Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-22

ternple ON Mount Moriah, and that the low
err ruins reproduced the palace inhabited
by the Queen of Sheba during her stay oi
several years in Jerusalem. This does NOT
impair however, the probable accuracy o.
his main contention, that he had revealed
mart OF the ancient workings of the peopie
who furnished the gold to Arabia ana Jul
dea in the days of Solomon
Without going into the varied researches,
il may be observed that Ophir was not the
source of the gold, but port on the south
coast of Arabia through which the now o,
gold came by sea. Havflah was the iailu
whence came the gold of Ophir, great
tract in southeastern Africa largely identi-
fed with modern Rhodesfa. The ancient
gold workings of this region were nrst
opened by south Arabian Himyarltes, VINO
were followed (but not before the time Oh
Solomon) by the Phoenicians. and these
very much later by Moslem Arabs. mars
hish was the outlet for the precious metals
and stones of Havilah. and stood propa-
bly, on the present site of Sofala. Inc
Queen of Sheba came by land. and not over
the seas. to the court of Solomon Her
kingdom was Yemen, Arabia, where our
mocha coffee comes from.
THE South African diamond fields nave
contributed over four hundred million dol
lars worth to the worlds stock of gems,
continued Mr.. Williams. yet the demand
has kept pace with the production, and fan
cy and fashion have not been diverted.
The value of the plumber carried away
from Delhi. the Mogul capital, by Nadir
Shah, a Persian invader, in 1889 has been
estimated at $500, 900. and great share
of this was precious stones. There may
never again be such a collection in theF
hands of any monarch or nabob as the
store amassed by the Great Moguls, but
the crown jewels and private treasures of
the leading courts of Europe today are of
immense value and are growing greater.
Crown Jewels of the World.
The crown Jewels of France were esti-
mated at 100000 more than hundred
years ago, and even this great amount
is far exceeded by the value of the Rus
sian crown jewels. The crown OF Ivan
Alexiowitch contained ISL brilliants; the
Empress Catherine had 1856 brilliants in
her crown. and the purchases of the sue
ceeding cZars have been enormous. The
British crown jewels do not equal the Rus
sian in number value. though there are
several magnificent gems among them be-
sides the Koh-i-nur. The crown. especial
ly made for the coronation of the late
Queen Victoria in 1883, was regarded a
superb showing of the art of the leading
jewelers. OF London, as well as of the gems
displayed. 1t is fashioned of hoops or
silver inclosing a cap OF deep blue velvet.
Precious stones completely incase the
hoops, which are surmounted by a ball
covered with diamonds and bearing NAL
tese cross of brilliants, with q splendid
sapphire as the central jewel. The rim of
the crown is clustered with brilliants and
Maltese crosses. On the cross at the front
of the crown Is set the magnificent heart
shaped ruby which was worn by Edward,
the Black Prince, and beneath this ruby,
in a circular rim, is an oblong sapphire of
extraordinary size and beauty. Clusters
of drop pearls add to the respondent effect
of the massing of the diamonds rubies
emeralds and sapphires.
1T is scarcely to be expected that any
private collections of gems should rival
the treasures of sovereigns, whose crown
jewels may be the display of centuries of
accumulation. but some of the noble fami-
lies of Europe, and other wealthy owners
nave gems that any monarch in the world
might covet. There are a considerable
number of collections ranging in value
over million dollars. In the United States
1t is estimated that there are at least halt
dozen such collections, one of which con-
tains necklace valued at $320o0 At
every court reception grand ball or OPP
era the display of jewels may be measured
in millions of dollars. ard the diffusion of
gems is constantly spreading with the ex-
tension of wealth.
Though many Europeans have become
skillful workers at the trade, the most sue
cessful lapidaries have been of Hebrew
stock. The Jews had at one time the
monopoly of diamond cutting in Portugal,
and their especial center of business was
Lisbon. But unfortunately for Portugal
and for the Jews. religious bigotry kindled
the fires of persecution against this an
cient people, and they were expelled from
the kingdom. Hospitable little Holland
opened her doors to receive the exiled mer-
chants and lapidaries, and Amsterdam has
since become the central market for the
diamond merchant and his comrade the
diamond cutter. Out of $4,000 Jews who
reside there. at least a third are engaged
in one department or another of the dia-
mond industry"