The Parma herald. (Parma, Idaho) 1903-1917, 1907-08-10
PRECIOUS STONES OF THE WEST.
sapphires Found In Montana Ar
Very Hard-OpaIs Brittle


Very Hard-OpaIs Brittle.
Many precious stones found in the
far Western States come to a lapIdary |
OF Portland, Ore, to be cut, says a dis
patch to the indianapolis News The
principal stones cut are sapphires, gar
nets, rubles. opals aud agates. Besides |
these. he polishes and trims large guam
titles Of gold qua-cs and any amount |
OF pebbles from the seashore and noun |
talns- Talking Of his work one man
said:
"Sapphires are next to diamonds in
hardness. / get a large number OF
these to cut. most Of them coming from
Indian isle are the most expensive.
but l have known people to come into
my shop and pick out a Montana stone
In preference to the other. These
stones run from a white to a deep blue.
Many have red and pink shades In
them.
Following the sapphlres in value
and hardness to work are the rubies-
These popular stones are simply red
sapphires, so far as l have been able
to judge. after having handled hun
dreds OF both sorts OF the gems They
come from the same localities-Mon-
tana and Ceylon-but nearly all are
mined In the copper State.
''Garnets are very often brought to
me for Transforming from rough, ugly
looking stones to pretty gems. Many OF
these are not worth the cutting, but
one does not know this until after the
deed is done Very often a man Will
come in and show me a stone In the
rough and ask my opinion OF 1t. Now.
! one cannot judge the true value Of a
J gem until 1t Is cut, but make a guess
as to what I think 1t will be- I am
about as often right as wrong. for
| many times the stones that / did not
: think were worth while, turn out to
I be beautiful gems, while others that
: bore promise Of being fine are not
I worth the time spent on them The
e best garnets I receive are from Arizona
and New Mexico, although many come
e from eastern Oregon, Idaho and Mon
: tana. They are not very hard to cut
d Idaho and eastern Oregon send a
great number Of opals to this city.
also get some stones from Austria and
Mexico. l often find some rare beau
ties In those sent from Idaho and Mex
leo. but the finest are found In Hun.
gary.
"Opals are hard to cut on account OF
!, their being so brittle. This Is why the
. stone became known as an unIucky one
: Workmen hated to have to cut them
for often just as Job was about fin
Ished the stone would break
Amethyst. topaz and crystal quartz
: are sent me from various parts Of tn,
q United States. Most OF the first arr
= found in the Lake Superior region
while the topaz is obtained In Rock.
b Mountain States. There is very littl'
;" difference In the work OF preparin.
these two gems for the market
( pink and green tourmalines are sen
y to me from southern California. as wei
as the new gem. kunzite. which is o
lilac color.
"a Jade is very hard to polish. Thi
TX stone Is the toughest known. and take
what We call greasy polish The bes
OF this stone is found in China an
New Zealand There Is a light, dirty
looking Jade found In southern Oregon
and while II has the toughness Of tn
sort from over the seas. 1t does nc
have the color. and so Is valued at a
most nil.
;, Gold quartz Is fixed by cutting
with fine saw into the desired shapes
I can tell the name OF the mine frol
ug which any gold quartz is obtaine
ea from eastern Oregon or Idaho by sin
ply looking at sawed section OF ii
mineral
be Every little while some one CONS
IN with a package under the arm. Il
ne looks around to see II there is any OF
about the shop other than himsel
Re Right then and there put 1t dow
1t that the visitor has what he thinks
collection OF diamonds In the roug
IL [ always ask the location OF the claim
Tor the reason that 1 get so much
nd this work that I may have examine
Ias half the rocks In the neighborhoo
laI and could tell In a minute wheth'
by. there was any likelihood OF diamons
\, being found In the collection
oA But none Of these persons will tt
me where they found the rocks until
pm have reported the result OF the Inves
I'D CATION They are afraid l want
and the location Of the diamond mil
and steal It from them"