The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1899-03-17

RULES FOR DETECTING PASTE pIA-
MONDS AND DOUBlETa

swindler Who Defraudod London Pawn
brokers Out of 100000 in One Year
His Manner OF Working the Game Was
Simple.
A method of successful imposition
with diamonds has been discovered
and the originator of this swindle act
ually defrauded the pawnbrokers OF
London alone In one year of upward
of 100000.
The general public as we'll as jewell
ers are aware that diamonds Of a yell
lowish tinge, or, as they are called In
the trade, "straws," are worth very lit
tie. Large stones of this color, even
when weighing from ten to 100 carats,
are quite common, and will only fetch
in the market from Ell to "a per carat,
the value, Of course, increasing in ratio
with the weight. Diamonds Of the
same weight, if of the first water, or
perfectly colorless, would be worth
from five to ten times as much.
The methods of the individual re-
ferred to were as follows: He pur-
chased a quantity Of yellow stones"
and then by simple yet ingenious pro-
cess succeeded in imparting to them
an evanescent purity Of color. This
was done by procuring two ordinary
glasses, kettle of boiling water, and
a threepenny packet of mauve dye.
The yellow" diamond which was per-
haps set in gold ring or pin, was
merely dipped in the glass containing
the dye and then in clean boiling wa
ter half dozen times and allowed to
dry, when 1t presented all the appear
ance, even to the eye Of an expert, Of
a magnificent stone Of the first water.
The next move was to place the ring
on the finger and the we'll dressed dyer
would sally forth, enter a pawnbroker's
and pledge the ring for at least three
times its worth. Within twelve hours,
however, the effects of the dye would
have disappeared and the poor pawn
broker could only wonder what on
earth was wrong with his eyes when
he advanced so much money on such
yellow stone.
Fortunately. owing to the magnitude
Of this individuals operations. the
fraud has been discovered, and now
pawnbrokers, If they are suspicious Of
a diamonds color, immense 1t in nitric
acid, which, of course, destroys any
dye that may be presented without In
any way injuring the stone.
Rubies, sapphires and emeralds may
be initiated SO excellently in paste"
as to deceive any eye, but the hardness
of these gems cannot be impaired to
glass or paste" For fraudulent pur-
poses "doublets" are manufactured.
which even rival the beauty of gen.
uine gems. "Doublets." as the name
implies, are made In two pieces. The
top half is usually genuine stone.
generally a white sapphire beautifully
cut and polished. This is joined by
an invisible cement to paste" bottom
or even to another white sapphire.
painted on the side where the joint is
to the stone 1t is desired to counterfeit.
These "doublets" look as well as, usu-
ally better than, bona f1de stones, ex-
cepting those of the finest quality, and
are to be discovered by only one test.
Take them out of their setting and
cast them into boiling water, when II
they are "doublets" they will speedily
come asunder. A jeweler will exper-
fence no difficulty in reuniting them as
before, but 1t must be remembered that
such stones are to all intents and pur.
poses valueless.