The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1903-01-24
SCARCITY OF GEMS.
The More Precious Stones Arc Grow
ing Higher In Price.
Mines Are wopADed-Out asd The Pro-
daeers Are More or~spIss TAAA
Ever-An Intsrestins Chap
ter on 0emAa.

aus anu TuUleb TADc hABhoAb O"AHb ~
the working out Of some of the few
mines where these gems are found.
There are diamonds aplenty, but the
De Beers syndicate manages 70 hold
the price to its present height, and It
Is NOT likely that the great diamond
trust will ever be broken, states the
Washington Star. What, then, 10 the
world OF ordinary folk TO do for gemsf
Eventually, jewellers say, the pub
Lie must come TO o proper apPrecia-
ton of the worth Of the so-called i'm
ferior stones. These are much priced
in other countries. II there 10 one
part of the world which might Justly
be said to have a right TO decide mat
tiers where precious stones are con-
eerned, 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 number of jewels
which rarely find their way to the
windows of q frst-class dealer in this
country.
CHIEF among the neglected stones,
the day of which in the orient seems
to be in 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 adj
vantage, and SO have met with less
public favor than they deserve.
Take, for instance, the alexandria,
which possesses the remarkable quali-
ty of changing its color from green
ish yellow in the daytime to glow.
ing red at night. When encircled with
diamonds it forms a beautiful oriia-
ment, and can be set effectively in
gypsy rings, with emeralds or sap
phires.
To the superstitiously inclined the
alexandria should appeal strongly.
Orientals hold that it not only pro-
tects the wearer from footpads, but
that those troubled with insomnia ean
obtain a good nights rest by gaz-
ing intently upon the stone after it
has changed color. The pink and
white sapphires are more highly priced
in eastern countries than the famil-
lar blue variety, because they pre-
serve better their luster and color at
night. In fact, the white sapphire
sheds such brilliancy by artificial light
that 1t requires an expert to distin-
guish it from a diamond Yet both
pink and white sapphires are seldom
offered for sale out of the orient.
The carbuncle is another gem which
oriental jewellers set artistically, to-
gether with moonstones, in bracelets
and girdles of gold filigree 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
quality they may be costly. a girdle
of carbuncles and moonstones in the
posse ssion of Queen Alexandra is VAL
ued at $4,000.
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 II
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 it will dc
the most good or evil
AS to the cats eye, SO potent charm
!, against sickness is this gem consid
! cred by orientals that the loss or com
pulsory parting with one is viewed
as little short of personal calamity
, More than this, the cats eye is sup
, posed to endow it's possessor with sec
ond sight, so that he can perceive ant
checkmate the evils of his enemies
D Be this as it may, fine cats eye, wheI
surrounded by brilliants, is mag
nificent ornament, and the only rea
son one can assign to its meeting will
r less favor in the west than the cas-
D is that it is too often confused will
the worthless Chinese pebble sold un
der the same name.
] For $4,000 you can purchase fair
ly large perfect diamond, and for tn
same sum even rubies and emerald
at their present high value are with
in your reach. And $4,000 was tn
price paid by the nizam of Hydera
bad a few years ago for the cat
eve which adorns his state turbaI
U.-o q I. . r,a4chlaca cnecimen an
! as large as a pigeons egg, but
serves to show that cats eyes hav
some right to be classed as anon
gems of the first order.