The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-11-21
LAPIDARY NEEDS TO BE
A MINERALOCIST ALSO
Expert Says Great Skill in Cutting Gems Not Possible
Without Love and Admiration for Them-Diamond
Workers in a Class by Themselves.

Al no other time has the semi-pre.
cious or ornamental stone. also known
in the trade as colored gems, been In
such great demand as now for jewelry
purposes. For one thing colored gems
are within the reach Of the great null
,itude. and then they furnish far
greater opportunities for combinations
10 match any color or group Of shades
that may distinguish the lady's dress.
the gentleinan's scarf or what moi.
With their popularity nj such q
high point 1t is Of interest to know
how they are prepared. The cutting
OF them is as distinct a calling from
that OF cutting diamonds as can be
imagined. although everybody outside
Of the trade doubtless imagines that
the cutting of diamonds and the cut
ting Of rub!es. sapphires. emeralds.
amethysts. sarnets, opals. tourmalines.
sauamaTin ines and so forth. not to con-
tinuc the almost interminablc list, 10
done by the same workmen, inter-
~changeably and doubtlessly in the
same Establishments.
The gem cutter" says Anthony
Espos.te'. a New York expert, ''is
called a lapldary in the trade. The
lapidary IA only colored gems. The
diamond cutter confines himself
strictly TO cutting diamonds.
THE l~ap!dary must also be a miner
slogist. His business Is. first, to know
which members Of the mineral king
dom possess the necessary qualifica.
tons TO be termed precious. semi
precious. or ornamental. Second. to be
able to sll:. grind. shape and polish so
as to bring out the beauty, color and
briliiancy for which the gems are
noted.
In recent wears tire lapidary has
gone deeper into mirc-alogy and has
found n great MANY other stones
which are OF s~ue'o,crt hardness and
compact enough 20 Re ground and pol
ished. The Is.s'l' Is that there has
been placed on the market a large
variety Of serr'.prec'ous or ornamental
stones, some of which are known by
their mineral ame ard others have
trade names. So large Is the variety
that a complete list Of the m al
most bewiiders the laymnn. but with
a little study one may become familiar
with the simple science OF gemology.
ouC VI tit Itlost ihtboi toiiN &c
about semi-precious stones Is theii
cost. which is a comparatively small
one. The price often represents
merely the cost OF cutting. Often they
are in some respects as interesting al
the precious gems. AS these are Otter
found in an endless variety Of colors
many color schemes are possible. 1t Ii
becoming Gust lry to wear certain
stones that will harmonize With COS
tunes and gowns. an. the addition o
these to the long list of wei. know,
gems gives one a greater choice bot
in color and price.
These semi-precious m are ais
used in some of the most expensiv'
diamond jewelry. as we'll as artistic
creations by the jewelry craftsmen
who specialize In designing indivfdu;.
effects. A great variety of these semi
precious stones are found in America
many of which are ground and pol
ished by the Inhabitants Of the ~localit,
where they predominant. and sold Il
tourists. but the bulk of them fin,
their way to New York, and are GU
and polished as are the more preciou
stones in the lapidary shops scatterc
throughout the jewelry district.
Sometimes tourist collect color
pebbles or minerals and have ther
polished and mounted into jewelr
which are valued not fOt their intrinsi
worth, but for their oddities n asso
Cations. Then again. - is quite i'm
possible to duplicate some of thes'
which also adds TO tteir interest.
with regard to h cutting {
precious stones the lapidary must frs
OF all have love for his work and IN
gems manipulated. He must also pos
sess patience and skill, especially o
valuable stones. as indifference or lac
of skill will manifest itself in TIL
product. An unskilled workman ma