The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-03-06
GEMS MADE TO ORDER.
Thousands of Pounds Worth Manu-
featured Yearly.
From the London Daily Mail.

From the London Daily Mail.
jewelers. who have been laying in stock
recently, and those of the general public
In London and the country who have
bought rubies within the past few months,
may feel somewhat alarmed to hear that
there are numbers of manufactured ru-
bies in the market.
mandatory Is in existence for the
making of rubles, and the operations of
this place are now in full blast.
The very clever people who are behind
this concern have discovered a process OF
making rubies which are perfect and in
distinguishable duplicates of the best pig
cons bookstores They are sufficiently
perfect to deceive the very elect
They have the pure transparency. the
rich red color and the hardness which
make the pigeons blood ruby more highly
priced than even the diamond itself, per-
feet specimens of the ruby being much
rarer than good diamonds and fetching
from 800 to 200 per carat, or even more,
when over a carat in weight
Having become acquainted with these
facts, a Daily Mail reporter last night
asked the opinion upon the matter of the
eminent consulting, chemical expert, Mr..
James tMactear,i ,F,nR IS Fin T. l. G., f.
C. S., who is consulting chemist and en-
gineer to- the Witwatersrand Chamber of
Mines. fufn
Not only does Mr.. Mactear pronounce
in favor of the production and sale OF
manufactured rubies, and declare that not
even the greatest experts can distinguish
between the natural and the manufactur-
ed gem, but he goes further, and asks
why if science can produce trinket
which cannot be told from natures. she
should not have the benefit of the differ
ence in price between what 1t costs to
make the article in the laboratory and
the obtaining of a stone of similar size
and quality from an Oriental mine.
In reply to questions Mr.. Mactear said:
1.-The first of the manufactured rubies was
produced by Messrs. Frenzy & Fell. The
fact is that rubies and sapphires of a
small size could be produced, like da-
monds, for many years, Ableman being
probably the first to utilize crystalline alu-
nina. He was followed by the firm just
mentioned, operating in the glass furna-
ces at st. Gobain, who succeeded in pro-
ducing crystalline shades of the true ruby.
The size, however,, was not satisfactory.
''since then reports have from time to
time been made that artificial rubies and
sapphires were being placed upon the mar
ket, and I examined large number of
manufactured rubies which were offered
to Messrs. s.. Smith & Son, Strand.
Specimens Of the stones, upon being ex-
amined. were quite indistinguishable from
the true ruby, except when examined In a
special form under the microscope, when
a popularity, first observed by Mr. Kunz,
the confidential expert of one of the prin-
cipal American houses dealing In prec-
ious stones, could be noticed.
This popularity was that the form Of
the small cavities in the artificial rubies
froq,.
while in the natural stones the hollow
spaces are irregular in outline, and often
contain inclusions of liquid. The other
characteristics shown by the microscope
have reference to the linear appearance,
the form of the crystals and the so-called
silk A sort of fibrous appearance has
also been rfoticed in the artificial as we'll
as the natural stones, 4,- .-
within the last few years an immense
advance has been made in the manufac-
ture of rubies by NJ. L. Maiche. This ex-
pert has succeeded not only In crystaIliz-
ing alumna in the form OF rubies and
sapphires, but in deyising method of
growing the crystal from small frag-
ments the size of pinhead to crystals of
over 40 carats in weight, worth, say, #, 900
each. 1859
THE process, is a secret one, but Is un-
derstood to be quite simple, and was in
Vesugated by Sir william Crookes Some
of the stones made by this process are Of
very fine quality, and are valued at as
much as f12O per carat.
IN. Maiche carried on the manufacture
of rubies on a large scale, and In 1897
a statement was published 20 the share
holders of his syndicate in which the prof
Its were certified by firm of chartered
accountants 70 be at the rate of f97. 900
per annum. 1t Is now stated that a plant
is being erected which would increase the
profits to over 100000 per annum"
Asked If he were certain of his grounds
for stating that artificial rubies could not
be told from mine gems, MIR. Mactear
said:
"Mr. Kunz believes that the only way
In which to discriminate between the two
kinds of rubies is by microscopical exam
nation. Sir William Crookes believes
that ..ha hoet. nat be,d ~ dfsti,,e.,,seLs. a.