The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-03-15
IMITATION JEWELS.
PASTE DIAMONDS AND OTHER FALSE
PRECIOUS STONES.

Regular Trade In the Alleged
Gems That Gtcnm nmd GIittcr-who
Invented Them and where This
Cinss OF Glms.wnrc IL Nndr
If the rrovorh ''All's not gold that
glittcrS' were amended to read "All
are net diamonds that glitter. il
would he equally true and perhaps more
apt, for there's fully as much glitter
about jewels. real and false. as there is
III gold and It's limitations 1t is by art
fully turning and twisting, in the light
his tastctully mounted bit of glass that
| the tiimtlnn dealer III the goods of the
famous Dazzle Jewel company is ahlc
To catch the fancy and tempt the vanity
of tie gulliGle customer. who buys for
% cents an article which if it were
what it purports to be would cost from
500 to 5000
To bc sure. there arc people vino
purchase paste diamonds knowingly
Occasionally IN actress who cannot nf-
ford such II luxury and whose admirers
have not yet bestowed real diamonds
| upon her wears paste on the stage In
this case she knows exactly what sho is
about III making her purchase 1t has
been asserted with some show &C truth.
fulncss that actresses and singers who
have ainhsscd wealth and are the pos.
SCISSORS of genuine and valuable Jewels
have duplicates made which are ilnita
tions The originals are worn only un
der circumstances where detection
would be easy and where tho danger of
IL. f.,1
mum But on the stage and under
other conditions where there is more
or less danger Of carelcssncss OF mis-
chance the paste substitutes are used
1t 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. sccur-
ing peace of mind by sending their real
jewels TO safety deposit vault and
wearing clever limitations at receptions
theaters and balls
10 the jcweler 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 customer They apply only to
limitations Of diamonds The business
of making jewels is at least two cen
turies old Some of the accounts of the
invention of strass sny that it was
known in Strassbnrg as long ago as
1850 One authority attributes the
name 10 the city where it first made its
appearance and another to the man
who devised it. Josef Strnsscr The
word rhinestone is also employed to
describe the same article and is an al
lusion to the great stream OH which the
paste diamond made its debut How
ever. rhinestone" is applied to large
! specimens such as 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 about the same compost
tlOn as the rhinestone. but small enough
to look like real stone
A number of formula have been de-
vlsed In order TO produce Il glass of the
right hardness. brilliancy and purity
The jewelers. Circular recently gave u
number of them and remarked ut the
Same time that for century or more
no book ON glass was considered com
/ plcte without chapter on imitation
jewels. Even for making paste there
IS n variety of methods and mixtures
and to produce good likenesscs Of rubies.
| emcralds. amethysts and other colorcd
| stones the composition must be different
| from any of these
10 Il certain extent the jewclry trade
recognizes this industry as legitim:. %
| That is to say. there are dealers in
| Maiden lane who unhesitatingly advcr-
tisc real and imitation stones If
| you 20 IN and asl; to see stock. You are
asked without hesitation or disguise
whether you want TO examine tho real
| article or an imitation
Moreover. there are numerous houses
| notably i'll Providence and Attlcboro.
which manufacture earrings. finger
| rings, shirt studs. brooches. belts, buc-
klcs. clasps and other articles in various
| grades OF gold and set with imitation
! jewels None of the latter arc made in
America. They arc all imported But
| the mounting Is done here and without
| apparent intent to 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
| 60 his glass diamond fancy name. like
''The Dewey Brilliant. ''Tho Evening
Star. THE Cigarette. 1.-The Melba'
or ''The Kimberley" but 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 Jura region Of
France. not very far from the BIRTH
place Of strass The less expensive imi-
tations are nodded, like pressed glass
tumblers or dishes. The moro costly are
| cut, and the quality Of the cutting
counts for almost as much with the
| imDOrfpr "a color and luctnr I,p;fof;opo