Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1894-06-13
,ocToRINa DIAMONDS.
{ Ways In Which Precious Stones Are FaIsified to Increase Their Value.

faIsihed to Increase Their Value.
 Inc practice of falsifying precious hes, especially diamonds. i'll order to Ike them appear to the inexpert more ,1able, is not by any means modern. can be traced back to the fifteenth tQry, and to Holland, where dia- nd cutting and setting had its rise m art. With the growth of the de in diamonds and other precious hes, various illegitimate means were ised of imposing upon the purchas- public, and enhancing the apparent |ue of gems offered for sale. Some of se practices date back hundreds of rs; others belong to a modern period,
 are almost coincident with com atively recent discoveries in chemi science.
 y dealers and the trade generally naonds are separated into various sses, and known by special names. ese terms relate mainly to the method which gem is cut. Diamonds cut point, with more or less facets, are ted brilliants; those presenting a
 surface are known as table stones. D term brilliant is properly applied |y to stone cut i'll certain form;
 in the practice of the trade it is len also to co1orless sapphires, rubies, eralds, Oriental topazes, and few Ter gems. All such stones, whether te colorless, or with grecnish, yell Eish, or bluish tint, are of nearly al value, provided they reach Q |ep standard of hardness. In the de diamonds from India. Brazil, or ica are generally classed together.
 name Oriental diamondp does not ote that the stone is of eastern kin, but that it is of superior quality. ns spoken of as Rio" diamonds may may not have been mined in the lzils, the name only signifying that r are of second quality; while Cape liants" include all less valuable hes. Formerly spurious diamonds se mostly formed from rock crystals. |ny of the so-ealled diamonds found antique snuffboxes, watches, and aiature frames are in reality rock stal limitations of real gems.
 he value of diamonds and other ns depending mainly upon their k. the efforts of falsifiers have been efy directed to increasing the pro- tions. The principal mode of so do- is known as doubling" It was in
 in the seventeenth century, and e lately before the law courts in re- enee to so-called ruby shows that Still hourishing. It consists in hing together with cement portion real stone and an imitation so as to xe the combination appear one and ivisible. This can be done so deftly t the initiated are sometimes de- Eea. as the case referred to above Fs to show. So long as a combina- b of this kind remains unset the ex- t discovers it usually by a close ex- ination of the edges; when it is unted in a ring bracelet, or other ting recognition is practically inn Isible This is the most common m of deceit i1 the jewel trade. If De of the jewels prized by noble and ncely houses were taken to pieces
 carefully examined by an expert
 result might astonish the owners. ne Surprising discoveries of this d have been made when family rels were being remounted.
 is to guard against deceptions of E kind that jewellers and dealers in cious stones decline to buy gems in ir settings When the gem is unset an easily be subjected to ready and Rllible test. A stone about which re may be suspicion is dropped into ish of very hot water. If it is a 3ublet' the cement quickly dissolves,
 the component parts fall asunder. aoublets are always made in |Ichethe real diamond finds no place. e art of glass manufacture has made |ny Advances in recent years, and eX- ienee has taught those who make it Fir business to fabricate spurious |ns that better result and a closer tation of the genuine article can be ained by joining two pieces of glass diverse shades. 1t is managed in s way: The top portion of the false lliant is made from glass in which gre is pale yellow or straw-colored ge. In the under side of this a Elset is drilled; into this socket is led a stem of glass of a light bluish hde, the result of the combination be-
 that the false stone gleams and erkles like a gem of the purest water. e best limitations of this description so Effective that when well-mounted ey Receive all but the finest judges.
 Among the tests used by dealers and |velers to ascertain not only the real but the quality of diamonds offered sale is that of resistance or hard ss. Few professionals are without a Be of proved diamonds, graded ac- rding to their degree of hardness. All rchases are tested by this scale, and Dir quality aseertained. A specially Instructed microscope is used to dis bGnfsh colors in stones. It has been hted that diamonds are seldom bought the trade after they are mounted. hey are generally taken out of the ting for inspection. This is more pecially the case if the stones are SC punted that the under portion is hid h. One of the oldest tricks of the ade is to so color the bed in which the one rests as to change the hue of the m. For instance. a ruby will glow th 8 deeper and more intense fire i |e bottom and sides of the setting herein it is fixed be colored red. Tht ade of stone can be altered or a flaw ncealed by the skillful use of color'
 this way. Naturally this device les not deceive the initiated, A per It stone is invariably mounted <; UT, Or so that every part of it is yisi