Waterbury Democrat., 1903-01-02
SCARCITY OF GEMS.
The Mere Precious Stones Are Crow
 ing Higher in Price.
Mines Are Worlsed-Out and the Pros ducers Are More Grasping ThaR Ever-An Interesting Chap
 ter on Geme.

ducers Are More Grasping ThaR
 Ever-An Interesting Chap
 ter on GeIns.
 Every year sees the price of emer- adds 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 manages to hold the price to it's present height, and it is not likely that the great diamond trust will ever be broken, states the Washington Star. What, then, ais the world of ordinary folk to do for gems? ?
 Eventually, jewellers say, the pub lie must come to proper apprecia- tion of the worth of the so-called in- ferior stones. These are much prized in other countries. If there is one part of the world which might justly be said to have a right to decide mat ters where precious stones are con cerned, it 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 number of jewels which rarely find their way to the windows of a frst-class dealer in this country. s.f
 Chief among the neglected stones, the day of which in the orient seems to be in 9 fair way of dawning at last, are alexandrites, white and pink cats eyes, carbuncles and Ceylon rubies. Of these gems few really fine speci- mems find their way to the Ameri- can market, and such as are seen are generally in crude or inappropriate settings. The result is that these stones do not appear to the best ad- vantage, and so have met with less public favor than they deserve. .. Take, for instance, the alexandrite, which possesses the remarkable quali- ty of changing it's color from a green ish yellow in the daytime to a glow ing red at night, When encircled with diamonds it forms beautiful orna- ment, and can be set effectively in gypsy rings, with .emeralds or sap phires. F.. a,.al-s
 To the superstitious1y inclined the ale4andrite should appeal strongly. Orientals hold that it not only pro- tects the wearer from footpads, but that those troubled with insomnia can obtain a good nights rest by gag ing intently upon theEstone after it has changed color. The pink and white sapphires are more highly pEized in eastern countries than the famil- jar blue variety, because x they, pre- serve better their luster and color at night. Tn fact, the white sapphire sheds such lliancy 3by artificial light that it requires an expert to distin- guish it from a diamond. Yet both pink and ssapp phires are seldom offered for sale out of theyorient.
 The carbuncle is another gem which oriental jewellers set, artistically, to- gether with moonstones, in bracelets and girdles of gold filigree work. It 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 quality they may be costly. A girdIe of carbuncles and moonstones in the possession of Queen Alexandra is val ued at $15, 5,OOO.n Y 11 fa .'s, v r
 To many people the carbuncle has one serious defect. The superstitious say that this stone occasionally devel- ops black spots, which are infallible signs of impending misfortune. When a black spot appears in a carbuncle owned by Hindoo, he loses no time in presenting it to some one for whom he cherishes secret aversion. He thus passes the stone with it's unlucky spot on to where he thinks it will do the most good or evil. '" [. @@@8
 As to the cats eye, So potenta charm against sickness is this gem consid-' cred by orientals that the loss or conn pulsory parting with one is viewed as little short of personal calamity. More than this, the eats eye is SUD- posed to endow it's possessor with sec ond sight, so that he can perceive and checkmate the evils of his enemies. Be this as it may, fine cats eye, when surrounded by brilliants, is a mag niicent ornament, and the only rea- son one can assign to it's meeting with less favor in the west than the east is that it is too often confused with the worthless Chinese pebble sold un- der the same name. , ms.
 For 5000 you can purchase fair ly large perfect diamond, and for the same sum even rubies and emeralds | at their present high value are with in your reach. And $25,oOO was the price paid by the nizam of Hydera- bad a few years ago for the cats eye which adorns his state turban. True, it is matchless specimen and as large as a pigeons egg, but it serves to show that cats eyes have some right to be classed as among gems of the first order. Left-Handed Ping-Pong. +s
 A southern girl gave left-handed ping-pong party which proved the jol-