Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1905-02-23
TESTS FOR DIAMONDS
SIMPLE METHODS BY WHICH ONE
MAY DETECT INVITATIONS.

SIMPLE METHODS BY WHICH ONE
MAY DETECT INVITATIONS.
The Hardness of the Genuine stone,
Its Resistance to Hydrohuoric Acid
and other of It's Peculiar Proper
tfes-CoIored Diamonds.
II YOU doubt the genuineness of your
diamonds or stones which you contem-
plate purchasing it is not necessary to
submit them to an expert. By study
ing the following methods of testing
these gems, says the Columbus Press
Post, you may become your own ex-
pert.
For the first lesson take a real dia-
mond and an imitation. Drop them in
glasses of water. The imitation will
blend with the water and become al
most invisible, while the real one Will
be distinctly visible, shining out white
Iy through the liquid. Dry and clean
! the two stones, and on the fat side OF
each put tiny drop of water On the
| real the drop will hold its globular
| form and can be led about with a pin
point. The drop on the glass one VIII
spread.
Study the two stones with magnify
ing glass. The facets of the false one
are even and regular. On the other
| they are of varying sizes. The reason
for this is that diamond cutter with
| a good gem will sacrifice symmetry TO
weight, preferring to leave some slight
| Irregularities in the planes and edges
than to reduce the stones value. The
| material in a false stone being Of little
| value. the cutter makes as finished a
| lob as he can of 1t, the appearance
| counting for more than the stone IT.
self
If a real diamond be used as minia-
| ture reading glass, aided by large
magnifying glass, a tiny dot on paper
appears clear and clean. Substitute
the false stone, and several points or
| one badly broken one will be seen ow-
ing to unequal refraction.
Then you can try the familiar expert
ment of scratching sheet Of glass.
Because your stone will scratch does
/ uOL DIONt llS hC"N'N
Try to break the glass evenly on the
scratch. No other stone can cut through
the outer skin of a sheet of glass and
give certainty to an even fracture like
diamond.
Your true diamond is proof against
the hardest file, but the instrument will
easily scratch any imitation that has
| ever been made.
Having scratched your pretty bit OF
glass till it is worthless, drop 1t and
the diamond into hydrofuoric acid. Be
fore long the glass will be dissolved
but the diamond will not suffer at all.
Then there is still another expert
ment. Take bit of stuff with red and
white markings, pass the stone to be
tested over it and closely observe the
result. If the stone be an imitation
the colors will be distinguishable
through it; IL it be diamond no diff
ference Of color will be appreciable.
A genuine diamond rubbed upon
wood or metal, after having been pre-
yiously subjected to tie rays of the
electric arc, becomes phosphorescent
n.
any of the limitations. If the stone
to be tried be covered with borax paste
and after being well heated in the al
cohol fame dropped into a glass OF
water the proof will be instantaneous
The glass imitation will fly into bits
while the genuine stone will not be af
feeted. Finally, try to crush between
two hard plates a diamond and an i'm
itation and learn the difference.
After the diamond the sapphire Is the
hardest stone With her more beauti
full sister she possesses also the quality
| of resisting the attacks Of the file, but
she is, however, cloudy In appearance
and OF a milky hue. The topaz ]:
slightly yellowish and surrenders te tho
cutting teeth of the file. There are o
| great number OF white diamonds. bu'
pure, clear, transparent stone without
shade Of color Is more rare than II
often supposed.
Besides white diamonds there are
some which exhibit the shades Of red
blue, green, yellow, brown, black and
pink. Heat sometimes causes a dia
mond to change its color, and after
time the color thus acquired becomes
permanent Yellow diamonds, or those
commonly denominated "of color
furnish the greatest variety Of shades
and some Of them exceed In beauty al
other stones Of that color.
Specimens of canary colored dia
monds are by no means rare. They
may almost be said to be common. A
pink or rose colored diamond IL oi
great value and the red diamond, sur
passing the ruby in its magnificent col
orlng, is considered the most beautiful
of all the precious stones, being ex
ceedlngly rare. The one bought by
Paul, czar of Russia, weighed tel
carats and cost him two and one-hali
million francs. A perfectly black dia
mond IA almost as rare rs red one.
For beauty the blue stones come di
rectly after the red diamonds. Those
possessing the deep blue, and IN this
respect resembling the sapphire, are in
deed most beautiful gems, differing
from the sapphire only in quality anC
by the magnificent fiery colors peculiar
to the diamond. The only true blue
diamonds come from the mines in In
dia. The varieties of green are not 50
rare as the blues, reds. blacks ant
pinks. but those Of grass green hue like
the beautiful emerald are seldom found
Where they do exist, however, they sur
pass In brilliancy the finest emerald.
In place of the Brazilian diamond
which Of late years has become quite
scarce, Cape diamonds Of much In
ferlor value and brilliaDcy are Otter
sold. TO be able to distinguish bctweer
these gems is an accomplishment pos
sessed by the few.
A Factor In the Problem.
Blanche-Does she love him? Clara
| How can she tell? She doesn't know