Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1941-07-05
STATE HAS GEM
WIDELY NEEDED
IN INSTRUMENTS
MONTANA SAPPHIRE USED IN WAR
PLANES, CLOCKS AND
METERS

BY CARL ]. TRAUERMAN
This Is one Of series of popular
articles on strategic minerals In
Montana. These articles are being
prepared by Montana Mineral Re
sources survey, a cooperative en-
terprise conducted jointly by Mon
tana School Of Mines and the
works projects administration.
June is the month of graduations
and weddings and while household ar
ticles are often bought for the bride
and groom, graduates usually prefer
watch. In purchasing a good watch
the buyer asks for q timepiece con-
tanning certain number Of jewels and
the price of the watch advances with
the number of jewels contained In the
works. A great many people are of the
opinion that the jewels are merely or
naments and that they have value as
gems. These jewels are really industrial
sapphires and other semiprecious
stones, selling from 81 to So per ounce
and they form an important part Of
the mechanical works Of the watch,
as they function as long-life, hard
bearings on which the many intricate
u bllE Wf1bCl TGVOlVE.
Natural sapphire is a kind Of a
corundum consisting of two atoms Of
aluminium and three atoms Of oxygen.
A large number Of these jewels come
from the natural sapphire deposits Of
Montana.
Needed in instruments
Besides being used in watches, in
dustrial sapphires are used in clocks,
electrical meters and scientific instrl-
mentS, timing switches and microgears.
A great many Of these instruments are
used in making material for the pres
ent defense program and as the foreign |
supply is practically cut off, sapphires |
really come in the category Of strategic |
or critical materials. In addition to |
being used in the machinery necessary |
to the manufacture OF defense mate
rial, sapphires are actually used In
finished products such as time bombs |
and airplaneS. A modern pursuit plane |
has about 90 instruments knobs,
ETC., and many of these require Jewel
bearings, according to Sydney H. Ball,
New York mining engineer, in an ar
ticle in the June, 1871, number of |
Mining and Metallurgy," published by |
the American Institute of Mining and |
Metallurgical Engineers. Jewels for |
bearings must be hard and for prac- |
tical purposes it does not matter |
whether the jewels are cloudy or off
color.
For q long time natural sapphires
from Montana supplied the bearing
trade and the production in Montana
was about $4,000 ounces in 1887. How
ever, some of the manufacturers of
instruments and watches desired jewels
Of certain colors and other consistent
qualifications and synthetic sapphire
industry was organized In France, the
stones being cut in Switzerland and
then shipped to the United States. This
lowered the consumption Of Montana
sapphires to about 1900 ounces per
annum. Steps are now being taken to
create a synthetic sapphire industry
IN the United States and the bearing
sapphire trade is undecided as to
1t win use natural or syn
thetic sapphires In the future. In 1899
the United States imported 43,712,84O
jewels for watches and instruments,
the average price being about 81 cents
per Jewel, and In 1910 the inporta-
lions we're over double that amount,
according to Ball.
Natural Jewel Best
DR.. Francis A. Thomson, president
of the Montana School OF Mines IN /,
Butte, recently sent questionnaires TO /
'ome Of the foremost industrial Jewel 1
1eaIers in the United States, asking
heir opinion az 70 the demand from I
he trade for natural Montana sap /
lhires and synthetic sapphires. The /
eplies he received we're far from uni /
orm. A few said their trade demanded
ynthetic sapphires IS their customers
we're used to that material and pre- I
erred t. Others said their custnrnern