PRE CIOU S STONE S AND GE MS .

( 6 T H E DI T I O N )
.
 W O R KS BY T H E A U T HOR .

Pe a r ls a nd P e a r li ng L ife

Th e G r e a t D i a m o n d s of t he Wo rld

G o ld ; i ts L ega l R eg u la t io ns a nd St a n d a rd s , 6 0 .

C o n d it i o n s o
f N a tio n s ,

by G . F KO L B ,
.

w it h O ri g i n a l N o t e s an d I n fo rm a t io n
by E DW I N W . S T R E E T E R,

P o c ke t Ma n u a l of P re c i o u s and Se m i P r e c io u s Sto n e s ,
-

T h e ir C o m p o s i t io n , C ry s t al l i z a t io n ,
H ar d n ess an d

c c
S p e ifi G ra v it y .

Th e P e a r l F i s h e r i e s of th e P e rsi a n G u lf .
 TH E I R

R E VI S E D A ND

Lo fi bfl a
G E O RGE BE L L
PR E C O U S ST NE S

GEM
TH E I R H I S T O R Y , S O U R C ES A ND C H A RA CTE R I S TI C S .

E DW I N W . S TR E E TE R ,

G o ld M e d a l l is t fo t h e R o y a l Or d e r f Fre d e r ic
o

H o ld e r f
o a Go ld M e d a l fro m H . M . t h e K in g f
o t h e B e lg ia n s .

Ell lu g t rat zh

WI T H C O L O U R E D P LATE S .

S I XT H E D IT I ON ,

R E VI S E D A N D L A R G E L Y R E .
-
WR I T T E N , U P TO D A TE .

LONDON
GEORGE BELL SO N S, Y ORK STREET
C O V E NT G A RD E N .

1 898 .

[A LL RI G H TS R E S E R VE D !
 I hold every m an a deb t o r to his p ro fe fli o n ,
fro m the
w hich as m en of c o u rfe doe fe e k e t o recei v e countenance an d

pr o fit ,
fo ou ght the y of duty to e n d e vo u r t h e m fe l v e s by w ay of
a m ends to b e a hel pe and ornam ent thereun to
,
. T his is per
for m ed in fo m e degree by the h o n e ft and li b eral ! p raétic e of a
p ro fe fli o n , w hen m e n !hall carry a re fp e c t not to d e fc e n d into an
y

c o u rfe th at is corrupt and un worthy t hereo f and , p re fe rv e

t h e m fe l v e s free fro m the abu fe s where with the fam e p ro fe flion is

n oted to bee in fected bu t m ore is this p er for m ed if a m an b ee
a b le to v ifit e an d itre n gt h e n the roots an d foundations of the
fam e it fe lf, thereby not onl y gracin g it in reputation and di gnity ,

but al fo am plify in g it in p erfection and fu bftan c e .

LO R D B A C O N .
 CO N T E N T S .

P R E FA C E

S E CT I ON I .
-
P R E CI O U S ST O NE S I N G E NE RA L .

C HA P T E R I .
—
DE F I N I T I ON O F TH E T E R M “
P R E C I OU S
S T ONE O R GE M
II .
—
WH E R E P R E CI OU S S T ONE S A RE

FOUN D

III .
-
P R E C I OU S S T ONE S A N D TH E I R U S ES
I N B Y G ONE T I ME S
IV .
-
T H E WO R K I N G O F P R E C I OU S S T ONE S
D iam o n d C uttin g

Th e For m s of Precious S tones

I . T he B rilliant

2 . The R ose

3 . Indi an Cut

4 . Point C u t

5 . B riolet t es

6 . Port rait S t ones

7 . St e p C u t or G rad uated Form

8 . C on v e x S tones or C ab ochon

V .
— T H E E N GRA V I N G A N D C AR VI N G O F
P R E C I OU S S T ONE S
E ng rav ed D i am onds

VI .
-
P R E C I OU S S T ONE S AS O BJ E CTS OF
COMME R C E
The fi rst k no w n a p p li c ati o n of
D ia m onds fo r O rnam e nt
 PA G E S .

C HA P T E R V I L— T II E B U R N I N G A N D COLOU R I N G O F
P R E C I OU S S T ONE S
T he B urnin g of Pre c I o u s S tones

T he Dy ein g o f Precious S tones

S E CT I ON I I —
D IA M O N DS .

CH A P T E R I .
-
T H E D I A MON D
T he O ri gin O f the D iam ond

II .
— A FR I C A N D I A MON DS
III .
-
A U STRA L I A N D I A MON DS
IV .
-
B O R NEO D I A MON DS
V .
—
B RA ZI L I A N D I A MON D S
VI .
—
B R I T I SH GU I A N A D I A MON D S
VI I
‘
.
—
IN D I A N D I A MON DS
VI I I .
—
RU SS I A N D I A MON DS
IX .
—
U N I T E D S TAT ES ’
D I A MON DS
X .
—
COL O U R E D D I A MON DS ,
Re d an d G reen

B lue

X L— B O RT
XI I .
—
C AR B ON AD O
T he D ia m ond Drill

XIII .
—
V A LUE O F ROU GH D I A MON DS
C a p e R o u gh D i am onds

S E CT I ON I I I .
-
C O LO U R E D S T O NE S .

