Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1892-09-21
A DIAMOND MARKET.
EXPERTS IN PARIS WHO KNOW
ALL THE PRECIOUS STONES.

No Traces of Buying or Selling-Mil-
lions OF Dollars Represented In One
Days Stock Carried In Queer Places.
II was tho Able Hauy who subjected
diamonds 10 the toughest treatment. He
used to take n hammer and smash them.
lie did the same with emeralds, rubies
and sapphires just as if they were worth
nothing. BY this heroic treatment the
venerable able discovered that the
broken particles Of all precious stones
have particular forms which establish
their genuineness beyond all doubt Be
fore his time it was almost impossibleto
tell diamond from a brilliant or a piece
Of rock crystal
But nobody breaks precious stones.
Any dealer can take, with an Indifferent
air, the diamond that is presented to him
for examination, and say without the
least hesitation, "That weighs so much;
it is a little fellow; it isworth so much"
And he is never deceived. At the pres
ont time everybody is somewhat Of n
dealer, and the consequence IS that
everybody can distinguish a real dia-
mond among n thousand bogus stones.
On the second floor Of a cafe in the
Boulevard Moutmartre the market or
bourse Of precious stones is held, always
in broad daylight. Very few strangers
TO the trade can penetrate this sane
tuary, not because the access to it is
difficult, for the door is always wide
open, but because the portfolios close
and the stars disappear the moment an
unknown face appears at the threshold.
Instead of animated traders the
stranger only finds a few dull eyed Jews,
carelessly playing a game Of bezique.
All, but there is a Turk there, too; the
Turk that looks so much like Coudere,
Of the Opera Comique, except that he is
yellow and wears very loose trousers,
but these trousers are full Of diamonds.
Don't believe for moment that these
good Jews, the merchants in precious
stones, are afraid of robbers. That is
Che smallest thing that bothers them.
What they dread is 20 let the profane,
and especially the small jewelers., know
the real value of their goods.
As soon as the stranger departs tho
arms stretch out and the portfolios re-
appear. The greater number of these
portfolios are made Of tin and are closed
with a lock and key. In moment the
tables are covered with little bundles Of
white paper formed like those in which
the druggists put rhubarb or sulphate
of magnesia. These packages are open
ed, and in less time than it takes to tell
it all the tables, including the billiard
table, are covered with precious stones
that might startle the king Of Persia.
a strange spectacle is presented by those
sordid old men quietly taking from their
pockets three or four millions worth.
Each one of perhaps 10000 packages
contains so many brilliants. After they
are disposed of the rare stones are intro
duced. Here there are sapphires MS big
as nuts There lies u black diamond
almost as large as the twelve pearls that
surround it. Here again is necklace
made of fifteen omeralds that would
mako az many snuffboxes, certainly not
big enough for NJ. Hyacinthe, of tho
Palais Royal, but too big beyond doubt
for the nose of Mile. ID.
"Here ie n rare bargain, shouts one
Of the merchants, tone of the finest
pieces Of ancient iewelry knownl It is
a necklace that belonged to Madame Ia
Princesse de Guemenee. Mounting,
diamonds and all are ancient. Prince
ProisetoiloT refused $4,000 francs for it
twenty years ago."
The necklace is passed from hand to
hand. The merchants gaze at it with
attention. The eyeglasses come into
play Indecision and doubt are painted
upon some faces. At last the necklace
is passed to Michel. He is the great
judge. He takes tho thing, weighs it in
his hand, looks at it with an Indifferent
air and says, "The two brilliants are
ancient They como with their mount
ing from tho Countess de Prejean. The
two others, still finer, once formed part
of necklace which was stolen IN Venice
in 1904 from Nine, Morosini. This neck.
lace belonged later on to Lady Temple,
whose husband purchased it at Candaai
of Isaac Lioyen. Lady Temple gave il
TO her daughter, who sold it three days
after her marriage. AS for the sapphire
in the center, that comes from the sale
of MILE Schneider The rest is new and
comes direct from Hamburg. But
after all, it is well preserved, and 20 ,00C
francs does not seem to be too much fol
/ it,"
AS extraordinary as it may appear
there are row living five or six indi
viduals who know all the costly dia
monds and all the rich jewels in tn,
world, and they arc able to recogniz,
them after lapse of thirty years, ever
whom they had first only seen them (
moment, as certainly as a tailor woulC
recognize at thirty PAGES the customer
that forgot to pay him.
When a robbery is committed in tn,
house of well known jeweler, thine
which often happens in Paris, London
Vienna and st. Petersburg, if there il
among the objects stolen stone Of NOR,
than ordinary value it is sure to be foun,
rgain, although it may take many year
70 bring it back to its owner.-Fgaro.
|
Word To Young People.
You must be willing to bear reverses
You must expect disappointments. Yol
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