The Washington herald., 1913-08-04
Court Gossip of Interesting
Events on 11vo G inents

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iCortasAt. IN, - 4. D. yaesbson.,
| In . recent letter certain superstitions
were discussed, that are said to pertain
to precious stones. This had the result
that several queries were received asking
TO defins the proper color Of the different
gems shall try, to the best Of my
knowledge. to explain:
Every precious stone has what may be
called tts natural color; red for rubtes.
blue for sapphires. green for emeralds.
&C., but the same sort Of stone VIII be
found In the various shades Of Its own
natural color. The shade In which tine
stone 10 but rarely found 10 called it's
perfection color or the gem color. The
perfection color OF the Tupy n known as
pigeon blood. that Of the sapphire as corn
flower or royal blue. while the color Of
| the finer emeralds Ii called velvety.
Diamonds should be blue-white. With
diamonds the color 10 Of less importance
than the brilliance or that which jew
elers call quality. There are stones,
am told, whose qualities. like those Of
men. are all negative. They show no
striking flaws. but avoid them. Others
are faulty. but somehow one likes them.
They have character. A crystailized dew
drop that holds the ray Of the sun will
.ave more lovers. though there be . black
spot In the heart Of it, than q dead stone
which barely winks at the light even II
|it be perfect
The term quality refers to . combina-
tion Of characteristics that gives to some
diamonds an extraordinary fire and bril-
liancy~ Some off-color stones have q
finer quality than white gems.
After brilliancy the consideration Is
color. OF the bluish-white which brings
the highest prices. there are two kinds. a
fine clean tint and one that is dark. For
the reason that the latter Is more easily
discerned It is chosen AZ the more valu.
able A decided tint Is desirable. but II
must be free from any admixture.
Among colored diamonds the rarest
tint is the ruby red The best known
Of such diamonds is the Halphen, which
weighs only one carat There are red
diamonds OF other shades, but this ruby
coIored one ts said to be unique.
Next in rarity are the sappnire-blue
diamonds, or wnicn, according to ex-
perts. there re only i've specimens in
Europe and America The most gorgeous
Of these Ii the famous Hope" diamond,
TO which pertains q romantic history.
partly concerning May fone, the noted
actress. The stone. known as the Duke
Of BrunSwick's blue-drop diamond, OF
six or seven carats. is believed to have
been cut from the Hope" diamond
after It had been cut from the French
crown jewels. or the three remaining
blue stones. one weighs only five grains,
ana one four ana a naIr carats. Inc
latter is rather pale in color. The finest
green diamond Is the Dresden specimen
shown in the "Gruene Gewoelbe" of that
city. It weighs ABOUT forty carats. and
in 175s cost $1,000 thalers. 1t is not an
emerald green. but is much lighter in
color.
For the most part green diamonds
show blackish spots at their core. Black
diamonds are found in Borneo and
Brazil. and are the hardest substance
known. Ordinary diamond dust has no
effect on them. They must be gound
and polished with their own dust.
One of the finest orange-coIored dia-
monds known 1.-THE largest of any kind
in this country is the Tiffany diamond.
II IL from South Africa, and weigh.
LIS carats. Yellow diamonds lose their
color by, most artificial lights, but elec-
trio light intensifies II. Fine orange or
Canary diamonds are scarce. Pink and
violet diamonds are even more rare.
The commonest Of the colored diamonds
are the yelIowish ones. wnicn are nardIy
deep enough IN tone to count more tnan
mere orr-colored white stones.
ScTtA" etOHe9 pOs<eSS tne CurlOuS
quality Of turning color. Chief among
these Is the turquoise. which has the
habit Of turning green 1t Is said by
jewelers. that the use Of perfume by the
wearer of turquoises Is responsible for
this change. Those who wear those stones
must guard against contact with acid or
greese-
One Of the most peculiar and popular
precious stones is the Alexandrite, which,
when of fine quality. is green and a rasp-
berry red by artificial light. Inferior
specimens Of this stone show the same
change OF color. but the tints are not
so beautiful. The Alexandrite was named
after Alexander II of Russia. 1t was
found in the Ural Mountains on the day
in 1880 when he came of age, and, curious
ly enough. the colors it shows (red
and green), were those OF his fag. Sap
phires sometimes display the same
quality of changing color. In their case
1t is from blue. by daylight, to purple
by artificial light. Some years ago q
jeweler made up a crescent of sapphires
which, in day time, ranged from blue
at one end to beautiful plum color at
the other. At night, however. they all
became purple.
Henley Regatta, now one of the great
est resorts of the fashionable world, was
instituted in 1883 by a few of
the principal tradesmen OF Hendley-on-
Thames, with the object Of "produc-
ing beneficial results TO the town" These
business men presented the
Grand Challenge Cup, which ever since.
has been the "blue ribbon of amateur
rowing. and incidentally raised rowing to
the level Of recognized national sport.
1t Is a far cry from Henley to Venice,
but at any rate there is one connection
between them. For the first English
regatta was introduced from Venice and
took place on Ranelagh Gardens in 1T5.
Contemporary accounts give full details
Of the splendor Of the Lord Mayors
barge. but have not much to say about
the racing. which was confined to the
watermen. 1t Is a curious
fact that early British rowing almost