The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1916-01-06
The Value of Diamonds

much sought after, not only because of their
and the difficulty of obtaining them. but be-
of their beauty, their sparkle and play of col
1T Man is vain creature and places high value
on personal ornaments with which he may dazzle his
Aneighbors and arouse their envy. For this reason
diamonds and other precious stones always find
ready sale at high prices.
The diamond is the standard precious stone
One of the most interesting considerations in
nectlon with it is it's intrinsic value which depends
on various things. The best and most valuable dia-
monds pure, transparent and without Imperfect
tions flaws Color is extremely important, the
limpid being most highly valued, often COM
handing prices twice high those tinted black,
brown yellow. impure blush steel gray.
Three orders Of transparency clearness in
diamonds recognized by experts, namely, stones
of the first water which absolutely transparent
and faultess stones of the second which. tho
clear and limpid. have small dark spots, clouds
flaws and stones of the third water which have a
gray, brown, yellow. green, blue blackish color
which. though clear, have very noticeable faults
Only about five per cent oil all the diamonds produced
perfect and cclorless Naturally therefore, those
who wish absolutely perfect fawless stones, must
pay very high prices.
Moisture from the breath disappears much more
rapidly from the genuine diamond than from the im-
tat1on. For this reason the expert breathes
stone when he examines it and notes the rapidity
with which it clears. This also enables him to See
faults which it may possess. He also examines it
under magnifying glass and in order to be classed
perfect in formation flaw or imperfection must
be revealed.
Some of the most common defects of diamonds
the following: carbon spots which result from
imperfect capitalization of the carbon; feathers due
also to faulty crystallization bubbles due to air
formations in the carbon, and faky formations, like
fractures in ice when struck by hammer. Many
of these flaws small to be inperceptible
without the aid of glass. Such defects deract lit
tie nothing from the brilliancy or beauty of
stone but they do lessen it's value.
A perfect diamond can be spoiled or ruined in
cutting. Perfect, regular cutting greatly enhances
the value; properly cut stone weighing one karat
is worth twice as much of equal weight in the
rough The proportion of the height to circnmfer-
ence, the proportions of planes and faces mat
ters of extreme importance for these the fire of
the gem depends. A properly cut diamond has So
facets.
Besides looking out for the imperfection noted
rough edges on the grdle greatest circumference
of the gen. for these cast shadow through the
center of the stone and destroy the briiancy in
large measure Frequently these flaws are hidden
bv settings but their effect the brliancy Of the
is not lessened thereby. Scratches caused by and
diamond rubbing against another sometimes mar the
top of stone When not too deep these can be
removed by polishing. Thick edges mar the beauty
and detract from the value of diamond because
they cast shadows through the and so confuse
the cOlors
Feathers cause a hazy lifeless appearance.
Fractures which usually result from either blow
or carelessness in setting, deaden the trancy and
decrease the value of diamond. Carbon spots de-
tract from both the value and the beauty of
If the diamond is too deep the table at the
TOP will appear dead instead of showing as much
sparkle and color as the edge where it has been
cut thin to admit the light. In buying such a
diamond the purchaser pays for extra weight which
instead of adding to the beauty and value of the
stone, actually detracts On the other hand the
stone that is cut too shallow technicncally known
as fish eye" has CLASSY look Such stones, tho
they may be perfectly transparent and without
flaw are not desirable because of their lack of bril-
liancy Elk
:. while There is Life There is Hope
!Eek6Ee is to desire good in the expectation of
obtaining it, Hope is the silver lining of every
lark. cliSd: You: alVayi hope for better day. No