The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-07-07

reduced to plastic state and then rolled
out in exceedingly thin sheets. This
veneer is cut into the proper shape and
cemented on the faces of the strass.
Glass diamonds can be bought for few
cents when unset, but a veneered dia-
mond is worth nearly a dollar. A high
degree Of skill is required in it's prepara-
ton.
There are several methods of dis
tinguishing between a true diamond and
paste. Hydrofluoric acid will eat glass,
but will not affect the genuine stone. A
file makes no impression on the latter
either. Finally, real diamond continues
to glitter when immersed in water.
ARTIFICIAL RUBIES.
Some artificial rub:es are of paste;
others have the same composition as the
genuine stone which consists of corun-
dunn The latter variety of imitation
ruby has the proper hardness and spe-
cific gravity, and the color is faultless.
1t can be distinguished from the true
ruby only by a powerful magnifying
glsss. SinguIarly enough, the genuine
article is identified by it's defects. There
are natural fawsi GIN it not found In the
imitation, although the imitation also
possesses other characteristics minute
bubbles, for instance) Which are readily
topaz ana emerald, it is not wise to use
a file. They are not hard enough to re-
sist it. The magnifying glass is the
surest means of ascertaining, the char
acter Of these Jewels
Owing, no doubt, to the fact that pearls
are often worn in strings instead Of
singly or in pairs like diamonds, the
business of manufacturing limitations of
them is far more extensive than any
indy hva1 Of
perhaps, the making of bogus turquoises
and emeralds and rubies for belt buckles.
And inasmuch as most of these imita-
ton pearls are exceedingly cheap, it is
possible for anybody to buy them. Thus,
one may get a card bearing a dozen
stickp:ns with imitation pearl heads for
from 10 to Is cents. If the stones were
genuine they would each be worth from
500 to 500.
There are several kinds of imitation
pearls. One is a glass bead filled with
composition. The glass is often not on er
siXty-fourth Of an inch thick There
are several different compositions used.
One looks very much like paraffin. A
bead filled with that material would crush
easily In other globular pearls, pierced
for stringing, a harder substance is en-
ployed. There is an imported i'm tation
pearl whose shell is said to be made Of
in which there is ground mother-o f-pearl,
the lustrous lining of the oyster shell
wherein the real psarl is produced. This
sort of jewel costs a dollar or two, and
a string of sixty would sell for $3.50. Real
pearls of the same size and beauty would
bring fully hundred times that price
THE HALO AROUND A PEARL.
Although the manufacture of imitation
pearls was long confined to Europe, it
is now conducted in this country also. A
New York house. the first to engage in
the business, introduced a novelty to the
trade few years ago. 1t made. sol d
pearls in addition to the filed ONES. The
composition employed is as hard as rock.
1t is almost impossible to break these
jewels And their Iustre, color and in
genious irregularity of form will deceive
anyone who does not use a magnifying
glass on them. The head of this house
tells many amusing stories about the MS
takes made by expert jewelers. and pawn
brokers when these stones first made their
appearance. OF course, it is not easy to
fool an experienced person Still, the ex-
pert must use a powerful lens in order to
ascertain the real character of a pearl.
He will not trust the naked eye. Occa-
sionally a jeweler will say: mo, I can
not detect an imitation pearl eight or ten
feet away, but if I hold it In my hand l
can see the difference between that and
the real thing. There's a sort of halo
around the genuine article which is I'M
mistakable." But other men in the trade
frankly admit that only by means of a
microscope can they discriminate.
A fashion has sprung up of late years
which enhances the deception produced
by imitation jewels. If a paste diamond
is set in a brass ring, or an imitation
pearl IS mounted on a German silver pin,
sharp-eyed observer might suspect the
character of the jewel But when the
setting. is Of IA carat or IS carat gold,
and the manufacturer has lavished more
or less artistic skill on the design of q