Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1905-02-22
TESTS FOR DIAMONDS
SIMPLE METHODS BY WHICH ONE
MAY DETECT INVITATIONS.

The Hardness of the Genuine stone,
Its Remittance to Hydronuoric Acid
and Other of Its Peculiar Proper
ties-Colored Diamonds.
If you doubt the genuineness of your
diamonds or stones which you contem-
plate purchasing 1t 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 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
~ through the liquid. Dry and clean
the two stones, and on the fiat 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 will
| spread
Study the two stones with magnify
ing glass. The facets of the false one
are even and regular. On the other
they arc Of varying sizes. The reason
for this is that diamond cutter with
n good gem will sacrifice symmetry to
weight, praferring 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
Job as he can Of 1t, the appearance
counting for more than the stone it.
self.
If q real diamond be used as q NINA
ture reading. glass, aided by large
magnifying glass, 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
not prove its genuineness, however.
Try to break the glass evenly on the
scratch. No other stone can cut through
the outer skin of 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
l u1OSS FIJI 10
the diamond into hydroiuoric 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; If it be diamond no diff
ference of color will be appreciable.
A genuine diamond rubbed upon
wood or metal, after having been pre-
viously subjected to the rays Of the
electric arc, becomes phosphorescent
in the dark. This cannot be said Of
any of the limitations. II the stone
to be tried be covered with borax paste
and after being well heated in the al
cohol flame dropped into glass of
water the proof will be instantaneous.
The glass imitation will fly into bits,
while the genuine stone will not be af-
fected. Finally, try to crush between
two hard plates diamond and an i'm
itation and learn the difference.
Affor ho 10 u,orH tho To- <I,,
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 milky hue. The topaz is
slightly yellowish and surrenders to the
cutting teeth of the file. There are
great number Of white diamonds, but
pure. clear, transparent stone without
shade Of color is more rare than is
often supposed.
Besides white diamonds there are
some which exhibit the shades of red,
blue, green, yellow, brown, black and
pink. Heat sometimes causes dia-
mond to change its color, and after
time the color thus acquired becomes
permanent. Yellow diamonds, or those
commonly denominnted "of COLOR"
furnish the greatest variety Of shades
and some Of them exceed In beauty all
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 is Of
great value. and the red diamond, sur
passing the ruby in its magnificent col
oring, is considered the most beautiful
of all the precious stones, being ex-
ceedingly rare. The one bought by
Paul, car Of Russia, weighed ten
carats and cost him two and one-half
million francs. A perfectly black dia-
mond Is almost as rare us red one.
For beauty the blue stones come d.
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 and
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 SO
rare as the blues, reds, blacks and
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
ferior value and brilliancy are often
sold. To be able to distinguish between
these gems is an accomplishment pos
sessed by the few.
THE GILES OF BINcHE.