New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-08-21
ARISTOCRATIC MINERALS.
A NEW EDITION OF STREETER'S WORK ON
PRECIOUS STONES AND GEMS.
PRECIOUS STONES AND GEMS. Their Ell i HlstS,

PRECIOUS STONES AND GEMS.
sources and Characteristics. BY Edwin " sireeteI'
+ r. G. s. NJ A. l. Illustrated. Fifth edition,
PIP. Kill. 355 George Bell & Sens London.
Since the earlier editions OF this work issued
from the press the author has found it necessary
TO develop certain themes with special care; ana
other volumes" The Great Diamonds Of the
World, Their History and Romance, and fears
and Pcarling Life"-have rendered some parts OF
the more general treatise unnecessary. These have
been eliminated. In the meanwhile, knowledge
on various other branches Of the subject has been
areatly enlarged. The famous ruby districts
of Upper Burmah, closed for ages to the Western
World, have been thrown open to commercial en-
terprisc and scientific investigation Discoveries
Of sapphires and rlbies in Siam, OF sapphircs in
Cashmere and Montana, and intimate ac-
ouaintancc with the cmcrald-lovc OF Egyptian
antiquity have greatly widencd the subject and
added its interest, not ONLY from the PRACTICAL
bat from the studons point OF view.
In general, and in particular. the knowledge OF
precious stones is advancing in ways not easily
anticipated. Few persons. perhaps, aside from en-
prrts. have ever seen green diamond. ~ might
lie rejected even by men OF practical knowledge.
The history Of the finest specimen Of diamond
of this color says Mr. Strcctcr. may rot be un-
interesting. Thirty years ago this stone was
thrown out Of parcel Of cmeralds IN Vienna
and bought for a trfe hy MI George Samuel.
the Consul there who sod IL 10 the author
for goo Some years aftrrward ii was sold for
$500. Subsequently it passed into the possession
of a jrwcllcr in Bond-st. who sold II To- an Amcri-
can for 5000, and aftcrward CT 900 WIS offered
for II, but refused" Here Is plain case Of
men who must have been far from ignorant on
the subject, but who failed TO recognize a green
diamond a. more than q worthless shining pebble
in heap Of emeralds
There are chances TOO, in the history OF precious
stones for puzzles difficult as the identity Of
the Man in the Iron Mask, OF Caspar IIanser. Of
the author OF The Letters Of JuriuS." and as
suggestive Of material for controversy as the
Epistlcs of Phalaris' For example. In l7lj
Louis XIV, then very decreplt old man, gath
cred himself together and Strengthened up With as
much Of his hautcur as could b. recovered 10
perform one OF those theatrical functions which
hc loved. lie desired 10 impress the newcome Per
sian ambassador with the deepest scnse Of re-
-rcct due the great de-pot Of the West. Araycd
in a suit of black, ornnmcnied with gold and
embroidered with diamonds TO the value. IL is
said of $50, 900 900, lie received the messenger Of
his brother of the East. But with all this display
OF jewels there was one stone which drew at
tcntion from the rest. light blue ribbon round
the Kings neck held pendant on his brcass n
dark blue diamond, or, some say. Of beau
tiful violet color. II had been ono Of the treas
ures brought home from India By the traveller
Tnvcrnicr. A century later this curious jewel
was still among the French regalia In 1892 IL
was deposited in the Gardc-Meuble 1t was placed
there in August in September it was gone and
10 this day what became OF II is mystery l.
not that n problem worthy Of a monograph A
diamond the like OF which in color conld not
be found in the civilized world, whose weight
uncut was over hundred and twelve carats,
and after cutting. more than siXty-scven carats.
the envy Of courts and sovcrcgns the despair
Of jewellers. had disappeared as completely ~ il
it had turned to dust. OF what use could IL be
to the theft Its pcculiarities were such as to
render It's sale almost impossible
For nearly forty years there was nothing upon
which the most attenuated hypothesis could be
erected But about the year $50 a blue brilliant
came to light In the hands Of Daniel Eliason
Discreet silence was maintained as to where it
had been obtained. Later 1t became the property
of Mr. Hope, and has ever since borno the title
Of the Hope diamond Tradition to color gave
warrant for comparing this gem with the one
lost by France. But It. weighed only little over
forty-four carats II was incredible that twenty
three carats SO precious should have been wasted
TO destroy the possibility Of identifying the stolen
diamond. Mr.. Strceter's theory is an ingenious
one, but it still leaves the question for solution
by means Of historical inquiry and really opens
q new field for critical investigation. lie supposes
that the Tavernier diamond was Of very irres-
ulor form, and that II was subjected 10 cleavage,
and he points ont some facts respecting the shape
Of the Hope diamond, which, IN his opinion, sup
port his view. or course, the smaller piece cleft
from the original stone would also be recut.
but 1t might still hetray some marc Of it's origin
II IL had straight side, corresponding more or
less closely to the straight side Of the Hope
diamond, n strong inference could be drawn re-
speeding what had happened to the brilliant 20
proudly displayed by Louis XIV Such q stone
did actually come into the market in April, 1874,
and fell into the hands of competent judges, who
examined it in juXtaposltion with the Hope dia-
mond, to which in color and quality 1t bore
remarkable resemblance. " was purchased in
Geneva at the sale Of the late Duke of Bruns-
wlck's jewels"
The ruby mines of Upper Burmah so far as they
have been worked or explored lie within q
district comprising about four hundred square
miles, rough and mountainous, unhealthy even
for natives, and covered by dense Jungle The
gems reached by pits sunk in valleys that
seem to have been once the bed Of lakes, by
cuttings In hillsides, in cavorns In the
valleys the rubies lie in bed of clay, covered
to the depth Of fifteen or twenty feet by alluvium
The same clay forms the ruby-bcaring stratum
sought for hillsdes. 1t Is by the cuttings
into the hillsdes often that the cavcrns are
found, vast hollows lined with stalosmite and