The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-02-16
NORTH GEMS
The State Leads the Union in Variety.
A Brief Description.

1t is a well established fact that
Of precious stones credited to her ac-
count than n other state in the
Union. A brief description of these
VIII doubtless prove of interest to thou
sands of our readers. AS a matter OF
fact the diamond heads the list
Diamond.
The diamond is the hardest of gems:
it is the most highly retroactive. n
surpasses all others in the property or
dispensing light-that is. dividing light
into colored rays. causing that pecu-
liar flash of prismatic hues called its
fire. The range of color of the dia-
mond is extensive, including nearly all
prismatic hues. The whites, yell
lows, and browns, perhaps. afford the
greatest number Of shades and are the
most numerous. These gems have
been met with in Rutherford. Mellow
ell. Franklin. Macon. Mitchell. Burke,
Caldwell and Mecklenhurg counties.
Rubies and Sapphires.
The transparent co-undums rank
among tho most valuable Of gem
stones. The color range includes near
ly all the prismatic hues to ~colorless.
The rubies from this state vary in hue
from a rose to a deep carmine, the
most approved tint being a pigeons
blood" red. The sapphire. in general
includes corundums of any color ex-
cept the red. Specifically, the name is
limited in its use to the blue colored
specimens. the approved tints beng
royal blue. velvet blue and corn flower
blue. Speaking of the great corun-
dunn region of the United States, Pro-
fessor Writ E. Tassin. expert at the
National Museum. Washington, D. c.,
says: "It extends from the Virginia
line through North Carolina into Ala
Quite recently rubies. rivaling
those from Burma in color. have been
Carolina" In variety of color the CO.
rundum gems of this state excels that
of any other known locality: it is gray.
green, rose, ruby, emerald. sapphire to
dark blue, violet, brown. amethystine,
of all shades, and colorless.
Spodumene.
Transparent Spodumene affords
gems ranging in color from green of
several shades. straw yellow to yellow
iSh white, faint reddish to amethyStine,
and colorless. Hiddenite, or litnia en-
erald, is a variety Of spodume. ranging
in color from a yellowish green to a
deep emerald and green tinged with
yellow. the color of the crystal usually
being yellow at one extremity and a
more or less deep green at the other.
The deeper colored kinds afford a
gem resembling the emerald but hav-
a greater variety of color eau
of it's strong pleochroism. Hiddenite
is at present found at but n locality
Stony Point, Alexander COUNTY where
it occurs in metamOrphic rocks. gener-s
ally gneiss or mica schist. in veins of
kaolin. A present it is the rarest
gem in the world and sells on
the market for more per carat tina
the finest. first water diamond.
Beryl.
The colors of beryl include emerald
green. passing into pale green, and
pale blue, pale yellow, honey. Wine.
and citrine yellow. white. to a pale
Internationally. the acqua-
marine, and two others. The general
composition, crystalline form. hard
ness. and specific gravity of all the va
are the same. the difference be-
ing primarily n of color. The emer-
aid includes the rich green kinds only.
It is highly priced when OF a bright
green color, clear, and free from flaws.
The acQuamarine includes those beryls
showing clear shades of sky blue to sea
green cOlorS. All Of these have been
mined in this state n several nota-
bly, large specimens have come to light.
One very fine emerald from Alexander
county weighing eight n three
fourth ounces. One acquamarine from
Mitchell county cut a gem weighing
nearly twelve hundred carats.
Garnet.
The garnet includes several varie-
ties. which are distinguished by their
differences in composition and in part
by their colors. In composition gar
net is a silicate of different basis
lime, magnesia, chrome, iron,
manganese. n titanium. The lime
garnet has a color range
which includes white. pale green. am
Der, honey. wine, brownish yellow, Gin
namon brown n pale rose red. The
principal magnetism garnet is the py-
rope, meaning fire like, a deep blood
red to nearly black tone. The alman-
dite, or car-buncle n rhodolite ore
iron-aluminum garnets. Almandite
varies in color from cherry red, blood
red to deep red Of several tints and
assuming an range color
of the Rhodolite lies between a violet
purple and a brownish red. Spessan-
tite is a manganese aluminium garnet,
the color of which varies from a red
dish brown. dark hyacinth red. some
times with a tinge Of violet. to orange
red.
Quartz.
Quartz includes a larger number of
kinds of gems among its varieties han
any other mineral, the varieties from
differences in color. mode of forma-
ton, or capitalization. Colorless when
pure: often various shades of yellow.
red brown. green. blue and black. 1t
is doubly retroactive and the colored
kinds are dichtroic. The gems belong
ing to this group are: Agate. agatized
wood, amethyst, asteriated or star
quartz, aventurial. bloodstone. cain
germ, o. smoky topaz, carnelian. cats
eve. chalcedony. chrysopharse. cietrine.
toJaz, jasper, moss agate, onyx. rose
quartz, sagenite or rutilated quartz, We
nus baritone. or threads of gold and
sand In the above list many fine and
highly priced gems are to be found.
and 'the Old North State" leads I'm
point of quality and quantity
Besides those enumerated above we
have in this state the following gem
stones which find ready sale in the