Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1899-05-20
IMITATION JEWELS
PASTE DIAMONDS AND OTHER FALSE
PRECIOUS STONES.
A Regular Trndc In the Alleged
Gems That GIram and GIItter-Who
Invented Them mud where This
Glass of Glassware - Made.

| Ctnss at tstnssware Is Made.
II the proverb ''Alls not gold that
glitters' were amended To read IAN
are not diamonds that glitter it
would be equally true and perhaps more
apt. for there's fully as much glitter
about jewels. real and false. as there is
in gold and its limitations II is by art
fully turning and twisting in the light
his tastefully mounted bit of glass that
the flimfiam dealer in the goods Of the
famous Dazzle Jewel company is able
to catch the fancy and tempt the vanity
of the gullible customer who buys for
% cents an article which if it were
what il purpurts TO be would cost from
800 To 5000
To be sure there are people who
purchase paste diamonds knowingly
Occasionally an actress who cannot af
ford such Il luxury and whose admirers
have not yet bestowed real diamonds
upon her wears paste on the stage In
| this case she knows exactly what she is
about III making her purchase II has
been asserted with some show of truth
| fulness that actresses and singers who
have amassed wealth and are the pos
SCISSORS of genuine and valuable jewels
have duplicates made which are iInita-
tions The originals are worn only un-
der circumstances where detection
would be easy and where the danger of
accidental loss is reduced to mini
mum But ON the stage and under
other conditions where there is more
or less danger of carelcSSneSs or mis-
chance the paste substitutes are used
II is even alleged that women in pri-
vate life harasScd by fear of burglars
and tired of having detectives follow
| them about on occasions when they
wear precious stones whose value
amounts To hundreds of thousands of
| dollars also resort To this device. secur
ing peace Of mind by sending their real
| jewels 10 II safety deposit vault and
wearing clever limitations at receptions
theaters and halls
To the Jeweler the word paste
means glass Sometimes one hears this
material called ''whitestone or
''strass. but these are terms employed
| by the trade alone and not in talking
with a customer They apply only TO
limitations of diamonds The business
of making jewels is nj least two cen
turtles old Some of the accounts of the
invention Of strass say that il was
known in Strassburg as long ago as
1880 One authority attributes the
name To the city where it first made its
appearance and another to the man
who devised it. Josef Strasser The
word rhinestone is also employed 10
| describe the same article and is an al
lusion to the great stream on which the
paste diamond made its debut How
ever rhinestone is applied to large
specimens. such az are suitable for
clasps and buckles. and are so enor-
nous that no one could possibly mis-
take them for diamonds whereas
paste is used to designate an imita
tion jewel. of abcut the same compost
tion as the rhinestone. but small enough
to look like real stone
A number Of formule have been de
vised in order To produce glass of the
right hardness. hrilliancy and purity
The Jewellers Circular recently gave a
same time that for century or more
no book ON glass was considered com
plete without ii chapter on imitation
jewels Even for making paste there
is "A variety of methods and mixtures.
and to produce good likenesses of rubies.
emeralds. amethysts and other colored
stones the composition must he different
from any of these
To "a certain extent the lewelry trade
recognizes this industry as legitimate
That is to say. there are dealers in
Maiden lane who unhesitatingly adver
tise real and imitation stones If
you go in and ask to see stock. you are
asked without hesitation or disguise
whether You want to examine the real
article or AN imitation
Moreover there are numerous houses.
notably in Providence and Attleboro.
which manufacture earrings. finger
rings. shirt studs hruCh,,s belts. buc
kles clasps and other articles in various
grades of gold and set with imitation
jewels Nome nf the latter are made in
America They are all imported. But
the mountin. is done here and without
apparent intent tn deceive at least so
far as the manufacturer is concerned
The retailer who buys from him is not
fooled He goes into the transaction
with his eyes open Perhaps for adver-
tising purposes the manufacturer gives
to his glas, diamond a fancy name. like
''The Dewey Brilliant. THE Evening
Star The Cigarette THE Melba
or The Kimberley. hut he does not
lie about its character
Most of the cheaper limitations come
from country famous for its other
glassware Bohemia But the better
ones are made in the .Iura region of
France not very far from the birth
place of StraSS The less expensive imi
| tatiuns are uoldc,i like pressed glass
tumblcrS or dishes The more costly are
cut and the quality of the cutting
| counts for almost as much with the
| importer as color and luster limitations
| that cost from 10 cents To 81 apiece
look L. the uninitiatrd like jewels which
would cost from So 10 $500. but their
nature is easily detected by nm expert
who has many tests at his disposal
| w udttNtT NAY Dt Ssilt III Tf-tTu 10
the Legitimate trade in imitation
j ewels il is to he feared that an enor
NOUS business iS done in them by un-
scrupulous dealers Such goods are often
sold To persons who imagine that they
are buying real diamonds Some of the
Misrepresentation indulged i'll are tech
nically legal but in instances one can
discover cases that clearly come within
the limits of obtaining money under
false pretenses New York Tribune
Won by strategy.
Before give definite answer To your
proposition of marriage. Mr.. Ticklowell. "
the Boston maiden said in calm. even
tones, Il must know what your convic-
tions are in reference to our duty toward
the English sparrow.
Miss How james, = replied the young
man. my position rs regards that perse-
cuted but interesting bird is identical
| with that Of ThOrcau
Rather than confess that she could not
at the moment remember anything Tho
rcau had ever written concerning the Eng
lish sparrow problem the proud Boston
maiden slowly yielded Chicago Tribune