The Washington herald., 1907-01-06
We OWN BILLION IN DIAMONDS
Enormous Investment by Americans
in the Precious Stone.
Only the Larger Sizes Cut and Pol
ished in This COuntry-GrOwth
of ImpDrtHtiOHs.

More than 100000 was paid for dia-
monds and other precious stones imported
at New York during last year, as shown
( by figures complied by the customs uu-
thoriues. This exceeds 1865 by 5000 Og0
In 1860 the valuation was about one
quarter of what it was last year, says the
/ New York sun.
Since 1865 when the first gem was ex-
ported from the Cape OF Good Hope. the
/ United States has paid. according To fig
/ ures just compiled. about S3z5010.1 OJ for
diamonds. and this is one-haIf OF the
amount Of cash which South Africa has
obtained for its entire product Of precious
stones sold 70 all parts Of the world. The
figures represent what the importers pay.
and, according TO authorities in the trade.
/ the public pays twice as much.
/ Taking into account that the value Of
/ diamonds has been going up steadily. be
/ Ing now about 20 per cent higher than
eight years ago, some dealers say that the
gems brought into this country from
South Africa in these thirty-eight years
must now be worth more than Sl,ooo,c00, p
/ 90. Nearly all the gems are in existence.
D
be unimportant
/ That the diamond-cutting industry in
/ New York IS growing is shown by the
gains in the importation of rough stones.
/ the valuation this year being about ST.
10000, the greatest since cutters and
/ polishers from Antwerp and Amsterdam
/ were brought 10 New York TO establish
/ the business Although the rough stones
/ have been made into brlI.iants in New
/ York for more than a quarter Of a cen
fury. there was none of the present large
! factories ten years ago. or the imports
/ of rough stones, about IS per ce1.t are dia-
monds- What proportion in weight Of
[ diamonds brought into the United States
/ is cut and polished here is not made
I known in the statistics, as the govern
ment gives only values. An officer of the
I Diamond Manufacturers Association said
/ recently that New York cuts as much
| of the best grades Of rough stones as all
/ the rest of the world. and the finished
gems turned out in this city in the larger
4 sizes are of a higher average quality than
( those manufactured in any other city.
! While Amsterdam and Antwerp have
/ about 1900 people employed in the dia-
/ mond factories. they cut a smaller guam
/ tity of fine. large diamonds, the importers
/ say. than is cut by the New York fec
I tories. employing less than 500 men.
/ More than 50 per cent Of the diamonds
( cut in New York are a carat or more in
/ weight. and rarely is a stone weighing
/ less than three-quarters of a carat I'm the
rough cut here.
/ In the European cities much smaller
/ sizes are made, as many as sixty stones
/ being cut from a carat in the rough. As
/ the entire stone is scarcely as large as a
small pea, and each SiXtieth part receives
! fifty-siX perfect facets the strain on the
/ eyes Of the workers sometimes brings on
/ blindness. That is the reason why the
workmen in New York will not cut and
polish stones Of the small sizes called
melee.
] While American wOTkmen viii not give
/ their attention 10 the tiny gems. cutters
/ and polishers in the European cities are
/ trained TO turn out the smallest sizes for
/ the American market. and these men
/ command the highest wages paid in the
! foreign factories.
| Diamonds in brown shades and with
various imperfections are cut and sold in
/ Europe American importers say that the
l public in the United States has been edu-
/ Gated to take only the Clearest and most
| perfect crystals. while a large quantity
Of stones that could not be sold here be-
! cause Of imperfections are salable in Rus
STA and Turkey. The dealers say that the
! United States pays as much money for
! its diamonds as all the other countries
| together. but insists on getting the choice
part of the product.