Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-06
GEMS GROWING SCARCE
DIAMONDS, EMERALDs AND
RUBIEs DISAPPEARING.
Worked-Out Mines and the Graspiue
Hand Of the Trust Are
Causes Given.
Written FOR The Evening star.

written for Tie Evening star.
Every year sees the price of emeralds and
rubies rise higher, owing to the working
out OF some of the few mines where these
gems are found. There are diamonds
aplenty, but the De Beers syndicate man
ages to hold the price to its present height,
and 1t is not likely that the great diamond
trust VIII ever be broken. What. then, is
the world of ordinary folk to do for gems7
Eventually, jewelers. say, the public must
come to proper appreciation of the worth
of the so-called inferior stones. These are
much priced In other countries. II there is
one part of the world which might justly
be said to have a right to decide matters
where precious stones are concerned, IL
should be the orient. their first home. where
they are loved and understood as they
never can be in the western world. The
verdict OF the east is in favor of a number
or jewels which rarely find their way TO the
windows of u frst-class dealer in this coun-
try.
Chief among the neglected stones, the day
of which In the orient seems to be in A fair
way OF dawning at last, are alexandrites,
white and pink cats eyes, carbuncIes and
Ceylon rubieS. OF these gems few really
1ne specimens find their way to the Amer
lean market, and such as are seen are gen.
orally in crude or inappropriate settings.
Inc result is that these stones do not ap-
pear to the best advantage. and so have
met with less public favor than they de-
serve.
Take. for instance the alexandria. which,
possesses the remarkable quality of chang
Ing its color from a greenish yellow in the
daytime to glowing red at night. When
enclrcled with diamonds Ii forms a beauti-
full ornament, and can be set effectively in
gypsy rings, with emeralds or sapphires.
10 the superstitiously inclined the alex
andrite should appeal strongly Orientals
hold that it not only protects the wearer
from footpads but that those troubled with
insomnia can obtain a good nights rest by
gazing intently upon the stone after Il has
changed color. The pink and white sap
phires are more highly priced in eastern
countries than the familiar blue variety be-
cause they preserve better their luster and
color at night In fact. the white sapphire
sheds such brilliancy by artificial light that
1t requires an expert to distinguish it from
a diamond. Yet both pink and white sap
phires are seldom offered for sale out Of
the orient.
The carbuncle is another gem which or!en-
tai jewelers. set artistically, together with
moonstones, in bracelets and girdles of gold
fligree work. 1t does not usually require
the pocket book of a millionaire to become
the possessor of one of these ornaments
but when the stones are of the purest quail
ity they may be costly. A girdIe Of car
buncles and moonstones in the possession Of
Queen Alexandra is valued at $4,000.
To many people The carbunce has one
serious defect. The superstitious say that
this stone occasionally develops black spots,
which are infauible signs of impending mis-
fortune. When a black spot appears in
carbuncle owned by Hindu, he loses no
time in presenting it to some one for whom
he cherishes a secret aversion, He thus
passes the stone with its unlucky spot on
to where he thinks ii will do the most good
evil.
AS to the cats eve. so potent a charm
against sickness is this gem considered by
orientals that the loss or compulsory part
ing with one is viewed as little short of
personal calamity. More than this, the
cats eye is supposed to endow its possessor
with second sight, that he can perceive
and checkmate the evils of his enemies. BE
this 1T may A fine cats eye, when sur
rounded by brilliants, is a magnificent orna-
ment, and the only reason one can assign
to it's meeting with less favor in the west
than the east is that it is too often con-
fused with the worthless Chinese pebble
sold under the same name.
For $4,000 you purchase a fairly
large perfect diamond, and for the same
sum even rubies and emeralds al their pres
ent high value are within your reach. And
$4,000 was the price paid by the Nizam Of
Hyderabad a few years ago for the cats
eye which adorns his state turban. True,
it is a matchless specimen and as large as
a pigeons egg, but 1t serves to show that
cats eyes have some right to be classed as
among gems of the first order.