The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-26

the same cfrcumSt anceS. though Deautl-
ful wine color, fades into dull white and
never regains its original hue. The col
ored gems are therefore, delicate OBJECTS
to own, for. though the probability is that
an emerald, a ruby. a sapphire or even
topaz or garnet may retain its color and
brilliancy during a lifetime, there is a
chance that it will fade and thus delude
ne buyer into the beIef that ne mas pur-
chased an imitation stone, when the mys-
ferrous chemistry Of nature Is alone re-
sponsible for the change:
Thomas Hope, the English author. trav-
eler and collector of pictures, gems and
art objects, is known In the annals of jew
els as the possessor of the famous blue
diamond called by his own name, and on
Which a shade Of suspicion has been cast
from the fact that among the French
crown Jewels, which disappeared in 1892.
there was a blue diamond somewhat larg-
er than the Hope. This collector had a
him not a little annoyance on account of
tne mysteri 'us loss e. color. When pur-
chased by Hop Z was wonderfully
beautiful SHADE Ct dark blue, though of no
great size, beinG only 16 carats in weight.
IT was prom luhccd by experts to be one
OF the finest known gems OF that species.
Hope took h. home to England, and after
he had builded the house that was the
talk of mis- cnuntrymen, placed 1t in his
special rollcelicl of diamonds and other
precious stoles AfIcr q time the persons
in charge of trc C6h6 ction began to no.
tice change in tie splendid gem. Spots
OF a lighter blue than was shown in the
body of the stone appeared on the sur
lace: A critical eXalaitAtlon by experts
furnished no explanation; the experts had
never Teen sucl n case. Little by little
the spots grew Larger ono by and by the
stone assumed n mCttled appearance, two
or three shl1es OF blue appearing In its
substance. Tire 0etariC 9tion continued,
and an Ter the advice Of gem expert
Hope mad tile s'one placed in a box filed
moist The treatment was continued for
TWO years, during which the progress of
decay, II such term could be used In this
connection, was apparently arrested, but
when the gem was returned to the cabi-
net the degeneration went on at a rate
more rapid than before. In few months
the beautiful stone became dull, blush
white, mottled pebble, having not the
slightest resemblance to the precious jew
Ell Hope had brought from India. Sus-
peoting that he had, in some manner, been
whom he had bought 1t, Hope wrote to
India desiring a friend to make an in
Vesrgation, but nothing was discovered
save that two or three other sapphires
which had been dug from the same mine
which produced the Hope gem had shown
similar signs of deterioration, and it was
concluded that something in the chemical
composition of the stone had wrought the
unexpected result.
A volume would not contain the stories
told by expert jewelers. of the misfortunes
OF pearls. Consisting almost entirely of
the carbonate of lime, they are easily dam
aged, and when once injured can not be
restored. Thrown into fire, at an ordinary
red heat, they are converted into pinch
of lime dust; accidentally touched with any
corroding acid, they are effected precisely
as a bit of marble or limestone would be
under similar circumstances. They are
easily cracked and broken, sometimes
they lose their luster through handling,
the acids contained in the perspiration of
the skin having been known to affect them
Aside, however, from all these accidents,
they are liable to deterioration from caus-
es Wnlcn, at best, are obscure, and some
times are altogether beyond the ability of
the scientist to conjecture. Pearls have
been known to lose their luster and be-
come quite black, when not exposed, so
far as known, to circumstances which
would cause a chemical change. In every
great collection of gems there are dead
pearls that is, pearls which have under
gone the change. already mentioned to such
an extent as to lose all appearance of the
gem save the shape. Many experiments
have been made with a view to restoring
such gems to their pristine splendor, but
generally those have been unsuccessful. 1t
is not commonly known that the pearl con-
sistS of concentric layers or "naere." or
mother of pearl, and some stones accident
ally discolored or injured have been res
size, by removing the outer damaged lay
er and leaving the one beneath exposed.
but the process is exceedingly delicate and
troublesome, and often quite ineffective,
for when degeneration and disease set in
they commonly affect the interior and ex-
terror alike. What are called dead pearls, :"
however, very frequently were never any
thlng else, the substance of the pearl haY-
ing been affected in color by some disease
of the oyster, which produced it, or by inn
puritie in the water in which the creature
lived.
For ages the opal has had the unenviabIe
reputation of being the most unlucky gem,
and 1t is believed that the jewelers. them
selves were originally responsible for some
of the superstititous and hard-luck stories
connected with 1t, since to the polishers
ana settlers It is one of the most trouble
some gems Of their list. The experts in mi
croscopy say that the prismatic colors and
ire of the opal are due to myriads Of min
ute cracks in the body of the stone, the
edges of which reflect the light at different
angles and give the hues so much admir-
ed. A stone all full of cracks is liable to
split in two at any Time and disasters of
this kind, especially in the process of
grinding and polishing, have occurred so
its store of hardluck stories in connection
with the opal After the grinder and pol
isher has successfully finished his work on
an opal, the setter, with fear and trem-
bling, begins his, the edges of the stone
being so soft and friable that IL is the cas-
lest thing in the world for an unlucky
stroke of the tiny hammer to break off an
edge or to start crack in the gem, which
will extend quite through and render 1t
worthless After the gem is set and sold,
the load Is taken Off the mind of the manu-
wearer
Opals that have successfully passed the
OruedlS OF Bfindinss pOnsDlnB ana setting
do not often crack afterward, but it is
best not to expose them to even the mod
crate heat involved by the wearer sit
ting in front of an open fire, for the opal
is composed principally of silicic acid,
with from to ID per cent. of water, a
combination which renders them very
treacherous objects. The idea that they
are otherwise unfortunate in the sense
that they bring disaster to the wearer,
may be dismissed as partly superstftious
and partly .nonsensical; Innumerable
stories have been told of unfortunate ac-
cidents occurring to the wearers of opals,
but 1t can easily be believed that an opal
owner who falls down and breaks his leg
or his neck, or who fails in business, or
who becomes infected with typhoid fever,
or who has his horse stolen would have
met with these misfortunes had he worn
a diamond instead. OF all precious
stones, however, considered in themselves,
the opal is, so to say, the most likely to
be diseased, and it's liability to accident
has done much TO give 1t bad reputation
among the collectors and connoisseurs OF
gems
-ThacNeray's penmanship was marvel
0ualv neat hrf eo ANAL that IL ooufd .,ot