CHA P T E R I .
— T H E RU B Y
B u r m a R u b ies

S ia m R u b ies

C ey lon R u b ies

R u b ies fro m other localities

HA FTE R I I .
—
T H E RU B Y M I NE S O F B U R M A
III .
— TH E AU TH O R S C ONNE X I ON W I TH
’
TH E

RU B Y M I NE S O F B U R M A
IV .
—
TH E S A PP H I R E
S iam S app hires

B ur m a S ap p hires

C ash m ere S apphire s

C ey lo n S ap phires

M ontana S ap phire s
A ustralian S ap p hires

C anadi an C orundu m

V . S TAR S T ONE S
VI .
— SP I NEL A ND B A LA S

VI I .
—
TH E E ME RA L D
T h e E m eralds Of Muzo
E gy p tian E m eralds

R ussian E m eralds

A ustrian E m eralds

A ustralian E m eralds

E m eralds Of the U nited S t ates

VIIL -
T H E T R UE O R O R I EN TA L C AT S
»
’
E YE

(C hr y so b er l
y ) z I I

I X — ALE X A N DR I T E
.

X .
—
TH E O PA L
H un gari an O pals

A ustralian Op als

M ex ican and H onduras O p als

 vii i

CH A P T E R XI .
—
T H E TU R Q UO I S E
The Persian T urquoise Mi n e s
Fossil or B one T urqu o ise, & C

S E CTI ON Iv ,
—
S E M I P R E C I O U S ST O NE S
-
.

C HA P T E R I .
— T H E A G AT E
II .
-
AM A ZON I T E
III .
—
AM B E R
IV .
—
AM E TH Y S T
V .
—
A N DA LU S I T E
VI .
—
A Q U A M AR I NE O R B E R YL
VI I .
-
AVA N T U R I NE
VI I I .
-
B LOO DST ONE
IX .
—
C AR NEL I A N
X .
—
C HR Y S O B E R YL
XI .
—
C HR Y S OP RAS E
XI I ’

.
—
C R O CI D OL I T E
XI I I .
’

—
E U C L AS E
XIV .
—
G AR NET C ARB UN C LE A N D C I N N A M ON
, ,

S T ONE
A l m andine

Pyro p e

E ssonite
U warow ite an d

D e m antoid

XV .
—
H }E M AT I T E
XVI .
—
H I DD EN I T E
X VI I .
—
IOL I T E
C HA P T E R XV I I I .
—
!AD E
X IX —
J AS PE R
XX .
—
L ABRAD O R I T E
XXI .
—
L A P I S L A ZUL I
-

XXI I .
-
M A LA C H I TE
XXI I I —
M O ONSTON E S ELENITE AND
, ,

SUN ST ON E
XXI V .
—
MO ROX I TE
X XV .
—
O BS I D I A N
XXVI .
—
O R I EN TA L O NY X
XXVI I .
—
P E R I D O T O R C HR Y S OL I T E
XXVI I I —
P H EN A K I T E
XXIX Q U ARTZ C AT S
’
.
—
E YE

X XX .
—
R H O D ON I T E
XX XI .
—
RO C K C R Y STA L
XXXI I .
-
SP H ENE
XXXI I I .
—
SPO D UMENE
XXXIV .
— T O PA z

XXX V .
—
TOU R M A L I NE
XXXVI .
—
ZI R C ON
O R J ARG OON
~

A CL A S S I F IC AT I ON OE P R EC I OU S
A N D SEM I P R E CI OU S S T ONE S
-

A PP E ND I C E S
APPEN D I X A —
ON TH E D I S CRI M INAT IO N
O F P R E CI OU S S T ONE S
B— GEN E RA L REM AR K S ON TH E
TE R M C ARAT R AT I
"
T H OL A
, ,

I ND E X
 ”

LI S T OF I LLU S T RA TI ONS .

P O RTRA I T O F TH E AU TH O R

C A PE D I A MO N D in Matri x fa ci ng page 80

C R Y STA L or Y ELLOW C A PE D I A MON D

B LUE D I A MON D

B U R M A RU B Y

S A PP H I R E in the M atri x

ROU GH M ON TA N A S A PP H I R E S A N D RU B I E S

SOU TH AME R IC A N E ME RA L D in Matri x z oo

C HR Y S O B E R YL C AT S E in the rou gh
’
YE ,

A LEX A N DR I T E ,
in the rou gh

Q UEEN S L A N D O P A L in the Matri x

T U R Q UO I S E in the Matri x

C R Y STA L S O F Q U ARTZ A ME TH Y ST A Q U A M AR I NE
, ,

A N D G AR NE T

C R Y STA L S O F B RA ZI L I A N TOP A Z
 P R E FA C E

A NY works h ave been written on the fas c in

atin g subject of PR E C I O U S S T O N ES A N D
G EM S . A uthorities on authorities from re ,

mote an tiqu i ty to ou r own day ha v e been cited ,

as to their value their u ses an d their properties B u t not

, ,
.
,

withstan d in g all that has been written I have arrived at ,

the del iberate conviction that as a merchan t an d dealer

, ,

en gaged for over fi fty years i n the p urchase an d sal e of

gems as wel l as i n their cutting an d settin g I m ight ser
, ,
.

v ic e a bl O ffer to the P ubl ic m uch i n formation regard in g the

y
n ature the sou rces m in in g c uttin g testin g an d val u e of
, , , , ,

these ston es A p ractical an d pop u lar guide to those who

.

have an i n teres t in ascertain in g the gen u in en ess an d val ue

of Preciou s S ton es can n ot fai l to be gen erally useful .

