The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-11-14
EMERALD, QUEEN OF GEMS.

Buffalo Commercial: An emerald
free from flaws would be the most
precious of all stones, experts of the
Smithsonian Institution maintain in
a recently published bulletin.
Unfortunately it (the emerald) is
seldom free from flaws. and were
this not the case the emerald would
be of greater value, carat for carat,
than the diamond Today good
diamond is worth about $3.50 to $500
per carat, according to its purity and
size, while an emerald varies in
value from $3.50 to $500. increasing
very rapidly with size. Flawless
emeralds weighing more than four
carats are among the rarest jewels;
perfect stone of four carats is
practically priceless, whereas a dia-
mond would bring only $1,000 to
$4,000.
1t is probable that all the emer-
aids of the ancients came from the
so-called Cleopatra emerald mines in
upper Egypt, worked as early as 1850
B. c., abandoned and lost sight Of
during the middle ages, but redis-
covered early in the nineteenth CEN
fury, when only cloudy stones OF a
light color were obtained
Unlike some green stones, the
emerald retains its color when heat
ED and when subjected to artificial
light, and in this connection Pliny Is
quoted as saying that neither sun
nor shade, nor yet the light of a
candle, caused change in its color or
ilustre. 1t was supposed. in ancient
times, to be good for the eyes, and
Pliny also remarks, There is not a
gem or precious stone that so fully
possesseth the eye, and yet never
contenteth it with safety Nay, If
the sight has been wearied and
! dimmed by intensive porting upon
anything else. the beholding of this
stone doth refresh and restore it
again" While beneficial to human
eyes, It was believed to be fatal to
words of the poet Moore. Blinded
like serpents when they gaze upon
the emerald's virgin blaze"
| Many virtues were once ascribed
to this stone; when worn 1t was
held to be preservative against cpl
lepsy and other ailments It was
spirits; while taken internally, 1t
was CldtlHeu " nave, great mSUiclldI
value.
The. crystals are simple in form;
merely hexagonai prisms attached at
one end to the matrix, with usually
fiat face at right angles to it's axis
on the other end. They are invari-
ably fawed, SO much so that "a flaw
less emerald" has become proven
bal expression for unattainable per
lection. The largest single crystal,
said to weight 9A ounces, is in the
possession OF the Duke of Devon
shire, but the division of mineralogy
of the national museum at Washing
ton, has an excellent specimen from
Stony Point, Alexander county, North
Carolina, which weighs ga ounces,
or over 1000 carats, and is the lar
gest ever found in the United States.
Among the specimens is a section
of an uncut crystal from Muzo, Co
lombia, South America, collected by
DR.. Joseph E. Pogue, former assist
ant curator in the division of min
eralogy of the national museum. and
now associate professor of geology at
Northwestern university This con-
tains a flaw composed of carbonace-
GUS matter which apears in cross
section as a six-rayed star centering
at the axis of the crystal in a small
hexagonal prism. 1t is very I'M
usual form, and it is believed to be
unique in museum specimens