The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-26
DISEASES OF GEMS.
HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO LOSE
THEIR ENTIRE VALUE.
Diamonds Also Have AiIments-Many
Innrmities To which ColOred
stones Are Llable-The MisfOrtunes
OF Pearls Would Fin "A Big Volume


InfirmiIies to which COIOred
stones Are LIable-The MisfOrtunes
OF Pearls Would Fin "A Big Volume
From the st. Louis Globe-Democrat.
The idea that a precious stone may be
afflicted with disease will, 10 most persons,
be decided novelty. and even some of the
men whose business il is to handle gems
Will be surprised to learn that these valu-
able articles are. like all things else, sub
| jest to vicissitudes which may lessen or
| entirely destroy their value. We are ac-
| customed 10 regard a gem much as we
regard gold coin, as a thing of intrinsic
| worth, not In the least subject to the
| laws of change and decay. A few years
ago a roughly polished diamond was dug
from the ruins of Babylon, and many a
wise reflection, many a piece of profound
morallZing, were drawn from the fact tina,
this gem is just as beautiful just as pre-
cious to-day 4s~when il graced the fin
ger Of some noble or beauty 1000 or 5000
years ago. It's burial of forty or fifty
centuries had not impaired its Uster nor
altered in the least degree the sharpness
of its angles. Diamond cutting is sup
posed to be a modern art, and scientific
cutting of this most beautiful of all the
gems undoubtedly is so, but the jewelers.
who worked I'm the shadow of the Tower
of Babel knew something of the business,
for this sample, though the work is rough
ly done, brings out the prismatic hues of
the stone, with considerable effect. A gem
that, without change, can endure an in
terment of this length certainly has claims
to permanence. and If any stone can be
pronounced immortal it Is the diamond.
Yet, even the diamond has its ailments
and infirmities, and, by a stretch of fancy
may be said TO become III and recover, or
grow worse, and, in a few cases, to de-
teriOrate to such an extent as to become
comparatively valueless.
Many years ago there was published in
France a little book of which the title
may be translated THE Diseases of Pre-
cious Stones" the unknown author being
either a jeweler or an expert collector who
had brooded over his gems until he be-
came half crazed in regard to the whole
subject of jewels and jewelry. In every
line OF the little treatise the author shows
his devotion to the subject on which he
had become an enthusiast. He regards
gems as having a personality of their own,
and the qualities and attributes of living,
acting and reasoning beings. He consid-
ers them as capable of feeling well or i'll,
and seems to believe that they even have
.their moody seasons, when things have
not gone particularly well with them, and
they feel sour, Disconnected and at outs
with all the world. He imagines them at
times dissatisfied with their Wearers, as
DciHB LOO OlQ 100 ugly TO De worthy OIL
such ornaments, and then he supposes
that the diamonds take no interest in the
social function to which their owner has
been invited; then they grow dull and
sleepy and refuse to shine. At other
times, when they adorn the fingers of a
young and beautiful woman, he supposes
they are stimulated to do their best, and
then they send forth their most splendid
scintillations in the effort to outshfne all
the other diamonds in the company.
The Dutch diamond cutters of three CEN
turtles ago did not share the old French
mans belief that the sickness and health
of the diamond, but did devoutly believe
that in some way they could not clearly
comprehend the diamond was a bewitched
picion that II was under the direct and
special protection of the devil. In those
good old intelligent days any misfortune
that could not be explained was attributed
to the direct act and intervention of the
father of evil. When a nose bled with
out Visible occasion 1t was because the
devil had twisted it, when a man fell
down, it was the devil who had caught his
foot and tri2ped him; when he became i'll
from over eating or drinking, the arch
enemy had been tampering with his meat
or liquor. So the diamond cutters, not
exactly understanding the physical con-
struction of the stone and knowing moth
ing about its cleavage-planes, found IL
very often split or crack under their ma
nipulation, and whenever a, gem was thus
damaged the vexation and loss were di-
rectly attributable to satan, who having
made the diamond in his own laboratory,
was loath to see it appropriated by men,
and so took malicious pleasure in dam
aging ii whenever he could.
So many accidents of this kind occurred
that in one diamond-cutting factory HIT
tie chapel was fitted outG where every cut
ter went and said his prayers before going
to work. while, for additional protection, a
bottle of holy water, was placed on each
work bench, and before beginning any
tickllsh operation on the stone at which
he was engaged the cutter moistened his
hands and scattered little of the protect
ing liquid about the bench, and the devil
was thus frustrated in his evil Intentions
so frequently that, it may be supposed, he
| became discouraged an the workmen,
| persisting in their devutions and also in
the gem en- and Of the best methods Of cut
! ting it, the old enemy finally ceased his
| annoyances and accidents became COM
paratively rare; Such as occurred re-, , Were,
| thesis that the local witches were doing
what they could to in1ure the diamond
cutters job. as witches were well known
| by the witches, too, disappeared, and the
workman who spoiled diamond was
| himself compelled to bear the RESPONSE
| bility without unloading any part either
on satan or on his female intimates, the
! witches.
1t is a curious fact that in the early days
of diamond cutting occasional gems which
| at first. seemed perfect were afterward
found to be defective. Many diamonds
have what the experts call feathers,
| body of the gem, and in some few in
stances these have been known to de-
velop to such proportions as to ruin the
| gem Diamonds have occasionally been
cracked by exposure to heat, as when the
wearer sat before an open fire, but such
instances are of so rare occurrence that
no diamond wearer need hesitate to take
| the risk, for there Is not one chance In
10, 10000 that perfect gem will suffer
| in the least from any such exposure. The
stories told in the narratives of a cen
| fury ago of stolen gems turning to pinch
| of white powder are mere fancy. Dia-
monds exposed for considerable time TO
an intense heat Will undoubtedly be dam
| aged by the partial consumption of their
outer surface. When the Southern hotel
was burned in st. Louis many years ago
| a number of valuable diamonds were aft
| erward recovered from the ashes, but
| they had lost their luster. The gems
| were covered with white crust, and had
| to be recut at the expense of their size
ere they gained their beauty.
Among intirmities to which precious
stones are liable is one common TO all col
ored stones, that of fading, or losing color
when long exposed TO the light. mem
| Der of a leading firm of Partisan jewelers.
| once made the remark that his establish
ment lost several hundreds of dollars
every year through the fading OF colored
stones. The emerald. the sapphire and
! the ruby suffer the least their collars ha.