A S an i ll ustration of the d i ffi culties of the s ubject it ,

m ay be stated that P ro f A H C hurch i n a l ecture

. . .
,

del i v ered b e fore the S ociet y O f A rts on A p ri l 6 th 1 8 8 1 , ,

poi n ted ou t a n u mber of errors in the iden tification O f a

collection of Prec i ous S ton es which had been exhibited for
y ears at the S outh Ken singto n M useu m although the ,

Of fi cial description of these ston es had been con fi ded to a

wel l kn own professor in m in eralogy an d expert i n ge ms I
- .

have reason to bel ieve that other col lection s on t h e C on ti ,

n en t i f n ot i n this cou n try con tain m an y spec i men s O f

, ,

Precious S ton es erron eously n amed .

 xii

I n the division of fam ily j ewels much i nj ustice i s O ften

don e by person s in competen t to form a correct opin ion O f
their val ues. A study of this work m ay serve to d emon
strate the d i fficulty of an accurate d iscri m in ation In .

a l l cases whether for valu ation or for p robate i t would

, ,

be wise to sub mit the jewels to a practised j ud ge .

A lady had bequeathed to her some fam ily j e w e ls ,

con sistin g of a S apphire an d D iam on d su ite A S they .

had passed probate several times an d been v al ued by on e

,

of the fi rst j ewellers O f t h e d ay there was n o doubt i n the

,

m in d O f the legatee of the gen u in en es s of the S apphires .

O n bein g appl ied to in relation to their val ue I had the ,

unpleasan t d uty O f pron oun cin g the S apph ires to be

on ly paste H a d they been gen uin e they would have
.

realised from to £4O OOO ,

.

A ge m shou l d be a re a l possession capabl e of affordin g

,

pleasu re to the wearer an d the spectator an d with fa i r , ,

usa ge retain in g an in tri n sic an d m arketable value un d i

, ,
.

m in ished by lapse O f ti me an d i f fi n e rather i ncreasin g

, , ,

i n value than otherwise I have someti mes seen in wear

.

gems so scratched that thei r l ustre has been s eriously im

paired an d a s uspicion was thu s excited i n the m in ds O f
,

wearers an d frien d s that there w as a d efect i n the hard

n ess of th e ston es an d con sequently o f their gen uin en ess
, .

I f mounted stones are carelessl y kept together an d al lowed

to rub again st each other the D iamon d s wil l in evitabl y
,

scratch al l the other ston es an d t hus d is figu re them I t

, .

m ay be worth while to poi nt out that a s m a l l s u m ex -

pen ded i n re pol ishing such ston es would restore thei r

-

origin al lustre revive the pleasure d erived from the posses

,

S ion o f them an d preven t the risk of their bein g sold by

,

execu tors as p aste or imitation j ewel lery .

them for more aid by afford ing favou rable opportu n ities
,

for exhibition s of fi n e art j ewellery an d by award in g ,

prizes si milar to those o ffered by the T u rn ers C om pany

,
’
.

T h is would give an i mpetus to stud y to those en gaged in

j eweller y work an d would en a b le the Publ ic to O btain a
-
,

more accurate k nowled ge of an d to take a d eeper i n terest ,

i n a subj ect which has hitherto re main ed the property of

,

an exclusive few .

T h e legacies b equeathed to the G old s m iths C ompany

’

by the famous gold smiths an d j ewel lers O f t h e 1 5 t h l 6 t h , ,

an d 1 7 th centuries which have S in ce in creased i n val u e to

,

an exten t al most i n conceivable without doubt were in ,

tended for some such pu rposes as those to which I have

referred I fi n d that S O early as 1 4 1 5 a cele b r ated gold
.
.
,

s mith S ir D ru go B aren tin e who was Lord M ayor of

, ,

Lon don in 1 3 9 8 an d aga i n i n 1 4 0 8 gave faire lan d s to

, ,

this C o mpan y A t t h e presen t d ay when so m uch pu b l ic

.
,

atten tion is b ein g devoted to the sp read of techn ical ed uc a

tion it behoves us to see that the youn g goldsm ith an d
,

j eweller is n ot n eglected an d that the foreign er m ay n ot

,

take his place in the production O f art work an d i n th e ,

moun tin g an d settin g O f gem s .

T h e earl y ed ition s O f this work con tain ed a C hapter on

”
C ele b rated D iamon ds but that portion has been om itted
,

in recen t issues i n con sequen ce of my havin g written a

,

special work on the subj ect I n 1 8 8 2 I p u bl is h e d a volu m e

.

of some 3 20 pages u n der the title O f T h e G reat D iamon d s

”
of the World ; their H istory and R o mance T his work .
,

which was most favourably received by the press is n ow ,

out of print .

I n the earlier ed ition s O f m y Precious S ton es there “

”
was a l s o a C hapter on Pearls
“
S ome years ago I was .
in duced to sen d my two son s on a visit to the various Pearl
fi sheries O f the world T h e i n form atio n which I received
.

fro m them was of so i n teresting a C haracter that m y atten ,

tion was forc ibly d irected to the entire subj ect of Pearls
-
,

an d I soon accu m u lated fa r too m uch m atter for in t ro d u c

tion into a gen eral vol u me on Precious S ton es U nder .

thes e circu mstances I set mysel f the task of writin g a

separate work d evoted en tirely to Pearls T his appeared
, .

i n 1 8 8 6 un der the t it l e of Pearl s an d P earlin g Li fe ;

,
“

an d was so wel l received as to be at presen t out O f prin t .

I t m a y b e n oted that the p resen t work refers only to

Natu re s G ems an d d oes n ot therefore d e a l with arti ficial
’

ge ms except i n so far as they m ay thro w light on the

,

probable operation s O f N ature .

S ti m ul ated by the marked en couragemen t which m y

labou rs o n the s u bj ect of Precious S ton es G ems an d Pearls
, ,

have received , I have en deavoured to m ake the vol u me i n

its p resen t for m sti l l more worthy of its popularit y ; an d with
this view have s ubj ected the work to a searchin g revision
, .

