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

rocks are honeycombed
with cavities that con-
tain small nodues Of this precious variety Of
hydrated quartz. Many Of these are Of grea,
beauty and value.
Speaking Of this wonderful discovery OF
American opals, the first Of its kind, Mr..
George F. Kunz, the famous expert in gems,
exhibited to the writer yesterday tho great
Hope opal, one Of the most celebrated in the
world. which was recently brought to this coun-
try. 1t formerly belonged to Henry Philip
Hope. the Dutch banker, who owned the finest
collection Of precious stones ever got to-
gether. He hquidated the national debt of
Brazil and took his pay in diamonds from
that country, which originally inspired him
with his hobby. Among the well-known gems
possessed by him was the Hope diamond, a
blue-white stone Of A carats, valued at $780,
600. Likewise the largest existing pearl, drop
shaped, which weighed over three ounces, sur
mounted in the. setting by a coronet of dia-
monds. The opal referred to, though of Mex
lean origin, is said to have been among the
ornaments Of q Persian shrine In the seven
teenth century. 1t represents the sun, with a
full face carved ON its surface, the rays being
supplied by the antique gold setting. As is
very common with Mexican opaIs, it is badly
fawed-in fact, so cracked that it would prob
ably fall to pieces If the setting were removed.
1t is oval in shape and its longest diameter is
about an inch.
SUPERSTITION As TO oPALs.
"a curious illustration Of the value Of super
stitions," said Mr.. Kunz, "was afforded 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 a
series OF misfortunes in her family which she
feared were attributable to the gems, so no
toriously unlucky. On examining them found
that they were merely imitation. few weeks
ago bad in my possession three sea shells
which had been transferred into OPAL Their
original Gmy 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 Harvard College bought
the curiosity and presented it to. that institu-
ton Here is another freak, equally beautiful
a fragment Of a meteOrite which fell in Car
roll county, Ky, containing crystals Of yellow
Divine. call your attention to their color
because the terrestrial variety Of Divine is
green, whence its NAME Some of these celes-
tial gems, resembling golden plums in the
meteoric pudding, fell out when the latter was
divided into slices and Ia We been cut as precious
stones.
Diamonds are in greater demand today than
ever before in the history of the world. In
1867 S1,3l7 900 worth Of them were imported
into this country. During the last year the i'm
portations amounted to nearly $4,000, OOO
Very nearly all Of these gems that are found to-
day are obtained from mines controlled by
the De Beers Company, which owns the South
African fields. They are the only produc tive
deposits now those of Brazil having been practi-
cally worked out Whenever new mine is struck
the company buys it Immediately. 1t has set a
limit on the production and holds prices at
whatever figures it pleases. In fact, il has cor
nered the market permanently, controlling eff
fectiyely the entire worlds supply The stones
n ma rIV Of lnn all Oh
carried up to the surface. ro.ted in the sun on
the plain and finally washed and picked over.
1t Is supposed that the formation of the dia-
monds was volcanic. The mines are not mex
haustible, but they will hold out for long
time at the present rate of OUTPUT. Eight him.
dred feet il the deepest level which the work.
ings have reached thus fer. To show YOU what
a gem of the first order looks like, here is one
worth 100000. 1t weighs 125 carats. The
color, as you will observe. is nh intense lemon
yellow. This is the finest large yellow diamond
in the world, and it has been hkened to a sun
burst
RUBIEs MORE VALUABLE THAN DIAMONDS.
"Most people suppose that diamonds are the
most precious Of all gems, whereas the fact is
that fine rubes are at present enormously more
valuable. For example. here are q ruby and a
diamond set together i'll a ring. Each stone
weighs four carats exactly. The diamond
though OF the first water, is worth only 81 900
whereas the ruby is worth $1,000. Here is a
ruby OF nine carats that is valued at $45, OOO
The best rubies of the real pigeon-blood color
come from Burmah, but the production there
Ia very small now. A British concern, the
Burmah Ruby Company, Limited, has a con-
cession which gives it control OF the mines. but
many obstacles have been found in the way of
their successful operation. Chief among these
Is the deadly fever which guards the gem
deposits. OF the fifty engineers and surveyors
Z mo- To ,1<~a Ia II u.
forty-eight were stricken with the miasmatic
plague from which no white man seems to
escape. The remaining two had had it pre-
vlously. Natives must be employed to do the
digging, and to prevent them from stealing the
finest stones is well-nigh impossible
For this purpose incredible variety of
devices are resorted to, least ingenious being
to swallow the rnbbies, and, where articles ii
such highly concentrated value arc concerned
detection is most difficult. At the South Afri-
can diamond mines the system employed for
the prevention of theft is highly elaborate,
The workmen are hired for certain term.
during which they are imprisoned, when no.
engaged at their labors, in q compound Every
night each man is obliged to divest himself of
every stitch Of clothing, which is carefully
searched before he puts it on again the next
morningoand he receives a blanket to cover
himself with. Previous to dismissal at the
close OF their contract the faborers are sub
lected to physical examination OF such an
ignon;nious description that no white man
wolld endure it. The laws make the punish-
ment for diamond stealing as severe as for
homicide. Nevertheless, the De Beers COMPANY
counts upon losing 10 per cent Of its output by
robbery, and dealers in stolen sparklers do a
large business through the neighboriag
Transvaal.
WHERE RUBrEs ARE OBTAINED.
"Rubies have been obtained up to the present
time from the old beds Of streams having been
washed out Of the rocks originally by the water.
Attempts have been recently contemplated to
get them by mining from the Limestone ia
which they were formed, and this is one of the
projects entertained by the British company in
Burmah. Siam Is producing most of the rubies
that are coming to market nowadays. Emer-
aids also are in greater demand than ever be-
fore Here Ia one of fifteen carats that is worth
Sl5, 600. New emerald mines have been dis
covered lately at Vegetable creek in New South
wales. They are yielding many fine stones,
but the supply is still mainly derived from the
ancient deposits in the United States of Colom-
bia, which have been worked for more than
three centuries. There the gems IRE ding out
OF black limestone by primitive methods, with
pickax and blasting.
Pearls, too. are worth more money today
than ever, notwithstanding the discovery Of
new nsheries In eastern seas, of the west coast
OF Australia, In the Sooloo archipelago and at
Thursday Island. Unfortunately, when fresh
nshing grounds for pearls are come across, they
are apt 70 be quickly worked out by overfish-