Arizona silver belt., 1895-01-12
PRECIOUS STONES.
Facts About Some of
 the Worlds Rare Gems.
Beautiful AEates and Crystals Known to the Aneiepts- Tho Diamond Not the Most Valued, as Is Com
 monly suppdsed.

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 Beyond all question, the ruby stands supreme as tue most precious substance in the world, says the New Hotls Ad- vertiser. So much many persons know. but few are aware that rubies, sapphires, oriental amethySts and to- pages are all practically the same gen. They are corundum, pr crystallized alumina, but with infinite diversities of coloring and infinite different values. It is curious, but true, that a ruby is only red sapphire, and sapphire only blue ruby.
 The finest "pgeohs blood" rubies come from Burmah, those from Siam or Ceylon being too dark or too pale, and the Montana stones being cloudy and brown. perfect one carat specimen may cost six hundred dollars, while n diamond of the finest water of the same size can be bought for one hun dred and twenty-five dollars The rich color of the ruby, a color which does not blacllen like the blue of a sapphire by night, Is supposed to be due to a trace of oxide of chromium, but this Is stin moot point with chemists, and all are not even agreed as to the sap phire's velvet tinge. This latter stone is much less valuable than ruby, being found larger and more abundantly. Sapphires really present all eolors, the pure white variety, when skillfully cut being difficult to tell from diamond This is deception dishonest jewellers not subsequently, practice to catch the unwary. Both rubies and sapphires are occasionally met with as star stones'-that is, opaque eabochon-cut gems showing the perfect stecly rays of star.
 The emerald is another exceedingly dear stone, surpassing the diamond in value when of good size and free from flaws. Unfortunately, this gem is rare ly faultless, but, if perfect, it easily fetches five hundred dollars carat Emerald and aquamarine, the latter a beautifully sunny sea-green stone, are identical in chemical composition, be- ing varieties of the mineral beryl with traces of different cololing matter. beryl is found in all shades from honey yellow to the velvet green of the right emerald. The aquamarine variety has lately become dear and fashionable, and rightly SO, for the stone is durable and a lovely object The late emperor of Brazil is said to have possessed an aquamarine of over two hundred ounces troy weight The indefinite colors of the befyi must have been known for ages. since this gem repre- sented the doubting Thomas.
 After. perfect rabies and emeralds, and perhaps after great pearls, comes the diamond in value This, too, has Q range of eolors, the most prized being red, blue, green, and water white. while brown or gray tinges are not quite SO highly esteemed. The Koh-i-Noor, of one hundred and two and three-fourths carats, ranks low in point of size with some of the worlds great stones-for instance with the Great Mogul two hundred and seventy-nine earats in weight Diamond is the hardest mineral known, brittle though 1t be; acids do not affect it, and it is also the only combustible geH. It has high re fractive and dispersive powers (.'tire'), and some specimens become phos. phorescent by the action of light II usually occursas an eight-sided cry stal.
 The name topaz is applied to three distinct kind of stones, to the oriental topaz, which is really yellow sapphire; tu the Scotch topaz, which l. only quartz, just as amethysts arc violet-colored quartz of little value and to the Brazilian topaz. 9 vivacious, shcrry-colOrcd gem which is the only true topaz. This latter stone takes a high. brilliant polish, and it feels slippery to the touch. The rose pink topaz seen in shops is not a natural color it is obtained by subjecting the dark yellow varieties to great heat. The commercial value of topaz is ex- tremely tiuetuating, one reason being that light exercises bleaching effect on it.
 Another gem, beautiful and interest ing in itself, which is occasionally sold for the true ruby, is the red zircon, also called jargoon and jacinth or hyacinth. Jewellers call these stones jacinth rubies" and charge accordingly. The gem is of all colors, the pure white ones being hard to distinguish from dia- nonds, on account of their wonderful fire. Chrysolite is just as white, but it is like glass compared with a diamond or jargoon.
 There are two kinds of chrysoberyl used as gems. One the well-known oriental cats-eye, an opaque greenish- brown cabochon-cut stone, showing q steely flash or line like silver wire; the other, the little known but beautiful and curious alexandrite. This unique gem is olive CT pistachio green by day light, and it has the remarkable prop erty of turning raspberry red by arti- ficial light. The green tourmaline is much like alexnndrite by day. This is the most chemically complex of all gems, and 1t occurs also in red and brown crystals,