T hu s i mpro v ed the present (the sixth) ed ition is sen t

,

forth i n th e con sci entious belief that it co n tain s an

amou n t of in form ation on P recious S tones an d G em s
p artly scien tific an d partly practical n ot to be foun d i n
—

any other work

I am pleased to ackn owl edge t h e valuabl e aid which
I have received fro m M r F W R u d l e r, C urator of the
. . .

M useu m of Practical G eology i n J ermyn S treet whose

, ,

m in eralogical kn owledge has alwa y s been cheerfully placed

at m y service when di fficulties O f a scien tific C haracter have
arisen I am also under obligation to S ir W i ll iam C rookes
.
,

for scien tifi c advice an d to M r North for his

,
.

chapter on the modern syste m of roun d d iamon d cuttin g ; -

while I am likewise in debted to M r A t lay the m an ager .
, ,

an d M r Morgan the en gin eer at the B urm a R uby M i nes

.
, , ,

for lo c al in formation as wel l as to M r P l u m mer O f S yd n ey

,
.
, ,

who has kept m e in form ed with regard to n ew d iscoveri es O f

Precious ston es i n A ustral ia
S ince the S heets of this work ha v e been prin ted O ff ,

c onsiderable e x cite men t has been aroused by th e occu r

ren ce of D iamon ds i n a con glo merate an d i n gravels at , ,

N ul lagi ne i n the Pilbarra gold fie ld s N orth west A ustral ia

,
-
,
-
,

latitude 2 1 S longitu de 1 2 0 E B u t it re main s to be s een

°
.
, .
°
.

whether the Precious S ton es exist there i n such quan tity ,

an d O f s uch qual ity as to re n der their workin g a re

m u n e ra t iv e i n du stry T hi s i n my op in ion is very pro
.
, ,

ble m a t ic al whilst the p rod uction O f S outh A frica shows n o

,

d i min ution .

L o ndo n ,
D e c e m be r, I 89 8 .

W E I GH T B E FO R E CU TT I NG , 1 8 63
; CT S . T
A F E R CU TT I NG , 1 061 CT S .

TH E “
K OH -
I -
NU R ”
B E FOR E A ND E R TE R
’
C TT
U I N G.
 S E C T IO N I .

PR E C I O U S S T O N E S I N G E NE R A L .

C H A PT E R I .

D E FI N I T I O N OF T H E TERM PR ECIO U S STO N E OR GE M .

M O N G the in fin itely diversified products o f

I n organ ic N atu re there are certain min eral ,

su b stan ces which form a sm all class by ~

themselves stan d in g apart from al l other s

—

by th e possess ion O f s uch exception al characters that they

have always attracted the atten tion of p erson s endowed
with tas te an d re fin e men t These mi nerals distinguished .
,

as P re c io u s S t o n e s are n in e i n n u m b er n amely
,
the ,
-

D iamon d C hr y soberyl
.

R u by . (T u C t E y ) r e a
'

s e .

S apphire A lexan drite

. .

S pin e ! . O p al .

E mer ald T urquoise

.
.

T h e characters which have com mended s uch ston e s

i n all ages for p urposes of p erson al orn amen t are chiefly
, ,

their brillian c y and colour their du rability an d rarity I t ,

.

is not su fficien t however that a ston e should possess on ly

, ,

on e of these characterist ics T h e m ineralogist is fam ilia r .

wi t h man y s ton es that are exquisite i n colour y e t far too ,

soft to b e used for the practical p u rpose O f d ecoration ; on

’

t h e other hand there may be s t ones O f exceedin g hard ness

,

B
 2 D efin i t io n f
o the Te r in P rec io u s S t o n e or G e ne .

an d durability , yet destitute O f any beauty O f colour or

l ustre an d therefore u n fit t e d for person al adorn men t
,
.

C olou r alon e is by n o mean s a n ecessary property i n a

precious ston e : the D iamon d for example though pres , ,

e n t in g in some of its varieties every kn own tin t m ay be ,

absolutely destitute of colou r ; n evertheless it possesses ,

the power O f breakin g up the rays of l ight which fal l

u pon it or p ass in to its substan ce i nto rain b ow like tints
, ,
-

O f tran scenden t b eauty . T h e D iam on d in fact u n ites the , ,

properties of the most oppos it e ele m en t s co mbin i n g the —

purity O f w a t e r with the flash O f fire .

Precious S ton es are frequen tly kn own a l s o as Ge in s .

I t should be born e i n m i nd however that this term is

, ,

s ometi mes restricted by collectors O f works of art to

e n graved ston es that is to c a n i c i an d i n t ag l i especially
—
, ,

those which hav e co me down to us from c lassical an tiqu ity

o r from mediae val ti m es I t m ay therefore be con ven ien t
.
, , ,

i n order to avoid con fusion to refer to the precious ,

m in eral s themselves as Ge m s t o n es rather than as G ems

-
.

I t is di fficu lt to arran ge the various Precious S ton es i n

t h e order of their relat ive val ue S in ce t h e order is subj ect
,

to occasion al vari ation accord in g to the caprice of fashion

o r the rarity of the stones Nevertheles s it is believed that
.

t h e fol lowi n g schem e i n which a l l Precious an d S e m i

,

Precious S tones are grouped in five C lasses fairly in dicates ,

the relative ran k which t h ey take at the presen t d ay .

