The evening times., 1900-03-02
AMERICAN JEWELS.
Valuable Mines Exist in Hnny seq
tions Of the Country.


The United States has never taken It's
proper place among the gem-produciug
countries. principally, it would appear be-
cause OF the superior gains offered in the
metal mines Every strike OF gold silver
I'm. lead copper or iron holds such a
promise that there is d rush OF adventur-
tis 10 the place. and minor industries and
promises are neglected. Patient and skill
Iu4 working OF the gem mines however
would appear 10 promise as well as MANY
OF the metal industries There are In Mon
taua, for instance. sapphires Of beauty and
Falue, but they have never been rs svs-
temaucally worked as have been the sap
pnlres OF the Orient. True thev are light
IN color, but they have more brilliancy
Than the Asian sapphires and often exbib-
II uichroism. or double color. under differ
eLt lights. The suppositiOn that a sap
paire should be dark blue is pos IDLY re-
sIonSihle Tor the slcHntss Of their ac-
cepianse IN the market. but as a matter
OF fact sdpphIres are NOT OF necessity blue.
they are green. yellow purple white and
when they are red we call them rubies:
for the ruby and sapphire are identi ally
the same. save FOR a fraction OF per cent
OF coluring matter.
Every gem known 10 the laaid4rv has
been found within our borders except
that form Of chrys0beryI known as alexan-
drite. stone most commonly found N
the Trails. and showing green by day and
red ry artificial light. We have also found
but few Of the yari-cOiored garnets OF
which Russia furnishes such rcnarkab bIe
and beautiful examples. and none that have
their DrlllIancy, though the red garnets o.
Arizona and contiguous tep!itory are IN
surpassed in richness. We have several
gems. moreover. that are almost peculiar
20 this country and thai should be used
more extensively because Of their in rinsic
beauty such are the golden beryls Of Con-
nectlcut. that are OF a brilliant yellow
fuh o. light and sparkle. and the cur Gus
chloTasUCllteS are thOmgOnitos Of axe
Superior. that are useful as green OF mot
tied grounds in the making OF designs
among the lesser kuCwh but in e-sstiur
and often beautiful minerals tha. are
found in this country and that lend Them
selves 10 purposes OF ornament are the
grass green hiddeIite, the supe. ior of en-
eTald in vlvacity; the duller green diop-
side, the utahlite. which is a rival Of tur-
quolse. II il can be made 20 keep its color
and texture, the ziroon, Of red and brown.
and especially the tourmaliue. whieh rep
reseuts q wide range Of color. from let
/ black TO almost water white and incIudiDp
pink, brown, blue. and almost every shade
Of green. These tourmalines are m-re an
preciated abroad than they are at home
and whereas we buy sapphires and rlbies
and tOpazes from Japan and Brazil and
1 turQuoises from Persia. we remain seem
ingly Indifferent 10 the gems that come
from Maine and Connecticut Collectors
have known them for years however. and
have prized them at their value. MANY of
the crystals show two and even three col
ors, being red at one end and green at the
olter' or green without and deep pink
within. OF these tourmalnes 50 OcO worth
were mined last year at Mount Mica Me
turquoise has been known to the Indians
OF the Southwest for centuries and thara
Is good reason to believe that ii was mined
by the AZteCs. Brooklyn capital has baen
invested in one Of the New Mexico mines
ana II is said that a superior quality has
been produced. There is probably no or
namental stone that is so extensively i'm
itated. Hundreds Of people are wearing
what they suppose TO be turquoise but is
in reality glass or enamel or a conposition
that closely copies its color and apparent
texture and does not fade as the stone il
self is apt 10 do. There has been an addf-
ton TO the semi-precious stones Of a new
variety OF garnet known as rhodolite of
a pale rose red, but not many specimens
have been brought to the cities. and il has
not appeared to any extent in jewelry. Il
would seem 20 be worth the while 70 work
our gem deposits more thoroughly. for. ac-
coTding to the report for 1898 by Mr.
George F. kunZ, the expert, there con-
tinues TO be a profitable activity in the
making Of jewelry. This country has i'm
ported as much as $4,000. 600 worth OF
gems and gem material in a single wear
while the home production has always
oeen relatively slight albeit there is a
gain. In 1855, for instance. the production
of precious stones In the United States
represented about $i61 GEO. as against
$4,000 in the year before, and sos. 900 in
the year before that. The indications are
that we have mineral veins and deposits
that VIII. when adequately worked. offer
rewards far in excess OF these figures.