El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-05-11

III Z ursl 1.-THE there re is a good deal Of
- rivalry among the very rich n
regard TO their possessions in the way
Of Jewels. It is nothing extraordinary
for a New York woman 10 aPear IN a
eox at the opera with 100000 or $780,
600 worth OF rubies, enaralds and dia-
7noDds on her person. the ef-
feet Of the adornment (Which ma
comprise a tiara necklaces anu d
t'DIsstron" covering the whole front OF
the waist being such as 70 give 10
the Wearer the appearance OF sem ma
ing in a costume composed entirely OF
precious stones
Such g display may be fairly consld-
cred 10 represent the very acme OF moo
err luxury And vet the time seems
likely 70 arrive before long when any
woman Of moderate means can a1Ioro.
Il she so desires, to wear as many ana
as beautiful jewels. For there IS no
DENYING the fact that the chemists are
succeeding IN their efforts TO produce
gems Of the highest quality ana per
lection IN the labOratory-tne stones IN
question being real ones, inasmuce as
they are Of exactly the same materials
as nature herself uses
New Way 10 Make Sapphires,
A new. process for making sappnlTes
just patented in this country by a
Frenchman August Nerneuil-has
proved so successful that the JeWelry
trade on both sides Of the water IS
consfdera bIv. alarmed. Indeed, any BODY
who should try TO sell few real sap
Dhfres at the present time would in
evftabIy find that the gems were re-
Earded with suspicion even by experts,
so perfectly do the artificial ones, now
beqfnning to come on the market, re-
produce all the physical and other
properties OF natural sapphlres-
ID to now it has been deemed impOs-
sfble 10 produce sapphires by arttlce-
Lr-r~ oil
proved to be simple enough, and the
materials employed are of the cheapest
being 90 per cent aluminium oxide, z
per cent iron oxide. and p per cent
fffanfun1 oxide All three of these sub
stances are found together IN certain
Is described in the Verneuil patent,
the process consists in reducing the
above mentioned ingredients 10 fine
powder and allowing the mixture 10 fall
through the flame Of an OXy-ny drogen
blowpipe upon q bed Of fire clay, where
Il is fused Such a blOWplpe Is q tOrkeQ
tube through one branch Of which
comes a stream Of oxygen gas, while
the other brings q stream OF hydrogen.
As the two unite. the combination OF
gases IS ignited, giving flame with
an intense heat.
The bIowpipe is fixed vertically 50
that the flame is directed downward At
the start oxygen Is supplied only IN
small quantity, so that the fire IS not
extremely hot. A slender trickle Of
the powdered mixture, falling from a
receptacle above, is baked, or frizZled,
as one might say, and forms a little
cone. AS the cone rises. the supply OF
oxygen is gradually increased, raising
the temperature Of the flame to 34S9
degrees Fahrenheit. and the powder
continuing to fall, is melted and erys-
talized, assuming the shape Of a bulb
OF gradually increasing size.
Making the Tfnts.
The flame being at length shut off
the new made stone is allowed to cool
It is pear shaped. and may be of any
hue desfred-that is to say, from white
10 pink. or Of any shade Of blue. The
titanium oxide, which gives the much
admired blue tint, is likewise the color
ing agent in natural sapphires. In fact,
the artificial gems are, in their com
position. exactly like those dug out