. I T h e P e a rl stand s pre em in ent I t is true that t his

-
.

s ubstance ,
bein g the p rod uct of a moll usc or S hell fis h -
,

i s n ot strictly a m ineral I t is however so inti mately

.
, ,

r elated i n m any ways with the fam ily O f true Precious

S tones that it p r operly clai ms a place i n any cl assification
s uch as that u n der d iscussion T h e Pearl has in creased so
.

g reatly in val ue i n recen t times that i f on e O f a

,
certain siz e
 D efin i t i o n f
o t he Te r m P re c io u s S t o n e or Ge m .
3

an d w eight was worth fro m £6 0 to f 8 0 twen ty years ago , ,

the sam e Pearl i s now worth fro m £ 50 0 to £ 6 0 0 .

II . I n the secon d class an d therefore at th e head of

,

t he group of Precious S ton es p roper stan d s beyon d a l l ,

dou b t the B u r m a R u by .

I I I T hen com es the D ia m o n d M any readers may

.

be surprised to fi n d th e D iam on d tak in g so subordin ate a

ran k ; b u t t h e ti m e has gon e b y w hen this slton e could
C l ai m a suprem e position in the m ark et A t the p resen t day .

c ertai n m in es in S outh A frica p rod uce D iamon ds O f pure

water rivallin g the fin est ston es that were ever brought
,

to l ight from the m in es of I n dia B razil or elsewhere , , .

I V I n the fourth cl ass com es fi rst the E m e ra ld then

.
,

the S app h ire the Or ie n t a l Ca t s E y e the A l ex a n d ri t e an d

,
’

, ,

afterward s the P re c io u s Op a l .

V I n the fi fth C lass m ay be pl aced u n der sem i

.

precious ston es the P e r id o t the Hy a c in t h or ja c in th the

, ,

Top a z the Zirco n an d some 3 9 other varieties

, ,
S om e O f .

these are S O b eautifu l that they deserve a more exten ded

u se i n the arts O f j ewel ry than they enjoy at prese n t .

T hat bran ch of M in eralogy which d eals with Precious

S ton es is kn own i n G erm any un der the special n am e of
E d e ls t e i n /e u n d e.B u t n either in t his country n or in Fran ce
d oes i t possess an y d isti nctive title Perhaps it m ay be .

”
best design ated in En glish as T h e S cien c e O f J ewelry “
.

S O far from bein g a t riv ial or frivolou s study the S cien ce ,

O f G em s an d J ewelry im pl ies a kn owledge of a ll the

properties an d pec uliarities O f Precious S ton es such as ,

thei r physic a l an d C hem ical properties ; the relation they

b ear to other m in e ra l s ; their shape an d structure ; their
defects an d i mpurities T his scien ce m ust therefore
. ,

in clude a competen t kn owledg e O f C rystallography Physics , ,

C hemistry an d G eology S uch kn o wledge in its en tirety

.
 4 D efi n i t io n f
o th e Te r m P r e c io u s S to n e or Ge m .

Can n ot be expected to be fou n d outsid e the laboratory or

the cabin et O f the mine ralogist T here are however
.
, ,

several comparatively si mple mean s O f great val ue fo r

the identification O f Preciou s S ton es an d as thes e ad m it
,

Of application without an y profou n d kn owl ed ge of

m ineralog y they are given i n an A ppend ix to the
presen t work .
 6 Wh e re P re c io u s S t o n e s a re Fo u n d .

writers o n gem s that these be auti fu l p rod u ction s O f the

min eral world should be main ly con fi n ed to trop ical cou n
tries What more n atural than the conjecture that those
.

favoured regions which gave birth to ga i coloured bird s -

an d gorgeous butterflies an d flowers of surpassin g l ove

l in e s s shoul d also prod uce m in eral s O f the rarest brillian cy
an d beauty Yet such a su pposition is purely fan ci ful .

Precious S ton es i n truth are n ot con fin ed to defin ite

, ,

geographical li m its or to p articular C l i m ates but occu r ,

a b un d an tly an d i n about equal perfection i n al l l atitudes .

Nor do the gem ston es of on e cou n try n ecessarily d i ffer

from those O f other parts of the world Th e D iam on ds .

of I nd ia for example are hardly if at a ll to b e d istin

, , , ,

g u is h e d whe
,
n polished fro m those foun d in the U ra l ,

mou n tain s or in B razil or at the jagersfon tein M in e in

, ,

S outh A frica T h e E merald O f N ew G ran ada again is

.
, ,

much the same as that which is fou nd in Q ueen C leopatra s ’

m in es i n Upper Eg y pt or at K a t h a rin e bu rg i n the Urals ,

.

T h e B eryl of S iberi a has proved n o u n equal rival to that

O f B razil an d the A methysts of the B avarian Palatinate
,

equal those foun d i n the m ost favoured spots O f S outh

A merica .

I t i s n ot in d eed the geographical position which

, ,

d e t e rm l n e s the di fferen ce between the relative values O f the

S ites
. N evertheless it is an ackn owledged fact that in I nd ia ,

B urma C eylon S iam B razil an d in som e of the Western

, , , ,

S tates of A merica a greater abun dan ce O f the m has been

,

discovered than elsewhere .

T h e A ncients were wont to ascribe the pre em in en ce -

of certain region s in which Precious S ton es are foun d to

evaporation from the earth which woul d O bviously b e
more i nten se i n tropical countries I t was a supposition .

p ardon ably fan ciful that the sunburn t tropics were more
,
 Wh e re P r e c io u s S t o n es a re Fo u n d .
7

favou rabl e to the blossom s of the i n organ ic world than the ,

d ark skies O f the n orth .

