The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-04-09
PRECIOUS JEWELS.
One of the Most Service2ble aud Popular
stones Is the TurQuois.

STUNTS - Tic ui4uosS.
There are few gems more commonly
seen in jewelry than the lovely blue
turquoise. Its beauty, its serviceable
! hardness, its pleasing contrast with
gold, all explain why it is SO much pre-
ferred to other ordinary stones
Only a few exceptionally fine speci-
mems of the stone rank with the rich
! and rare gems" Much and widely as
/ the turquois is used for personal
adornment the supply has for some
| time considerably exceeded the de-
mand, except for fine stones of an I'M
! common size. But, as is the case with
all precious stones, unusually large
| pieces OF this stone, when of good quail
! ity, are eagerly sought after and have
very high value
| The turquois has been used as gem
from very remote period. as it is most
plentifully found along the shores of
the Caspian sea. within the space be-
lieved by many to nave been the cradle
of the human race.
1t is asserted by historians that the
ancient Grecians used it in almost all
the finest and most delicate OF their
work in gold. Want of certainty about
the name by which this stone was
known in ancient times prevents our
were attached to it, but in the middle
ages it was supposed to have wonderful
qualities; indeed il was credited with
| many supernatural virtues
The wearer of a turquoise had his
strength increased and his sight pro-
longed: if he happened to have seri-
Gus fall the consequences were averted
from him by the cracking and subse-
| quent crumbling of the gem, and in
case of his illness at any time his tur-
Quois became paler and paler and if its
possessor died lost'its color entirely,
but recovered it again on passing into
the hands of new owner Other
precious gems seem of late years to
have lost all claim to the former mar
velous powers ascribed to them, but
the turquois still retains one of its
mysterious properties and parades it to
the present day.
Sometimes slowly, sometimes sud-
denly it turns pale, becomes spotted
and finally changes from blue to white,
and specimens of this kind are rare and
valuable.
Turquoises are found in Thibet,
China and Mount Sinai but the hand
soonest ones for jewelers. purposes
come from Persian mines They are
found EN- bedded in masses of rock, and
the mines are more than one hundred
and fifty feet deep and many laborers
are employed in them, the oldest of
whom buy the gems and sell them in
turn to travellers and merchants.
Other men buy the rough stones and
polish them before selling. These, Of
course, command high prices
The stones are divided into three
classes-irst, second and third quail
ties All stones of perfect color and
shape belong to the first class, but a
tiny speck of green, which only a
connoisscur can detect, Will consign a
handsome stone to second class matter.
Then there is that undehna BILE prop
erty of good turquois, like the
water" of diamond or luSter of a
pearl In turquois it is called Eat"
fine colored turquoise without the
''zat" is not worth much Among the
finest jewels of the shah there is tur-
quoise vaIued at 81 200. The third
class stones are those with decided
flaws and unstable in Persia. The.
small prices offered for such there are
more than doubled by the time they
reach Europe They are cut by hand
and polished on fine grained sand
stone and then on piece of soft leather
with turquois dust 1t is quite the
fashionable stone of the present day,
and when set with diamonds no gem
can equal 1T in beauty. An ultra So
the possessor of such a jeweL-N. Y.
Herald