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

A.Rcgulnr Trade In the Alleged
Gems That G1enm and G1ittcr-Who
invented Them and Where This
Class of Glassware Is Made.
If the proverb "All S not gold that
glitters' were amended to read "All
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. 1t is by art
fully turning and twisting in the light
his tastefully mounted bit of glass that
the HimAam 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 it purports to be would cost from
$100 to $500.
To be sure. there are people who
purchase paste diamonds knowingly.
Occasionally an actress who cannot af-
ford such 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 in making her purchase. 1t has
been asserted with some show ct truth
fuiness that actresses and singers who
have amassed wealth and are the pos
SCISSORS of genuine and valuable jewels
have duplicates made which are imlta-
tions. The originals are worn only un-
der circumstances where detection
would be easy and where the danger OF
accidental loss is reduced to a mini
mum. But on the stage and under
other conditions where there is more
or less danger of carelessness or mis-
chance the paste substitutes are used.
1t is even alleged that women in pri.
vate life, harassed 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 to safety deposit vault and
wearing clever limitations at receptions.
theaters and balls
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 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 say that it was
known in Strassburg as long ago as
1850 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 to
describe the same article and is an al
fusion to the great stream on 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-
ton jewel. cf about the same compost
tio1 as the rhinestone, but small enough
to look like real stone.
A number of formula have been de-
vised in order to produce a glass of the
right hardness. brilliancy and purity
The jewelers. Circular recently gave q
number of them and remarked at the
same time that for a century or more
no book on glass was considered COM
! plete without 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 be different
from any OF these.
To a certain extent the jewelry 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 20 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 arc numerous houses.
notably in Providence and Attleboro.
which manufacture earrings. finger
rings. shirt studs. brooches. belts, buc-
kles. clasps and other articles in various
grades of gold and set with imitation
Jewels. None of the latter are made in
America They are 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-
Using purposes the manufacturer gives
to his glass diamond fancy name, like
..The Dewey Brilliant. 1.-The Evening
Star, ''The Cigarette, !" 1.-The Melba
or 1.-The Kimberley" but he does not
lie about its character.
Most of the cheaper limitations corue
from a 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 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 So apiece