The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-02-18
GEMS FOUND IN AMERICA.
People Apparently Indifferent to
Mines of Precious stones.

The United States have never taken their
proper place among the gem producing
countries. principally IL would appear, be-
cause of the superior gains offered in the
metal mines. Every strike Of gold. silver.
tin, lead, copper or iron holds such a
promise that there Is a rush Of adventur-
ers to the place. and minor industries and
promises are neglected. Patient and skill
full working OF the gem mines, however
would appear to promise as well many
OF the metal industries. There are in Mon
tana, for instance sapphires OF beauty and
value. but they have never been as sys-
tematically worked as have been the sap
phires of the Orient True, they are light
In color. but they have more briliancy than
the Asian sapphires and often exhibit d.
chorisrn. or double color. 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 identically the same save for
fraction of per cent. of coloring mat
ter
Every gem known to the lap,dary has
been found within our borders, except that
form OF chrysoberyl known as alexandria
stone most commonly found in the UraIs
and showing green by day and red by arti-
fetal light. We have also found but few
OF the vari-colored garnets OF which Rus
Sa furnishes such remarkable and beautf-
ful examples and none that have their bril-
liancy. though the red garnets of Arizona
and contiguous territory are unsurpassed in
richness. We have several gems moreover
that are almost peculiar to this country and
that should be used more extensively be-
ne rt halt tx<Sp
the golden beryls Of Connecticut. that are
OF brilliant yellow. full OF light and
sparkle and the curious chloraMrolites and
thomsonites Of Lake Superior that are
useftfl as green or mottled 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 ornamentation are the grass
green hiddenite. the superior OF emerald In
vfvac'ty; the duller green upside the
utalhite. which Is rival Of turquoise. II II
can be made to keep it's color and texture:
the zircon, Of red and brown and especial
ly The tourrnaline. which presents a wide
range or 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 Mt home and whsre-
as we buy sapphires and rubiee from Bur-
nah, and diamonds from Africa. and To-
PAGES from Japan and Brazil. and fur
quoises from Persia, we remain seemingly
indifferent 70 the gems that come from
Maine ana Connecticut. Collectors have
known them for years. however and have
priced them at Their value MANY OF ma
crystals show two and even three ccrors
being red at one end and green nj the
ocner. or green without and deep pink with
IN. ~ these tourmaiines $4,000 worth were
mined last year at Mount Mica, NJ.
Turquoise has been known to the Indians
or the southwest for centuries and there
is good reason TO believe that It was mined
by the Astecs. Brooklyn capital has been
invested In one OF the New Mexico mines
and 1t fs said that superior quality has
been produced There is rrobably no or
namental stone that 1. so extensively jrnt
tated, Hundreds OF people are wearing
what is In reality glass or enamel or a COM
position that closely copies it's color and an
parent texture, and does not fade as the
stone Itself is apt to do. There has been
an addition 10 the semi-precious stones 81
new variety OF garnet known as rhoaaIite.
OF a pale rose red. but not many specimens
have been brought 10 the cities and I, has
not appeared TO any extent In tewelry.
II would seem to be worth the Will. to
work our gem deposits more Thoroughly.
for. according to the report for fsaH nv
Mr., George r. Kuntx. the expert there con-
tinues TO be a profitable activity In the
making OF ieweiry This country has i'm
ported as much az si4, 800 900 worth of gem,
and gem material in n single year. while
the home production has always been reia
lively slight. albeit there Is gain. In
1858. for instance. the production OF preci-
Gus stones in the United States represented
ahou, Nsl.eo as against $4,000 IN the
year before. and $500 in the year fore
that. The Indications ere that ,ve have
mineral veins and deposits That viii. wh.n
adequately worked. offer rewards far in ex
cess OF these figures