Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-02-11

1 No. ~
and garnet, DO not change color SO rap
Idly as the false topaz, which Is but a
| species Of yellow quartz but when
well cut rivals In beauty the Oriental
gem, The Brazilian topaz, bright
yellow, when subjected to heat, be-
comes red, and the wearers OF these
gems have sometimes been greatly as
tonlshed to find them changing color
in even so moderate a heat as that to
! which they are subjected when the
owner sits before a fire. The Saxon
topaz. under the same circumstances.
| though a beautiful wine color, fades
INTO dull white and never regains its
| original hue. The col0red gems are.
| therefore, delicate objects to own,
for though the probability is that an
emerald. ruby. sapphire or even a
topaz or garnet may retain It's color
and br1lliancy during lifetime, there
| Is chance that 1t will fade and thus
delude the buyer into the belief that
| he has purchased an imitation stone,
| when the mysterious chemistry Of ma
| ture Is alone responsible for the
change.
Thomas Hope. the English author,
traveller and collector of pictures. gems
| and art objects, is known in the annals
of jewels as the possessor of the fam
Gus blue diamond called by his own
| name. and on which a shade of suspi-
cion has been cast from the fact that
| among the French crown Jewels which
| disappeared in 1892 there was a blue
| diamond somewhat larger than the
| Hope. This collector had a sapphire,
\ picked up in India, which gave him
not little annoyance on account of it's
mysterious loss of color. When pur-
chased by Hope it was wonderfully
beautiful shade of dark blue, though of
no great size. being only 16 carats in
| weight II was pronounced by experts
| to be one of the finest known gems of
that species. Hope took it home to
| England, and after he had builded the
| house that was the talk of all his
countrymen. placed it in his special COL
lection of diamonds and other precious
stones After a time the persons in
| charge of the collection began to no.
| dice change in the splendid gem
| Spots Of lighter blue than was shown.
| in the body of the stone appeared on
the surface. critical examination
| by experts furnished no explanation.
| the experts had never seen such a case.
Little by little the spots grew larger.
| and by and by the stone assumed a
notified appearance, two CT three shades
Of blue appearing i'm its substance. The
deterioration continued. and under the
advice of gem expert Hope had the
stone placed in box filled with earth.
which was kept constantly moist The
treatment was continued for two years
during which the progress of decay il
such term could be used in this con-
ncction. was apparently arrested. but
when the gem was returned to thel
cabinet the degeneration went on at a !
rate more rapid than before. In a few
months the beautiful stone became q |
dull blush white, notified pebble hav-
ing not the slightest resemblance to the
precious jewel Hope had brought from
India. Suspecting. that he had. in some
manner. been imposed on by the Bonn
bay Jeweier of whom he had bought it, |
Hope wrote to India desiring a friend !
Ia make an investigation, but nothing
vas 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 il was concluded
that something in the chemical compo-
81 Jon of the stone had wrought the uni
expected result.
4 volume would not contain the stor-
les told by expert jewellers of the mis-
fortunes of pearls. Consisting almost
entirely of the carbonate of lime, theyI
are easily damaged, and when once in-I
1ured can not be restored. Thrown into
Il lire. at an ordinary red heat, they are
converted into a pinch Of lime DUST,
accidentally touched with any corrod-
ing acid. they are effected precisely
as a bit of marble or limestone would,
he under similar circumstances They
are easily cracked and broken. some-I
times they lose their luster through
ne ndling, the acids contained in the
perspiration of the skin having beeni
known to affect them. Aside, however,
from all these accidents. they are lia-
bic to deterioration from causes which. 1
at best. are obscure. and sometimes arel
altogether beyond the ability of the
scientist to conjecture. Pearls havei
been known to lose their mster and be-
come quite black. when not exposed, sol
far as known, to circumstances which $
would cause chemical change In 4
every great collection of gems there are :
dead pearls that is, pearls which $
have undergone the change already
to such an extent as to lose c
all appearance of the gem save the c
shape. Many experiments have been c
made with a view to restoring such
gems to their pristine splendor. but
these have been unsuccessful.
1t is not commonly known that the
re Of t,;. II