Evening star., 1924-03-16
Famous Precious Stones.

INO one who oontemplates them
= 49, In this light there Is much of
poetic attraction and romance
IN jewels and precious stones
entirely aside from their intrinsic
value. First, the material chiefly
dealt with is of the rarest earthly
prodncts-she masterpieces Of nature,
so to speak Moreover. gold and sill
yer and precious stones have in all
ages exercised an important influence
in the history making Of the world.
War, romance, death and deepest
intrigue have been irrevocably inter
woven with the possession of a rare
gem Precious stones from earliest
times have much imagination and
superstition. These undoubtedly
sprang, in part, from the important
uses made by several prominent an
cient monarchs of their signet rings.
We are told, for instance, that
Pharaoh, in comforting upon Joseph
the vice regal onice, intrusted him
with his signet ring; that Alexander
the Great, when dying, transferred
diccas, thus making him his successor.
and again that Darius and his mobiles
set their seals to the lions den into
which Daniel was cast as a safe
guard against the Dcophet being re-
moved without their permission For
before the value OF precious stones
was discovered the signet was the
most highly prized of all possessions.
and it is seen that il was also used
as a token to impart authority and
security.
It is doubtless from these. circum-
stance. that jewels became invested
with so many superstit associa-
tions. Many ef-them- even today are
cherished by the orientals as ANU
lets. believed to possess great VIZ
,ues. either In. securing good for
tune for owners or shielding them
from peril; and among civilized pee-
pies everywhere superstitions are Al
tached to certain stones, such as the
opal. which is believed by many to
bring good luck to the wearef II II De
his birth stone, and carry Dad omen
to any other.
The diamond. by unanimous con-
sent. is placed at the head OF all
gems and this rank 1t has always
held. It was named by the Greeks
adamant, from two words signifyins
.unconquerable."
In the mines where these stones
are found the workers are mostly
slaves-men, women and children
the overseers only being freemen.
They are required to work perfectly
nude, except for a strip OF clotn
about the loins, for the temptation
is great to acquire one of these VAL
uable bits of mineral the sale OF
which would mean comfort and even
prosperity for the span of the av-
erage laborer's life. Even with these
stones are made away with by the
workers, who swallow them, hide
them in sores or ulcers or in the
corners of the eyes.
As an incentive to- faithfulness,
many mines have adopted the custom
of setting at liberty every slave who
finds a stone of q prescribed weight,
in whatever he wE'.ss.
CONSIDERING diamonds in gen
~ eral, it is interesting to know
that comparatively few Of remarka-
BILE size have been brought to light
There is a great wealth of clustered
Jewels in almost every nation in the
world today. but in the matter of
single stones the number is surpris-
ingly small. For that reason the
tracing OF their history, though
fraught with much romance and ad-
venture. is not always to be relied
upon in consequence Of the change
of possession and alterations in the
cutting OF them.
Most Of the worlds historic dia-
monds arc now part of the crown
jewels of what is left of Europe
monarchiea- Tho first Of these Is
undoubtedly that belonging to the
former emperor Of Russia, the entire
bulk Of whose gems has disappeared
with all the other evidences Of czar
rule OF almost perfect shape, II
il rOee-cut and worry much the form
and size of the pointed half Of an
egg, except that its surface is COW
cred with facets. It is nearly oDlor-
less and in any direction measures
about an inch and q quarter.
It u said that this stone reposed
In tho emperors soepter, and Its
beauty and brilliancy were SO great
as almost to dazzle tho beholder. The
'@Orioff," as It is named, was at one
time the greatest jewel in the pos
session Of Nadir Shah, King Of Per
saa, whose kingdom at ths time OF
his assassination in 1747. underwent
| a violent upheav2l, its many posses
stons being scattercd beyond any
hope Of recovery. Among them was
this diamond Of raFest value In
weight and color evef known. II
|transptred. however. that It was car
ried or by q chief Of band OF
fAfghans, who were in high favor at
tho court, and, therefore, had ample
opportunity to accomplish the theft
He in turn sold it. to q millionaire
OF Bassora, who kept his purchase
Il secret for many years, and finally
'ventured Il . trip into Europe. where.