interesting region in the Crai, seven days.
journey beyond St. Petersburg, where a thou
sand people make their living BY seeking for
and cutting precious and semi precious stones.
The industry was founded By the Empress
Catherine. These artisans do certain kinds Of
work that are not done anywhere else in the
world. They carve ali sorts Of things out Of
rock crystal from a statuette to the exquisite
and delicate shell OF argonaut, using for the
purpose tiny revolving disks Of copper and soft
iron charged with diamond dust Among their
most wonderful productions are vases Of various
fruits. which are admirable couaterfeits OF ma
ture, including grapes Of amethyst. cherries Of
onyx, raspberries of rhodonite, mulberrles Of
yellow chalcedony, white currants of rock crys-
tai and green leaves Of 'serpentine. The car
has q factory in the Ural and another at Peter
hoff, where such things are turned ont for his
own private use ut an expense of $4,000 an
nually. Such Of the articles produced IA are
not required for himself he gives away as pres
ents. Very few are sold, it being only possible
occasionally to purchase duplicate specimen
Of the manufacture.
QCARTZ CRYSTAL BALLS.
Speaking Of quartz crystal the most i'm
portant use made Of the material is in the man
ufacture of balls. So difficult is it to obtain
piece that will yield q perfect ball Of more
than three inches In diameter that such spheres
increase enormously in value rs they 20 up in
size from that point. The largest one In the
United States is slightly more than six and
half inches In diameter and is worth 5000.
1t came originally from Japan. The biggest
and most perfect one known is in the green
vaults at Dresden. It's diameter IL very little
greater. Nearly all Of the crystal balls in the
market are offered for sale as Japanese but
most OF them are actually made in France and
Germany, the material being obtained from
Brazil and Madagascar. The old method of
manufacture practiced by the Japs was exceed
inSly laborious. They began by chipping the
substance into roughly spherical shape with
hammers, afterwards rendering it smooth and
perfectly round by rolling it with Cater and sand
in trough, thea polishing the ball with emery
and finally by rubbing with the hand. Now the
European workman holds the revolving
ball in a cup against the grooved edge
of wheel Of sandstone six feet in di-
ameter, which goes round 100 times
a minute. In this way o crystal sphere is made
in q week which would have taken a year TO pro-
duce in the old fashion. Quartz or rock crystal is
found in pockets in granite rock. As much as
81, 900 worth Of it has been discovered in a
single cavity. 1t is not the labor, but the
scarcity of suitable material that makes the balls
costly. The greatest deposits Of rock crystal
known in this country are in Garland and
Montgomery counties. Ark, where the farmers
employ their leisure time in hunting for it and
sell s10, 900 worth OF it annually"