B u t although m odern researches have shewn t h at

Prec i ous S ton es are n ot li m ited to an y de fin ed geographical
area their distri b ution is yet i n a m easure circu m scribed
, ,

i n as m uch as they are n ot met with i n a l l m ou ntain ran ges ,

n or i n all geologi cal form ation s T h e most val uable are

.

foun d i n such ran ges as are com posed of rocks con s id ered
to be a m on g the m ost ancien t i n the world in rock s —

composed O f gran ite gn eiss porphyry m ica schist an d

, , ,
-
,

cry stal l in e l i meston e S ometi mes they occu r i mbedded i n

.

the m ass of the rock ; at oth er ti mes protrud in g as i t , ,

were fro m the surface an d j uttin g forth in to free cavities

, .

When the y are th us foun d i n the v ery rocks where they

were origin ally formed the y are said to be i n thei r
p r i m i t i v e b ed
M an y however are foun d far fro m their p rim a l home
, ,

i n a d e ri v a t iv e or second ary deposit i n dil uvial or alluvial,

soils i n the gravels or san ds O f river b eds T his l ast mod e

,
-
.

O f occu rren ce is perhaps the most frequ en t for the fin er

P reciou s S ton es . Far re moved from their n ative hom e

by the forc e o f heav y rain s an d ru shin g torren ts they have ,

been loosened an d carried onwards roun ded by friction ,

again st th e a e hr is with which they have been accompan ied

’ ’

in thei r course I t is a stra n ge fact that those ston es which

.

have been washed i n the cu rren ts o r deposited i n river beds -

,

are general ly fou n d to be the fi n est Possibly this m ay b e .

explai n ed by a p rocess of n atu ral selection which has

weeded out the fau lty stones an d left on ly those that by
, ,

their superior hard n ess could s u rvive the rough u sage to

,

which the y have been subj ected I t is their hard ness an d

.

den sit y that have n ot on ly p reserved them from d estruction ,

but have en a b led man y to retain traces O f their origin a l

 8 Wh e re P re cio u s S t o n es a re Fo u n d

c rystall in e form Th e Pearl however bein g composed

.
, ,

on ly of carbon ate O f l i me when travelli n g with h ard ,

ston es woul d in ti me su ffer c o m p l e t e d estruction

,
.

I n C eylon I n d ia B urma S iam B razil A ustral ia

, , , , , ,

S iberia S outh A frica B orn eo an d parts O f t h e Un ited

, , ,

S tates fro m which coun tries the great m aj ority of our

-

Preciou s S to n es are O b tai n ed they c om mon ly occu r i n —

these derivative beds an d it is interestin g to n otice how

various k in ds O f Precious S ton es are found i n co mpany i n
the same locality form in g as it were a n o b le society o f
,

G ems ren d ered s t ill more ill ustrious by thei r association

,

with the n o b le m etals gol d an d plati n u m I t is n ote

-
.

worthy however that the m ajority of th e S outh A frican

, ,

D iamon d s are u nearthed fro m a rock which fi lls certain

vol c an ic pip es an d is con sid ered b y som e m ineralogists to
represen t the matri x in which th e ston es have been
d eveloped though it m ust b e con fessed that mu ch can be
,

said again st such a V iew .

T h e ha b itat o r n ative hom e of each Precious S ton e

, ,

an d the con d itions un der wh ich it occurs w ill b e speciall y ,

i n dicated i n this work in the description O f the in d ividu al

gems .
 C H A PT E R III .

P R E C I O U S S T O N ES A ND T H E I R U S ES IN B Y G O N E T I M ES .

I S T O R Y an d trad ition testify to the fact that

P recious S ton es were val ued an d p reserved
thousand s O f years ago I n I n d ia where the
.
,

most costly were chiefly fou nd this was ,

especially the case O ther l an d s it i s true possessed

.
, ,

Precious S ton es an d h an ded them d own from gen eratio n

,

to gen eration but probably knew less O f their true worth

,

or n ature T heir tran sparen cy an d d azzl in g b eauty their

.
,

hard n ess an d crystalli n e form s m ust n atu rally have al ways

,

excited won der an d i nd uced men to treasu re them as

,

a mulets i f n ot to use them as perso n al orn amen ts W e

,
.

know that i n the tim e O f S olomon the l ove O f grace a n d

,

l uxu ry in d uced the rich to d esire th e possession of Precious

S ton es an d even to seek for them in foreign l an d s
,
.

I n E g y pt i n ancien t times many ston es were worked

, ,

as scarab aean ge m s ; an d we kn ow that amon g the jews

the robes O f the H igh Priest were set with Precious S ton es .

I t i s O ften di ffi cult, i n readin g a n an cien t author to k now ,

precisely wh at ston e he in ten d s to in d icate an d ord in ary ,

tran slati on s O f techn ical word s are by n o m ean s to be

trusted T his rem ark appl ies for exampl e to the n ames
.
, ,

o f the ston es O f the breast pl ate of the jewish H igh Priest

-
,

as ren dered in our A uthorized Version T h e n ames which .

the H ebrews gave to these ston es in dicate that they d erived

their kn owledge O f them from the E g y ptian s w h o in ,

com mon with other an cien t races , k new bu t l ittl e O f w h at

IO P re cio u s S t o n es a nd t h e ir u s es in hy g o n e t i m e s .

we un derstan d by M in eralogy A s regard s I n dia S trabo .

,

an d Plin y tel l u s that gol d and Precious S ton es were used

fo r person al adorn m en t , an d that dri n kin g cups were set
with E meralds B ery ls an d R ubies
,
.

