The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-11-13
FAMOUS PRECIOUS GEMS.
Many Of Them Have History That's As
Interesting as Gem OF Fiction Some
Of the Unique Traditions That Are As.
.Ocfa tad vr1th CoY<a n. uawala


ISOLATED with Certain Jewels.
In the wild, lavish era of imperial
Rome the pearl seemed to take the
leading role among teweled favorites; /;
at least. when the crown wearers and
millionaires wanted to sQuander money
at q dazzling pace, they picked the
pearl. Well have to drop that story Of
the $4,000 pearl cocktail which Cleo
patra swallowed for Antony's, enter
tainment. because modern chemistry,
sad to relate, has discovered that II An
tony interesting hostess had swallowed
an acid strong enough to dissolve that
pearl Egypt would have had swell
funeral on its hands. But there Is
plenty of authentic evidence that the
pearl and the profligate were close
friends. Caesar paid a quarter Of q mil
lion for one single pearl. When that
moneyed maniac. Caligula. smothered
old Tiberius with pillow (under the
correct impression that he had outlived
his usefulness) his petty cash account
consisted of s400. 900, ,000 which Tiberius
had not been able to spend. Caligula
more of an expert in the great art Of
circulation. managed to wipe out this
entire legacy in a single year. But
then. among other interesting freaks.
he built ivory and jeweled stalls for his
favorite steed and adorned his neck
with massive collar Of pearls. No
fortune could stand these strains very
long.
The Famous KohinoOr.
For many centuries the diamond has
led the gem procession, both in crown
jewels. scepters and private collections
because the ruby, In order to surpass
| the diamond In value. must have the
precise pigeons blood red color. and this
is well nigh impossible to find No we'll
regulated monarchy of today can get
along without diamond. England
without her Kohinoor. would feel like a
disreputable second-class power. Not
by any means so large as its royal
rivals. the Kohinoor is matchless for its
purity and fire. And then 1t has a ro-
mantle history, too. 1t Is traced back
to 1926, when a mogul sultan owned It,
and he reckoned II was worth enough
to support the whole world for a day.
When it passed into the hands Of EN-
peror Aurugunsbe 1t weighed 1913 carats
But the royal lapidary, who fancied he
could improve its luster, sliced 1t down
to 1873 carats. whereupon the wrathful
potentate gobbled up the progressive
stone cutters estate, but mercifully
left him his head. which he wore in ex-
lie. Then the Kohinoor boarded around
among various Eastern monarchs till
the British troops in India managed to
collar 1t. They placed 1t in the hands of
Queen Victoria, where they knew 1t
would never get away. Some years ago
an Amsterdam stone cutter tinkered at
1t till he got the stone down to 106
carats, where it now stands and shines.
One of the native rajahs in Borneo
has a pear-shaped sparkler, s57 carats.
said to be of "purest ray serene" 1t
was discovered about 1860, and whole
reservoirs of blood flowed before the
ownership Of that Mattam diamond was
settled. They say certain well-fxed
Dutch governor of Borneo wasted his
time once in dangling $3.50, 900 cash be-
fore the eyes Of the Mattams owner.
but the rajah said: May. the fortunes
of my family depend upon the posses
sion Of that diamond" John Bull
would have had that sparkler by an
offer Of bayonets. ,.
Other Noted Sparklcrs.
The famous Orloff diamond. which
| Catherine H., of Russia, bought In 1774
| for 100000 rubles, q pension Of 10000
rubles and patent of nobility. now
adorns the czar's imperial scepter An
| idol Of India used 1t once for glass
eye. Its weight is only 1874 carats, but
| 1t ranks next the Kohinoor as sinner.
| The Regent. some times called the
| Pitt diamond. now among the crown
| Jewels OF France, weighed originally
40 carats, but cutting reduced it to 1877.
1t cost over 100000. Austria wears
the Florentine diamond in her crown
| nearly 140 carats weight and a stone of
dazzling beauty. ...
Then the famous Sancy diamond, sold
by Napoleon ]. to a Russian prince for
| enough money to run a new campaign,
l NryoC fvCt ho nrt0 30 DE-,
| who sent 1t as a gift to the King of
Portugal. On his way over the noun
tains the trusted messenger who bore
the costly gift was set upon by some
brigands and had to swallow the gem
| to save 1t. They found the stone, some
years later. in his body. OF lesser
prominence among the diamond aristo-
| cracy are the Cumberland, the Shah
and the Polar Star.
The diamond, as a rule, is a denizen
OF the torrid zone. of Africa, India, East
Indian Islands and Ceylon. where the
suns heat and volcanic action are said
| to produce 1t. Still, diamonds have been
| found In Siberia and they tell a story
OF Swiss peasant who found a stone
Of great value clinging to the roots Of
a cabbage he pulled from his garden.
| The Bcncficcnt Turquoise.
The world was in its babyhood when
gems Of value were worn as amulets
and credited with the power to protect
from peril and to bring good or Ill for
tune in their wake. Some were sup
posed to ward off disease and accident.
No gem was more sedulously sought
for In the ancient world than the tur.
Quoise. 1t seemed to have certain hu-
man properties. If the mild blue gem,
modest as violet, found itself in the
/ loo ~ kD,
other scents. or of acids. II showed dis
gust by changing its color. 1t has al
ways been prime favorite, largely, no
doubt. because 1t Is not an expensive
stone. unless Of superior size and hue
Orientals have loved 1t from the
earliest days as heal and
fortune bringing amulet ley en-
grave 1t with sentences from the Koran
1t was supposed, in the middle ages, to
change color as the health of its owner
changed. so that citizen, or fair
dame. could have reliable family doc
tor always ION hand" Then, too, in
Christian gemology, the beneficient tur-
quoise Is DEFENDERS guardian stone,
because Christmas Day falls in that
month. when the Prince of Peace was
born and the worn-out, wicked earth
saw the reign Of mercy and redemption
begin. Somehow the world, pagan and
Christian and MOslem, has felt the glow
of kind, humane fellowship in the mild
company of the turquoise, the patron
gem Of prosperity, rest and peace. Daz-
cling Is the diamond, but you find no
warmth in its naughty loveliness
There's genial glow enough in the gar
nets rich, red heart, in the ruby's claret
smile, in the emerald's verdant rays,
and the sapphire's deep blue, faithful
| eve, All have their lovers and de-
votees; all arouse humanity's avarice,
pride Of ornament. passion for wealth
or gaudy show: but none can fill that
quiet sacred niche in the worlds tender
heart where the turquoise reigns su-
preme.
Copied from an old English magazine
Ii the following curious table of stones