The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-08-10
SOME NEWS ABOUT GEMS.
oa,1s FROM A NEWLY DIsCoV'
VI or MiNEIN WASHINGTON.

pracious StOnes-GoIuen SoWSiS ALI "
-+..aorite-Dlamonds Increasing In
vo,re-Rub!es Guarded by Fever
r,orel Way of Gem Cutting in the
U-al Mountains.
From. the New York SUN.
A., onsI found and cut as gem in this
,,,,,trv. was sold by Jeweler IN this
49, the other day for $500. 1t was OBJ
.a;1ad from newly discovered mine in the
80 If Washington, near the Idaho line
AZ that place, which has been called Gem
w., the volcanic rocks are honeycombed
,-.;.b cavities that contain small nodules OF
.h;s nreoious variety of hydrated quartz.
NJ ot these are of great beauty and
value.
sneaking of this discovery Of American
oaaIs. George F. Kunz, the famous
ovnert in gems employed by Tiffany & Co.,
exhibited to the reporter the great Hope
anal one of the most celebrated In the
World which was recently brought to this
ccrntry. 1t formerly belonged to Henry
pblin Hope, the Dutch banker, who owned
tba finest collection of precious stones ever
oct together. He liquidated the national
q 9ebt OF Brazil and took his pay in diamonds
from that country. which originally in
81 snred him with his hobby. Among the
= well-known gems possessed by HIM was the
Hone diamond, a blue-white stone or Al
carsts. valued at SlO0, 200; likewise the larg-
est existing pearl, drop-shaped, which
weighed over three ounces, surmounted In
the setting by coronet Of diamonds. The
onal referred to, though of Mexican origin,
is said TO have been among the ornaments
B Of Persian shrine in the seventeenth cent
u. xrv4k NVTI
face carved on its surface, the rays being
supplied by the antique gold setting. AS is
very common with Mexican opals, 1t is
badly hawed-in fact so cracked that 1t
would probably fall to pieces IL the setting
we're removed. 1t is opal in shape and Its
longest diameter is about an inch.
"a curious illustration of the value OF
superstitions," said Mr.. Kunz, was af'
forded the other day by lady who brought
set of opals here for the purpose Of selling
them. She felt obliged to part with them
on account Of c. series Of mistortunes in her
family which she feared was attributable to
the gems, so VIGOROUSLY unlucky. On ex-
aminiug them | found that they were
merely limitations. A few weeks ago had
inmy possession three sea shells which had
been Transformed into opal Their origi-
nal limy material had been dissolved out of
the rock by which they were inclosed, and
the precious substance was deposited by
water in place of the lime, retaining the
form Of the shells. A graduate OF Har-
ward College bought the curiosity and pre-
se1ted it to that institution. Here is an
other freak. equally beautiful fragment
Of meteorite which fell in Carroll county,
kentucky, containing crystals OF
yellow Divine. call your at
tentioa TO their color because
the terrestrial variety of Divine is green ,
whence its name. Some of these celestial
gems resembling golden plums in the me-
teOrlc pudding, fell out when the latter was
divided into slices and have been cut as
precious stones.
Diamonds are in greater demand TO-
day than ever before in the history Of the
world In 1867 81, BIZ 600 worth OF them
we're imported into this country. During
the last year the importations amounted to
nearly 100000 Very nearly all of these
h gems that are found to-day are obtained
from mines controlled by the De Beers COM
psny, which owns the South African fields.
~ they are the only productive deposits now.
those Of Brazil having been practically
worked out. Whenever a new mine lsstruck
the company buys it Immediately. 1t has
set a limit on the production, and holds
prices at what figures it pleases. In fact,
1t has cornered the market permanently,
controlling effectively the entire worlds
supply. The stones are found In q matrix
face. rotted in the sun on the plain. and
finally washed and picked over. IL is sup
posed that the formation OF the diamonds
was volcanic. The mines are not mex
haustible but they will hold out for long
tims at the present rate Of output. Eight
hundred feet is the deepest level which the
workings have reached thus far. To show
you what gem Of the first order looks like.
mere is one worth 500, 900. IL weighs 1875
carats. The color, as you will observe, is
an intense lemon yellow. This is the finest
large yellow diamond in the world, and II
has been likened to a sunburst.
Most people suppose that diamonds are
the most precious of all gems. whereas the
fact is that fine rubies are at present enor-
mousy more valuable. For example, here
are ruby and diamond set together in a
ring. Each stone weighs four carats ex'
acty. The diamond, though of the first
water, Is worth only $1,000 whereas the
ruby Is worth 50, 000 Here Is a ruby OF
nine carats that is valued at $40, 900. The
oeSt rubies, OF the real pigeen-blood color,
come from Burmah, but the production
There is very small now. A British con
cern, the Burmah Ruby Company, has q
concession which gives it control Of the
mines, but many obstacles have been found
IN the way Of their successful operations
Ch'ef among these is the deadly fever
Which guards the gem deposits. OF the
nLg engineers and surveyors sent at the
beginning to explore the fields, forty-eighi
We're stricken with the mlasmatic plague
from which no white man seems TO escape
Inc remaining two had had it previously
Natives must be employed TO do the dig
Sihg and to prevent them from stealing th'
iluesV stones Is we'll nigh impossible. An
Incredible variety Of devices is resorted tx
W Tue thieves, the least ingenious being Il
sNalow the rubles, and, where articles Of
Suou hlgnly concentrated value are con-
Serned, detection is most difficult. At the
SCUM African diamond mines the system
eH!pOyed Tor the prevention of theft il
1Hlguly elaborate The workmen are hirec
t or certain term, during which they are
~ prSohed, when not engaged at theil
iSoogs, In a compound. Every night eact
uaa Is obliged to divest himself Of every
S..scn OF clothing, which is carefully searched
~ DoIoEe ne puts it on again the next morn
LIZ and ne receives blanket to cover him
ecu ecu with. Previous to dismissal at tn,
S S.ose Oh their contract, the laborers are sub
yeetou 70 physical examination of such al
SYNONYMOUS description that no white maj
; "ouu endure it. The laws make the pun
- 'L lent OF diamond stealing as severe a
o oOr homicide Nevertheless, the De Beer
" offIiupany counts upon losing 10 per cent
go is output by robbery, and dealers il
sSoIsu sparslers do large business through
'"1 IN uelRnooring Transvaal.
t'uoies have been obtained I'D to tn
@z# - Sscut time from the old hada ~ Straa,us