From the East the Ph oen ician s i n their u n iversal ,

tra ffi c exported costly ston es as wel l as ivory with T yrian

, ,

purple an d other stuffs which were k n own as early as the

,

H omeric period T h e son gs O f H om er con tai n referen ces

.

to val uable br ight stuffs an d ston es which served for

orn am en ts w ithout men tion in g their special n ames or
,

qu al ities Fo r in stan ce T h e witch puts on her costly

.
“

robe an d brillian t earrings ; but their n ature i s n ot

d efi ned . E urym achus gives to P enelop e an exqu isitely
worked necklace O f gold orn amen ted with l ight amber, ,

bright as t h e s un E uryd amas also gives magn ificen t

.

earrin gs s uch as m ust have been worn by high born l ad ies

,
-

an d prin cesses i n H om eric ti mes .

B esides the Precious S ton es record ed i n G en esis an d

Exodus the preciou s O n y x an d the S apphire are m e n t l o n e d
,

by jo b, with the C oral Pearls R ubies an d T op az of, , ,

Ethiopia ; an d the p l ac e in which some were foun d appears

to have been k n own by the patriarch of U z H e putteth
’

forth H is han d upon the rock : H e cutteth o ut riv ers

/
”
amon g t h e rocks an d H is e y e s e e t h every precious thin g
,
.

S ix or seven h un dred y ears before the C hristian Era ,

the G reeks were acquain ted with a multitud e o f Precious

S tones , an d the rul ers in G reece an d n eighbourin g l an ds
wore orn amen tal an d S ign et rings set w ith gem s s uch as ,

R uby an d S apphire T h e famous rin g of Pol y crates

.

d ied 2 ) was doubtless as val uabl e to hi m for its

( E C 5 2 .

costly stones an d work man ship , as for a n y hidden virtue

which it is said to have possessed .

I n the begin n in g O f the 5 th cen tury B C we fi n d , . .

,
 P re c io u s S t o n e s and t h e ir u s es i n by g o n e t i m e s .

among the G reek s a d idactic H istory O f Precious S ton es

,

which in dicates that their kn owledge O f the m was n ot

superficial .

O n o m a c rit u s a Priest an d foun der O f H ellen ic

,

mysteries 50 0 y ears B C treated of Preciou s S ton es an d

,
. .
,

their mysterious powe r C om men cin g with the b right .

tran sparent cry stal he says VVh o s o goes in to the T empl e

, ,

with this i n his h an d may b e qu ite sure of havin g his

”
prayer gran ted as the god s can n ot withstan d its power .

Further he states that when this ston e is laid u pon d ry

, ,

wood so that th e su n s rays m a y shin e u pon it there will

,
’
,

soon b e seen smoke then fire then a bright flam e T his

, ,

fl am e was k n own as h o ly fire , and it was believed that n o

sacrifice was so accepta b le to the gods as when O ffered
through its agen cy I n l ike m an n er O n o m ac rit u s san g the
.

praises an d supern atural power of the A gate the T opaz , ,

the sprin g gree n jasper A mber C hr y sol ite C oral and O pal
-
, , ,
.

T h e superstition s attached to these an d other ston es

were n ot con fin ed to the A n cients Eve n i n this enlight .

ened age E ug en ie the late E m press of France w ould n ot

, , ,

wear a precious O pal because it was said to brin g ill l uck

to the wearer Queen Victoria on the con trary havin g
.
, ,

n o such superstition prese n ted each O f her d aughters , on

her marriage, with a p a ru re O f O pals and D iamon ds -
.

A fter the early G reek period the k n owledge of

Precious S ton es advan ced H erodotu s m ust have had .

accurate acqu ain tan ce wi th man y O f them H e m ention s .

,

besides the E merald i n P oly c rates rin g S ign et rin gs such ’

, ,

as that of D arius ; an d S peaks of the S O called E merald -

col u m n i n the T em ple O f H ercu les at T yre which at n ight ,

gave out a won derfu l light P lato mention s the S ard .

,

J asper an d E merald
, Th e A damas . A mber an d , ,

Loadston e were n ot un kn own to hi m an d he shows som e

12 P re c io u s S t o n es a nd their u ses i n by g o n e t im e s .

kn owledge of the origin of both com mon an d P recious

S ton es an d O f their n atu ral form s
,
.

I t is certain that A ristotle had kn owled ge O f a stil l

l arger n u mber of P recious S ton es an d that he was ,

acquainted with som e O f their special p roperties H is .

scholar T heophrastu s has left u s a s mal l w ork on this

, ,

subj ect T h e l ittl e treatise O f T heophrastus H ep : r d v

’

,
.

A di was written b efore the y ear 3 0 0 B C an d n o t w it h

’

t u v,
,
. .

stan d in g its brevity is O f special in terest as bein g th e

,

earl iest G reek work devoted to M i n eralog y which has

come d own to m odern tim es It is true there exists a .

cu rious G reek poem on Preciou s S ton es A bm by th e ,

t a,

pseudo O rpheus but this is of very l ittle valu e fro m a

-
,

scien tific poin t O f V ie w an d its d ate i s a matter on which

,

the O pin ion o f scholars is d ivided .

B u t though we have n o other earl y G reek treatises

~

on m in erals we fin d referen ces to Preciou s S ton es occa

,

s io n a ll in terspersed through the pages f other writers

y O .

D id o ru s m en tion s the T opaz foun d i n the S erpen t I sl an d

o f the A rabia n S e a pro b ably w h at we n ow C al l C hrysolit e
,
,

D ionysius Pe rie ge t e s refers to the C lear an d brillian t

D iam on d the beautiful A sterios ( a star ston e either
,
-
,

S apphire or R u b y ) that gl itters l ike a star the Lychn is ,

with the co lour of fi re the blu e B ery l the d u l l jasper the

, , ,

pure bl uish an d green ish T opaz an d the lovel y A methyst ,

with its soft p u rp l e sheen

, .

