The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-05-19

Ks
RhOdes Controls the Output of the
Richest OF All Gem Regions-Pre-
cious stones Found in the New
world.
From the New York Times
Tn a recent lecture before the Franklin
institute of Philadelphia George +. Kunz
of New York city spoke of the influence
,f precious stones, both the search for
taen and the trade in them, on geograph-
i.a, exploration and discovery, from which
tbe following extracts are taken:
The first indications of the use of precl-
o,s stones are found in Egypt and Assy-
s ria. in the latter at about 1900 years be-
q fire Christ. The earliest known gems are
4 seals. in the vertical form, believed to
81 nave been suggested by the joint Of the
bamboo. the chomoid and the hemispher-
i ;,al. leading to the rude ring form. In the
& sixteenth century appeared faceted cut
stones, notably the octahedral diamond OF
that period, cut on eight faces. Such high
artistic ideals as were portrayed in gems
from the sixth century before Christ I'M
I'll the fourth century A. D., have never
been realized since, although the ancient
gems have rarely, il ever, the perfection
and beauty of color demanded by the
modern gem lover Some of the finest
4 ,ens in the crowns of Austria and Ger
many are sapphires and emeralds pierced
H partly or entirely, having previously serv-
ed as beads in Oriental necklaces.
one Of the earliest lines \pf prehistoric
trade was the amber commerce. The am
Der found IN the tombs of Southern Rus
s STA was identified as of Baltic origin, and
il belongs to the same age as that found
81 in the Tyrian tombs. Its strange occur
reaces, washed up by the waves of the
s. Baltic. and its remarkable electric proper
n ties combined to render it an object of
q mystery to the ancients, but it is now
known that it is washed out of the ter
q uary coast deposits, disturbed by the
& sea. and it is not only dredged for by
q hand and steam, but is actually mined
s from the same tertiary deposits many
miles inland.
Many of the most precious stones, such
as the ruby and sapphire, have from the
earliest ages been brought from the East
Indies The Phoenicians visited India 1900
8 years before Christ, but later confined
themselves more to Africa and Spain, en-
shaving the natives of the Spanish PENN
sula to work the mines of that country for
silver and topaz, not the real topaz, but a
smoky quartz which they decoloTized and
# called Spanish topaz.
As empires rose and fell, the control of
IN the jewel trade changed. As Phoenician
sway declined, Rome was destined to lead
ershiD, and Roman power was marked by
the establishing for permanent facilities
for land traffic of the great road starting
from the Forum and reaching to the linn
its of the empire. The outlines of the Ro-
man empire can be traced by the gems
found in its various dependencies.
To the fall of Rome and the rise of the
Saracens, followed by the wars between
81 Cross and Crescent, may be traced many
& Of the finest jewels in Europe, brought
4 from the east by the Crusaders. Then
followed mercantile prosperity in Venice
and Genoa in the sixteenth century. The
Nenetian feet brought the products of the
east, and discharged them over Europe
by way of the German cities of Oxburg
and Nurnberg, whence arose the fame
of the Nurnberg jewellers.
With the advent of the Turk the old
routes to the far east were closed. and
with the voyages of Columbus and the
Spanish adventurers the newly opened
sources of riches were claimed by Spain
Venice and Genoa declined and then be-
gan the successful period of Spanish and
Portuguese development. Portugal found
ed colonies and controlled the diamond
trade of India until the persecution of the
Jews in Portugal drove them to Holland
thus transferring the diamond-cutting in
dustry to amsterdam, which has since
been the diamond-cutting center of the
world.
For centuries the only source of dia-
mOnds was India, the chief of which was
the region of Golconda The phrase "dia-
mOnds of GolcOnda'' refers not to the
mines but to the town where they were
taken for sale. 1t is now little more than
. an abandoned fort the Indian mines being
largely worked out.
In 1874 diamonds were found in Brazil, |
and for 120 years diamonds were brought
from that source. After various at
tempts to work these diamond mines by
individuals, about a century ago the firm |
Of Hope & Co. of Amsterdam undertook |
the work and for the privilege assumed |
the government debt of Brazil. Amster- |
dam thus continued to hold her position as |
the center of the diamond cutting indus |
try employing directly or indirectly from |
q 5000 to 10000 people. OF late Antwerp,
4 Paris, and London have been overtaking |
Amsterdam in this industry, Antwerp |
cutting one-quarter of the worlds yield |
to-day. Within the last thirty years the |
product of the Brazil mines has declined |
to the extent of $4,000 annually. The in |
PRODUCTION of new machinery may again |
render these mines important, but they |
are now undersold by the great African |
diamond yield.
The African discoveries began in 1856, |
and have had several distinct stages of |
development. Probably had 1t not been
for the diamonds, the African gold mines |
would not have risen to their present inn |
portance. The first diamonds were found |
on the Gong Gong river in the neighbour |
mood of the Orange river, and the method |
followed there is the same as that in |
Brazil two or three men forming a COM |
pany and working on their own account. |
These mines, known as the river dig |
gings," are now of limited Importance. |
The Kimberley mines are four great |
mines covering about fifty or sixty acres. |
The Harvey shaft at Kimberley is now |
about 200 feet deep. The mines are moth |
Ing but chimneys or crates In which the |
peridotite may come up, completely |
churnlng the black shale through It. The |
shale contains IS per cent. of carbon, from |
which IL is believed the diamonds have |
resulted.
The history of the Kimberley develop |
ment is simply marvellous. city of 5000 |
inhabitants has sprung zap from desert. |
Al first the mines were worked in separ- |
ate small claims, there being as many own |