The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-05-03
~ GEORGE T. KUN.

BY GEORGE T. KUNZ.
copyright, 1895, by George T. Kunz)
Rock crystal is. the purest form of
quartz, transparent. colorless, and ex-
hibiting most perfectly the properties
of the mineral 1t is widely distribut-
ed, but is brought chiefly from Brazil,
Madagascar, Japan and North Caro-
lima. tt is wrought especially by the
japanese, into polished crystal balls
and other articles OF elegant ornament
The Romans made much use Of it to
Sncise their intraglios, and it has been
worked into vases and baskets from the
time of Nero to the present, but es-
peeiaIly during the fifteenth and six
teenth centuries Remarkable crystal
objects are TO be seen in the Louvre,
the Green Vaults of Dresden, the
Schatz-kammer at Vienna, and at
Madrid.
SOME FAMOUS CRYSTALS.
Spheres of rock crystal were used as
show stones. and for divination, from
the thirteenth to the eighteenth centu-
ries. The engraving and cutting OF
some of these was so elaborate as TO
y
dollars. Spheres have been cut up to
eight inches in diameter and valued at
from 81 600 to $4,000. Nearly the latter
price was paid by the late Governor
Ames for the magnificent crystal ball
bequeathed to the Boston Fine Arts
museum. This bah measures $50 m. M,
or IA inches. 1t was found in 1876.
The crystal from which it was cut was
Is inches high, Az inches wide, and L
inches fhiplr Z found on the Or
take-muko- Yuma, Province of Kohl
Japan, originally the property of Naato
Arimori and purchased from Natto
Tsukuha for $4,000 yen-about $4,000.
1t was cut by an old workman who
had devoted his entire life to cutting
rock crystal balls. This one was start
ed in June 1881, and finished in Deem
Der, 1894. The ball weighs 10 pounds.
The famous Dresden bali measures 6s4
inches and weighs 1872 pounds, but is
quite imperfect. \ 5-inch ball cut from
material found in Ashe county, North
Carolina and another of nearly 6 inches
in diameter from the summit of Mount
Antero, Colorado, are now in the Field
Columbian museum in Chicago. Though
not entirely perfect, they are quite
equal to the crystal balls of the eigh-
teenth century.
THEIR ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTION.
At Hot Springs, Ark, clear. rolled
pebbles found on the banks of the
OGachita are often sold. These are
more highly priced than the quartz
crystals. as the fancy prevails that
they cut clearer gems. The scarcity
of these, and the demand for them,
has led to their artificial production,
by putting the crystals in a box which
is kept revolving for a few days by
water power. Any expert, however,
can discern the difference, since the
artificial ones have little whittier sur
face.
Many localities in Colorado furnish
fine specimens; and along the New
Jersey coast and Long Branch, Allan
tic City, Cape May, and other places,
transparent pebbles are found in the
sand, and are sought after by the visi-
tors who often have them cut as SOU
venirs. At such places. the local lapi-
diaries have been known to substitute
for pebbles from the beach foreign cut
quartz, cairngOrn. topaz. crocidolite,
Ceylon moOnStane and even glass. OBJ
tanning twice the value of the foreign
gem for the supposed cutting. Some
times even the stones found by the
visitors are exchanged for cut ones
from Bohemia, Oldenburg and the
Jura. Cutting is done abroad on 50
large a scale ana by labor so poorly
paid, that the cut stones can be de-
livered ia this country at one-tenth Of
the price of cutting here. as the rock
crystal itself has but little value.
THE PLACE OF AMETHYsTs
AMONG GEMS.
Amethyst is a transparent purple va
riety of quartz owing its color to OK
ide of manganese. 1t is a very beauti-
full stone, much used by the ancients to
enguaVe on as well as in jeWelry; but
certain varieties are now but little val
ued, because not rare enough to be
costly. 1t is found in Brazil. Ceylon,
India, the Ural mountains, etc In the
latter region near Mursinka, are found
superb deep purple gems changing to
red by artificial light, some of which
1rave sold for $500 each. For intensity
and perfection Of color and one might
say majestic beauty. these rival al
most any other gem. Smaller burt
equally ine amethysts occur in Della
ware county, Pennsylvania, Maine and
North Carolina Oriental amethyst is
a purple variety Of sapphire, far more
rare and valuable than the ordinary
amethyst.
AGATEs.
Agates are usually formed by the de-
post of silica with more or less of col
oring oxides, in the cavities of fgneous
rocks. Where the rock disintegrates,
they fall out as hard nodules, and are
then found on the surface, or frequent.
ly strewn along Shores beaches, and
the beds Of streams. These agate peb-
bleS are abundant on the shores of
Lake Superior, and on the beach of
Pescardo, Cal, and are gathered as SOU
venirs. and to some extent cut for local
jewelry. Externally they are rough
and of little beauty; their veined struc-
rure and colors only appearing on
breaking them and still more upon pol