The Washington times., 1901-06-30
THE IMITATION OF JEWELS
Bogus Precious Stones That Csn
Hardly Be Detected.
Many of the Impo~ed Counterfeit.
Puzzle Customs OhiciaIs-yarfeus
Kinds of False Pearls, Yet Trade
An the Genuine Article increases.

beeD ftrstGuced Tor a century OF more
there are comparatively new develop
! ments in che industry every few years.
and the business has OF late attained
enormous proportions. The majority OF
these stones are made abroad and hence
they are imported. But while they are ex-
ceedingiy cheap and the duty is low. the
attempt is occasionally made to smuggie
/ them into the country. and seizure re-
suits Again, the imitation Is sometimes
so good that even the customs officers are
! puzzled for a time. However. il is al
ways possible for an expert to tell the
] difference. If he has sufficient opportunity
10 apply the proper tests.
limitations Of the diamond, topaz emer-
| aid. amethyst, and turquoise are usually
made OF paste or strass. which is nothing
more than a particularly fine grade er
glass. to which, II the stone is coiored.
/ the proper hue has been ir.parted BY the
1 addition of some mine. .as substance.
! There is at least one Eur Jpean house.
though. which processes to ftdd carbon to
| its diamond composition. thus securing
| greater hardness than w0s4l6 otherwise
! be possible.
! In London still another plan is pursued
to improve the paste diamond. Genuine
| diamond dust, produced BY the cutting OF
Jewels, is treated with acid, reduced to
a plastic state and then rolled out in ex-
ceedfngly thin sheets. This veneer Is cut
into the proper shape ard cemented on ths
faces of the strass. Glass diamonds can
be bought for q few cents when unset.
but a veneered diamond Is worth nearly
a s.,ar. A high degree nf skill is re-
quired in its preparation
There are several methods OF distin-
gushing between true diamond and
II.
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
Some artificial rubies are OF paste. 9TH
ers have the same composition as the
genuine stone. which consists of corun-
DUN The latter variety OF imitation ruby
has the proper hardness and specific
gravity, and the color is faultless- 1t can
be distinguished from the true ruby only
by a powerful magnifying glass. Singu-
larry enough. the genuine article is iden-
titled by its defects. There are natural
flaws in it not found in the imitation, al
though the imitation also possesses other
characteristics (ninute bubbles. for in
staneej which are readily recognized. On
some stones, like the topaz and emerald.
it is not wise to use a file They are
not hard enough to resist IL. The mAgrI-
flying glass is the surest means Of ascer-
tanning the character of these jewels.
OwiIsE, lio doubt, to the fact that pearls
are often worn in strings instead OF
singly or in pairs like diamonds. the busi-
ness of manufacturing limitations Of them
is far more extensive than any kindred
branch OF the industry, except perhaps.
the making of bogus turqoises and emer-
aids and rubies for belt buckles. And
inasmueh as most of these imitation
pearls are exceedingly cheap, it is possi-
bic for anybody to buy them Thus, one
may get q card bearing a dozen stick
pins with imitation pearl Ee2as sG-- from
10 to 10 cents. II the stones were genuine
they would each be worth from $1s0 to
$2eo
There are several kinds Of imitation
pearls. One is a glass bead filled with
composition The glass is often not over
a sixty-feurfh of an inch thick There
are several different compositions used.
One looks very much like paraffins- A
bead filed with that material would crush
easily. In other globnlar pearls. pierced
for stringiBg, a harder substance Is en-
pI0yes- There is an imported imitation
pearl whose shell is said to be made Of
fish skin and whose filing IS a compound
the Iustreus lining of the oyster shell
wherein the real pearl is produced This
sort of jewel costs dollar or two. and a
string of sixty would sell for $50 Real
pearls OF the same size and beauty would
bring fully hundred times that price
Although the manufacture of imitation
pearls was long confined to Europe. it is
now conducted in this country aiso- A
New York house. the first TO engage IN
the business, introduced novelty to tho
trade a few years ago. Il made solid
pearls in addition to the filed ones The
composition employed is as hard as rock
It is almost impossible to break these
Jewels And their lGstre, color. and insse-
nious irregularity of form will deceive
anyone who docs not use a magnffyfng
glass on them. The head of this house
tells many amusing stories about the mis-
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 expert must use a powerful lens in
order to ascertain the real character OF
a pearl He viii not trust the naked eye.
Occasionally a jeweler will say: No. 1
cannot detect am imitation pearl eight
or ten feet away, but if ! hold it in my
HdHO L can see the QlEcTEHCe DtLHttU
that and the real thing. There's a sort
of halo around the genuine article which
is unmistakable. But other men in the
trade frankly admit that only by means
of 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.
a sharp-eyed observer might suspect the
character of the jewel But when the
setting is of Il carat or Is carat gold. and
the manufacturer has lavished more or
less artistic skin on the design of q ring
or stud or clasp. different impression is
created.
When one first gets an idea OF the enor-
nous extent TO which imitation jewels are
sold and worn he naturally wonders
whether the trade. in genuine stones has
been affected. But a little enquiry in the
proper quarter VIII satisfy him that it
has not The former are purchased by
a class of people who cannot afford the
after Charles T. Cook, Of Tiffany & Co,
said the other day: I'VE do not handle
that class of stuff and cannot say any
thing about il But we know that more
real precious stones are being sold today
Than ever before. The knowledge that
hey possess real gems is a source OF such
pleasure TO those who can afford 10 have
hem that they viii not be satisfied with
,nvthing else. The New York Tribune.