The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1906-01-11
MOST DIAMONDS.
Importations by America for Home
Consumption Are Heavier Than
Any Other Country.

have been imported into the Unit
ed States during the present cal
endar year. This importation OF
diamonds and precious stones is by
/ far the largest in the history OF the
United States. the high-water
mark in earlier years having been
/ S28, 500, 900 i'll 1908, while 1904
showed but S27 100000. In the
ten months of 1905 ending with
the month of October, the total is
over S31, 900, 900, or more than in
any full year prior to 1905. This
importation of ten months, amount
ing to S31, 35O.157, gives an aver
age of over s., 900, 900 per month,
so that it may reasonably be as
sumed that the figures for the two
remaining months will bring the
total up to $50, 100000.
1t was not until 1901 that I'M
ports of diamonds and other
precious stones ever passed the
/ $50, 900, 900 mark. From 1888 to
1892 the importations of diamonds
and other precious stones averag-
ed about S12, 900, 900 per annum.
With the depression which followed
however, the importation dropped
to about 81, 500, 900 in 1894 and a
little less than S., 100000 iii 1896
and to about So, 500, 900 in 1897,
but began to increase in 1898,
/ when it reached nearly $40, 100000
and was by 1899 SIG, 100000 in
value, in 1901 more than S23, OOO,
/ 600, in 1908 S2S, 100000.
This group, diamonds and
precious stones, rs composed chief
" of diamonds, the other pre-
cious stones" forming but about
one fifth of the total value of the
group.
One interesting feature of the
record of diamond importations,
shown by the Department of Com
merce and Labor through its
Bureau of Statistics, is the rapid
growth which has occurred in that
Group of diamonds, uncut An
attempt was made a few years ago
10 establish a diamond-cutting in
dustry in the United States, and.I
this has apparently been extreme
ly successful, since the value Of
uncut diamonds imported has
greatly increased during the last
decade. The value of uncut dia-
monds imported in the decade |
ending with 1905 will aggregate
about 500, 900, 600 and of cut dia-
monds about 500, 600, 0o0O, while
thessvalue of other precious stones
imported in the same period |
amounts to considerably more than
$50, 100000 making the grand
total for the decade for diamonds
and other precious stones approx |
mately $500, 100000.
Most of the diamonds entering
the United States. while thcv or
iginate in distant parts of the world, ,
chiefly South Africa, reach the
United States from European
countries-the United Kingdom, !
Netherlands, France and Germany. |
The United Kingdom, in whose
South African possessions the
greatest diamond mines of the
world are located, has sent during
ten months ending with October,
IS, 90, 900 worth of diamonds, of
which about S., 900, 900 were uncut
aud over $1,000, 900 cut but not
set. The Netherlands also sent
IS, 900, 600 worth of which 81 ,000,-
600 worth was uncut and 1000,
600 worth cut but not set. France
sent about 100000 worth of
which less than $500, 900 worth
were uncut and over 81, 500, 900
worth cut but not set. London
Amsterdam and Paris are the great
diamond distributing centers of
Europe, drawing their supplies
chiefly from South Africa, but the
marked difference in these three