Evening star., 1900-03-31
WE ARE RICH IN GEMS
THE UNITED STATES CAN SUPPLY
EVERY KIND But ONE.
This Country Has Never Taken Its
Proper Place Among Nations Pro-
ducing Precious Stones.
From the Brooklyn Eagle.

From the Brooklyn Eagle.
The United States have never taken their
proper place among the gem-producing
countries, principally it would appear, be-
cause of the superior gains offered in the
metal mines. Patient and skillful working
of the gem mines. however, would appear
to promise as well rs many of the metal
industries. There are in Montana sapphires
Of beauty and value. True they are light
in color, but they have more brilliancy than
the Asian sapphires. and often exhibit dich-
roism, or double colo. under different
lights. The supposition that sapphire
should be dark blue is possibly responsible
for the slowness of their acceptance in the
market but, as matter of fact, sapphires
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 tGentically the same, save for
fraction of per cent of coloring matter.
Every gem known to the lapidary has
been found within our borders, except that
form of chrysoberyl known cs alexandria,
stone most commonly found in the Urals,
and showing green by day and red by arti-
hcfal light. We have also found but few of
the cari-colored garnets of which Russia
furnishes such remarkable and beautiful
examples. and none that have their bril-
nancy, though the red garnets of Arizona
and contiguous territory are UNSURPASSED
in richness. We have several gems more
over. that are almost peculiar to this coun-
try, and that should be used more extern
siVely because of their intrinsic beauty
Such are the golden beryls of Connecticut
that are Of brilliant yellow, full of light
and sparkle. and the curious chlorastroltes
and thomsonites of Lake Superior that are
useful as green or notified grounds in the
making Of designs.
Among the lesser known but Interesting
and often beautiful minerals that are found
In this country and that lend themselves
to purposes of ornament are the grass
green hiddenite, the superior Of emerald in
Vlvac1ty; the duller green diopside, the
utah1te, which is rival Of turquoise If 1T
can be made to keep its color and texture;
the zircon. of red and brown. and especially
the tourmaline, which presents a wide
range of color. from jet black to almost
water white, and including pink brown
blue and almost every shade of green These
tourmalines are more appreciated abroad
than they are at home, and whereas we buy
sapphires and rubies from Burmah and
diamonds from Africa and topazes from
Japan and Brazil and turquoises from
iersia, we remain seemingly Indifferent to
the gems that come from Maine and Con-
necticut. Collectors have known them for
years, however, and have priced them at
their value Many of the crystals show two
and even three colors being red at one end
and green at the other, or green without
and deep pink within. OF these tourmalines
5000 worth were mined last year at Mount
Mica, Me.
Turquoise has been known to the indians
good reason to believe that it was mined by
the Aztecs. Brooklyn capital has been in
vested in one of the New Mexico mines and
it Is said that superior quality has been
produced. There is probably no ornamental
stone that Is so extensively initiated. Hun
dreds of people are wearing what they sup
pose to be turquoise. but is in reality glass
or enamel or composition that closely
copies its color and apparent texture, and
does not fade. as the stone itself is apt to
DO There has been an addition to the semi
precious stones of new variety of garnet
known as rhodolite, Of pale rose red, but
not many specimens have been brought to
the cities, and it has not appeared to any
extent in jewelry. 1t would seem to be
worth our while to work our gem deposits
more thoroughly, for, according to the re-
port for 1898 by Mr.. George F. Kunz, the
expert, there continues to be profitable
activity in the making of jewelry. This
country has imported as much as s14, 500 900
worth of gems and gem material in single
year, while the home production has always
been relatively slight, albeit there is gain.
In 1898. for instance. the production of
precious stones in the United States repre-
sented about 600. as against s13O, 600 in
the year before and $4,000 in the year be-
fore that. The indications are that we have
mineral veins and deposits that will, when
adequately worked, offer rewards far in ex-
cess of these figures.