The Washington herald., 1915-12-05
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sapphire or garnet
Mr. Arnold always carries with him on
his lecture tours, no matter whether the
subject be poetry or Africa, a case con-
tanning replicas of famous diamonds He
knows the story of their geological be-
ginnings and their historical progress.
With delicate. sensitive fingers, he lifts
from their pockets the reproductions.
holding them to the light as he tells of
the bloodshed and daring experienced by
diamond-crazed miners and adventures.
Photographs of several Of these replicas
are shown on this page.
This is the Great Mogul,'' he said,
holding a crystal shaped like the half Of
an egg.
This gem was seen by the French
traveller. Tavernier. In India in 1868. tho
year Of the great plague in London. After
wards il became the eve of an idol. N
English soldier persuaded the owners 81
the temple to appoint him its keepc-
and the caretaker became thief and
stole the idols eye, Eventually it passed
to Catherine Of Russia"
The "OrlofY" also was an idols eve
and Il too belongs to Russia. so does t1s
Polar Star" The Shah OF Persia"
oblong in form. used to be worn in the
center Of the Shah's hat until it was
added to Russia's crown jewels.
"A poor negro discovered The Star Of
the South In Brazil" said the geologist.
lingering crystal, land It's extraordi-
nary the lowly origin of the diamonds
themselves. Heat to a certain tempera-
ture the lead in that very pencil Of yours
and you will have a diamond. It's pa
thetic to hear the authentic tales Of
privation met by guardians Of diamonds.
This De Sancy.' for instance, once wCrn
IN the helmet Of Charles the Bold. was
found by Swiss soldier who sold 1t for
two francs. 1t came into the possession
Of De sancy. treasurer Of France He
sent II to the Swiss government by
servant but the servant disappeared.
His loyalty was never questioned by the
master. who ordered a search. The body
had been found in wood. murdered. and
buried by the Cure. 1t was exhumed and
the diamond was found in the stomach.
for the faithful servant had swallowed
It rather than surrender to the robbers"
The "Nassak'' Is triangular diamond
belonging to the Duke Of Westminster.
The Khedive Of Egypt owns Tho
Pigott" which came from Borneo.
The Regent" took its name from the
Duke OF Orleans who. as regent of France
for Louis Nv. bought II for the crown.
After making history. some Of It respect
able. and passing from the possession OF
Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette to Ma
ppl'pH j. ~ was lOSl. lOunU III a ulCCn
and restored TO Napoleon III, in whose
di3dem il glittered
The English crown contains 27S3 dta-
monds and nearly 1000 pearls valued
at 500 .0oO. 900
Sapphres have been favorites OF ROYALTY
hut the best ones are owned by cardinals
"f the Roman Catholic church. Blue
>fsnifes purity. it is the color of the
Blessed Virgin Mary. and dignitaries Of
tho church ha hot rrfp -
unoffcially known as THE Clerical
Stone" The largest one in the Morgan
collection weighs SAB carats Biblical
references to "sapphires." Mr.. Arnold
CONSTITUTES to mean lapis lazuli.
Five thousand years aCo the Egyp-
t'ans found in lapis la7uli an astringent
which healed the eyes and significance
has been attached to TIE gem because
OF that
Mr.. Arnold condemns the haphazard
selection Of gems and passing bv the
beautiful stones found in this country
You have over here" he said recent
lv. some lovely quartz known as Lake
George diamonds but which Americans
seem to know nothing about. You have
in the west aqua marines which aDpar-
emily Won consider vaI"elesS. Before the
war began. Partisan jewellers were SET
ting aqua marines in silver ard making
beautiful necklaces and corsage orna-
ments and they predict in Paris that
these semiprecious gems are the coming
thing in jewelry. Women should choose
their birthstone, for it is sure to vibrate
good"
The United States is the only large
market open to producers of diamonds
at the present time and importations
are constantly increasing. likewise the
prices. The October imports were five
times greater than they we're a year
before
Theosophists who make a study of the
occult>never rush into a store and buy
ohhand a turquoise or sapphire or
amethyst. but they select the stone that
Jewel becomes part and parcel of th~.r
beings. to he loved and cherished Tor
all time. They wear jewels that her
monize with their eyes, hair and shin
and they claim with all seriousness that
certain stones bring them life and
health.
There is a Persian legend that ;'.,r
God had finished the Garden of EHe1
the devil discovered that Eve liked " /
liant colors so he took minerals and
made them into jewels. which is proba-
bly, the reason why women have alwlys
preempted claims to diamonds and ' nv
Solomon said that the price of a virtu-
Gus woman is far above rubies
Another Persian story is that the
earth is resting on a sapphire and tha.
is why the sky is blue.