Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1899-03-13
ALLABOUT DIAMOND.
RPoRTATloNoFTHEMhG GARoMETEl
 AS TO BUSINESS PRosPERlTY

Much of tho suppi< or the United States
 Comes From Grent Britain-The Ire
 mendous Business Done in Precious
 Stones of All Kinda.
 There is an old saying among dia- mond dealers that by the volume of the importation of precious stones from abroad the condition of business in this country may be correctly gauged. When times are good the demand for diamonds is large; when times are bad, diamonds. being q luxury. are in less demand and the importation of them declines. Just now there is largely increased demand for diamonds, and if there be merit in the claim made in the saying quoted this should be an other indication of perVasive good times The Treasury bulletin recently issued in Washington eorroborates dis tinctly the claim of enlarged importa- tions of diamonds. Here are the fig ures for the two years, the two fiscal years, ending July l. of 1897 and 1898, of diamond impoftations into the United States; 18975 $1,985,8l0; 1898 S6. .955, 7S9. The increase of importa- tions of diamonds is however, not the only one in the line of decorative jewelry," so to speak. The importa- tions for the two years of other pre- cieus stones, rubies, sapphires. emer- aids, pearls, opals, &e.. are as follows in amount: 1897. @L573. 788; 1898, s. 440,076.
 The two chief foreign ports from which diamonds are sent to this coun- try are Amsterdam and Antwerp. From Great Britain considerable amount of iewelry is exported to the United States. but much of it comes from England in transit, particularly from Switzerland. country having few direct trade relations with the United States. h the fiscal year of 1891, following the depression caused by the financial disturbances of that year, the exports of jewelry to the United States fell off one-half in amount The exportatiens of French iewelry fell off tWo-thirds and from Holland four-fifths, but the losses sus- tained in the amount of the exports have been more than covered this year, as the Treasury figures show. The American port which practically gets all the jeWelry, diamonds, and precious stones sent into the United States is New York, the importations into other American ports being insignificant in HI1 T NrF a considerable share of the eountry's jewelry business is done in New Eng land, particularly in the city of Provi- dence The explanation of the matter is that New York is the market of sup ply for the whole country in jewelry and precious stones, though New York has only part of the trade in diamond and precious stone setting.
 The largest country of export of un- cut diamonds to the United States is Holland, and England follows through the development of the diamond inter- ests in Africa. In the importations of jeWelry and precious stones other than diamonds, France leads and Holland follows The yarianees in the amount of business done in diamonds and precious stones Ca trade peculiarly sus- eeptible to trade conditions) is shown in the case of Belgium. In 1894 it's total expectations to the United States were to the value of $74OoO in dia- monds, jewelrv, and precious stones. The year before they were $210,000, or fhree times as much The wear after they were $500,000, or seven times greater.
 he same assertion which is made concerning diamonds and precious stones as trade barometer has been made assiduously for champagne. the lmportations of which are always larg- est when business is good and small- est when times are dull.