The Washington times., 1902-02-02
PASTE DIAMONDS
and BOGUS GEMS
They Deck the BroWs of Fair
Women of Washington.
JEWELERS. MAINTAIN SECRECY
They tdmit sale of the SparkIers
''but Onl, on Special Orier''-What
an Oriental Dealer Says Regard
ing the Matter.

Dark and deep is the mystery surround
| ing the manufacture and sale of artificial
diamonds in this city. The prominent
| jewellers disclaim the sale of false gems
as a general thing. while among the
| smaller members of the trade the asser-
| tion is made that all dealers sell different
! varieties of artificial diamonds.
| But it is only by special order that we
| furnish paste instead of the real stone"
| said one reticent tradesman. and, turning
| to wait on a customer, he ignored the
| presence of the newspaper man.
There IS an emporium here. however.
! in which the sale of artificial stones forms
| a speciality. This establishment is kept
| by a dushy individual, who sells in addi-
tion to imitation precious stones those
Oriental products which have of late
years become so familiar
As there was apparently no danger of
| hurting this gentlemans feelings by al
luding to his diamonds as not genuine. the
value was asked of very superb brooch.
which sparkled in the showcase, with the
proviSo ''if it were real
Price Only Quarter.
The dusky gentleman replied in i'm
perfect English: IF it were real it would
cost ypI at least 81. 500
And the price is ?''
Twenty-Five cents This is the poorest
quality of PASTE he said, as he turned
the brooch around so as to display it's full
gorgeousness.
And yet,'' he continued, eff 1t were
worn, not one person in a thousand could
tell that it was not real Have l any
better limitations? Undoubtedly: there are
different shades and degrees OF imitation,
you know. Now. here is a rhinestone.
cut and polished by hand just as if it
were real diamond"
He produced g stone which. y-ere it
genuine brilliant, would have cost about
$500; its price was S1.5O. and the dealer
confesseds th.t. by disposing of it at that
raJe, he realized a good profit This stone
was undoubtedly beautiful one, with all
the rainbow CLEANS of the diamond. but,
like the rainbow, its spiendor was fleet
ing, and. in the course of a couple OF
years, it would be duh and lead coiored
The Veneering of Diamonds
THE rhinestone is the best imitation
of the diamond that has yet been found.
said the dealer He appeared not to know
of the French process of veneering dia-
monds. which forms quite a notable in
dustry in Paris.
The body of the gen. in this species OF
imitation. is OF quartz or crystal. After
being cut into i proper shape it is put
with a liquid. the latter being made OF
diamonds which are too small to be cut
and OF the clippings taken from diamonds
during the process of polishing them. In
this way all the small particles of dia-
monds that heretofore have been regard
ed as comparatively worthless can, By
means of this ingenious process, be made
of service to the ieweler.
According to the dealer in false gems,
artificial diamonds are largely bought by
two classes, the one composed of these
persons whose financial resources are
not equal TO their love of display and
the other of those often prominent by
reason of wealth and position, who are
known to possess fine diamonds and are
expected to wear the same upon notable
occasions. but VINO sometimes, owing 10
temporary embarrassment are unable to
meet what is required of them by society
and their husbands in this respect without
a substitution OF false jewels for the gen
uine.
Friends in Need.
1t is superfluous to say that, to the
latter especially. the fabricator and seller
OF artificial stones are friends in need.
1t is also pretty we'll known that ladies'
of the thea Irical profession, who are wont
to dazzle admiring audiences with their
glittering array of diamonds. are likewise
indebted in most instances to the skillful
im:tator.
Il find it very amusing" said one jew
elcr ITO listen to the criticisms made
upon genuine diamonds by persons who
are totally ignorant OF the subject. L
sold a neat little diamond ring to young
man lust before Christmas, the story OF
which furnishes a typical illustration of
what good many people know about dia-
monds. The ring was intended by the
young man as present to his sweetheart,
and | sold it for $40. which was rather
cheap, the stone, though small, being Of
excellent quality.
We'll, that ring soon became burden
to its fair recipient. Her friends, male
and female all told her it was false, each
critic laying special claim to being an
authority on the subject OF diamonds, for
less a person knows about it, the more he
thinks he knows.
Her anxiety Relieved.
'At last the young lady became SO
wrought up over the matter that she had
the stone taken TO another jeweler, who.
OF course. at once pronounced it genuine.
thus enabling her to triumph over the i'm
mutations CT he friends"
Many persons. by investing in diamonds
before the South African war. have
reaped handsome profits. for the price of
the gems has gone up at least 10 per cent
during the progress Of that struggle. The
mines of South Africa form the only re-
source for supplying the diamond market
OF the world.
The East Indian mines. which furnished
all the great historic diamonds. have been
worked out over a hundred years. The
mines of Brazil, which produced gems un-
rivaled in quality, have also been prac-
tically abandoned. and though. from all
indications the mines of Kimberley are
well nigh ineXhaustible, their productive
ness has been necessarily curtailed dur
ing the present hoStiities between Great
Britain and the BOer Republic.
Perhaps the most startling development
of the diamond question is the manufac-
ture, by a French chemist. of genuine
stones. He is, at present, working 10 dis
cover a means for making stones of mar
.letabe size. those which he has hitherto
produced being too small to be OF any
value Should he succeed.
the diamond market will. of course, be
affected; to what extent it is impossible
to say.
NaUY ORDERS