The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-11-25
BY GEORGE F. KUNZ.

copyright, 1895. by George F. hunz)
In speaking of gems, the terms imi-
tation and artificial must not be con-
founded Imitation stones, though re-
sembling the real gems, are not of the
genuine material, while artificial gems
are made of the same composition, but
by processes of art, not of nature.
Nearly all gems have been artificially
produced, but only the ruby with any
apparent success; and the syndicate OF
precious stone dealers at Paris has
decreed that all such stones shall be
sold as artificial, and not as precious
rubies.
The danger confounding these two
terms is we'll illustrated by the numer-
Gus references made in the press to
exhibits of artificial stones at the
Paris exhibition of 1883, when. in fact,
NOT a single artificial diamond, ruby CT
sapphire was shown; but there were
hundreds OF exhibits of imitation
stones from France, Bohemia and else
where.
Making Diamonds in the Laboratory
Ever since it was known that the
diamond is simply crystalized carbon.
the idea of devising some process for
its artificial production has had alb
eorbing interest for eXperimenters, and
efforts without number have been
made to accomplish it. Every few
years new claims were put forth for
some partial achievement, which was
generally so wrapped in mystery that
no proof was obtainable. Valuable
discoveries have been made through
these experiments, however; and if the
result thus far is nothing more than
microscopic crystals of diamonds, first
~ LII ~ Of hi
must be regarded as a great chemical
triumph. Moisson's method is based
upon the property in iron of absorbing
carbon at a high temperature and Civ
ing it back In the form of grains and
crystals. while the iron mass is cool
ing. The cast iron of our blast fur
naces, after being heated to about
5000 degrees fahrenheit and slowly
cooled down, is known to contain an
abundance of graphite crystals and
this fact gave Moisson the suggestion
that if the iron were heated to q still
higher degree, and cooled under heavy
pressure, a much denser form of car
bon might result. namely the diamond.
He took hollow cylinder of soft iron.
flled it with some purified sugar char
coal. and closed it with an iron screw.
Then about half a pound of soft iron
was melted in a crucible in Moisson's
electric furnace. which gives temper
allure of 5.400 degrees Fahrenheit, and
the cylinder was plunged into the mol
ten metal. thus thoroughly saturating
the iron with carbon. The crucible was
then taken out and suddenly cooled to
obtain the enormous pressure required
TO form the crystals. The iron was
fhen separated from the carbon crys-
tails by means of acid, and left three
kinds of diamond crystals different in
form, cleavage. density and hardness.
The amount obtained was very small,
but the crystals are undoubtedly dia-
snonds.
About the same time Kroutchoff, a
Russian chemist, obtained crystals of
diamond by a similar process, employ
ing silver, however, instead of iron.
These crystals were, likewise, very
minute. and therefore of no CONNER
cial significance. The natural pro-
cesses which formed the diamond were
colossal; and it is still a question
whether man will ever discover
means of commanding forces of such
magnitude as to compete with natures
well-stocked storehouses.
Man-Mnde Rubies
Researches on the artificial produc-
ton of the ruby, synthesis of the ruby,
as il is termed, have been carried on
at the Museum of Natural History of
Paris for many years, by NJ. M. Fell
and Verneil and lately by Frenzy, who
succeeded in producing true ruby crys-
tails of a lively red color, with the
hardness and brilliaincy of the real
gem, though rarely much larger than
a pinhead.
A Zurich experimenter, through a
Genevan diamond cutter, in 1885.
placed upon the Paris market a guam
tity of so-called reconstructed rubies
faot really such, however, but artifi-
rial gems. These were readily identi-
fed by the presence Of round bubbles
a stringing appearance of the interior
structure, and the absence of fluid in
illusions and Of acicular and cuneiform
crystals peculiar to the true ruby.
The French syndicate of precious
stone dealers then took cognizance of
the matter, and decided that all ca
bochon or cut stones Of this kind
should be sold as artificial, and not as