I n the ti me of A lexan der the G reat an d stil l more S O ,

i n the ti me of the l uxurious D iadochi there was a great ,

in crease i n the u se of Precious S ton es as articles O f luxury .

T hey were used n ot onl y for S ign et rin gs but also in ,

orn amen tin g man y articles of use an d l uxury bein g ,

s e f roun d the feet an d other parts O f the d rin king vessels

a n d can delabra of the period .

I4 P re c io u s S t o n e s an d t h e ir u ses i n by g o n e t i m e s .

M ost O f the O ld writers on Precious S ton es occupied

the mselves to a l arge exten t with the stud y O f the occult
virtues which the y attributed to these substan ces .

T h e properties ascribed to P recious S ton es i n the ti m e

O f I s idorus were extremely cu rious T he y were said to .

have the power O f con ferrin g upon their happy possessors a

host of blessin gs health beauty riches honour good
—
, , , ,

fortu n e an d in fluen ce NO won der that men an d women

,
.

carried them about thei r person prizin g them as amu lets

, .

P recious S tones were also s upposed to have som e

con n ection with the plan ets an d th e season s an d a S pecial ,

gem was worn for each m o n t h T h e followin g is a l ist O f

.

appropriate S ton es

IN J A NU A RY TH E A L EX A N DR I T E .

T his ge m hold s its sway over the l ives

of those whose b irthd ay fa lls in J a n u ary
an d in sures to them the u ndying devotion
O f the O bj ect of their C hoice .

FE B R U A R Y TH E A M ET H YS T .

’
To this ston e s reputed power O f pre
ventin g in toxication it add s that O f,

en gend erin g a deep rooted love .

MA R C H TH E S A PP H I R E .

The type of con stan c y virtue an d truth

, .

APRIL T H E D IA M O N D .

T y p ifie s purit y an d preserves peace .

TH E E M ERA LD .

Possesses un con querable power to com

bat si n and trial .

TH E C H RY S O P RA S E .

E mblem atic of eloquen ce an d good luck .

 P re c io u s S t o n e s and t h e ir u s es i n by g o n e t i mes . 15

IN J U L Y RU BY
TH E .

T y pe Of C harity D ign it y an d D ivin e

,

Power .

A U GUST TH E PE R I D O T .

E mb le matic M od esty an d C hastity Of .

S EP T E M B E R T H E C H RYS O L I T E .

C on fers the power of gl adden in g the

heart .

O CTO B ER TH E O PA L .

T y p ifie s H ope , I n n ocen ce an d P u rity .

NO V E M B E R C H R Y S O B ER YL C A T S E Y E
’
THE .

Warn s the wearer of approachin g

d a n ge n

DEC EM B E R TH E T URQU OISE .

E mblem O f prosperity an d the cheerer ,

O f the sou l .

T h e T welve A postles al so w ere represen ted i n m e , ,

d iae v a l ti mes by gems called A pos t l e S t o n e s viz

,
-
,
.

1 .
7 p
as er . hard
—
T his
a n d sol id ston e represen tin g the
C hurch was the e mblem of P e t e r
,
.

E . S app h i re T h e b right bl ue S apphire was emblematic

— -

of t h e heaven ly faith O f A n d re w .

3 . E m e ra ld T h e E m erald of the pu re an d gen tle y o h n

—
, .

4 . Ch a lce d o ny T h e White C halced ony O f y a m es

.
—
, .

5 . S a rd o ny x Th e frien dly S ard ony x O f P h i l ip

.
-
,
.

6 . Ca r n e l i a m T h e red C a rn e l ia n o f m artyr B a r t h o l o m e w
—
, .

7 . Ch ry s o li t e T h e C hrysol ite , pu re as sun light o f

—
,

M a t t h ia s .

8 . B e ry l .
—
T h e i n d e fin ite B eryl , -
Of th e doubtin g Th o m a s .

9 . Top a z . Th e
-
T opaz , Of the d elicate 7 a m es t h e
y ou n
g e r .
16 P re c io u s S t o n e s an d t h e ir u ses i n by g o n e t i m e s .

10 Ch ry s op ra s e — Th e C hrysop rase of the ser e n e an d

trustfu l Th a d d e u s
I I . A m e t hy s t .
—
Th e A methyst of M a t t h e w t h e A p o s t l e
,
.

12 . Hy a c in th —
The pin k H y a c m t h of the sweet tem pere d -

S im e o n O f C an a .

The A lp h a be t h as
been formed of the in itials O f
Precious an d S em i Precious S tones an d is stil l i n use to
-

som e exten t at the presen t d ay T h e n atu re O f thi s .

alphabet is exempl ified by the fol lowin g table '

Tr a n sp a r e n t Opa qu e .

A methyst ,
A gate ,
or
A lexandrite . A vanturi n e .

A lm an din e or ,

A mber
B eryl . B lood ston e .

C hrysober y l , C acholon g ,

C ar b u n cle , C arn elian ,

C airngorm , C hr y sopr a se , or
C in n amon S ton e or C at s E ye
’
.
,

C y mophan e .

D ia mon d . D iaspore .

E m erald . Eg y ptian Pebble .

Felspar . Fireston e .

G arn et . G ra n it e .

H yacin th or , H eliotrope .

H idd en ite .

I doc ra se , J asper, or
I O l it e J et .

Jargoon .

Kyan ite . K ro k id o lit e .

Lyn x sapphire -
. Lapis lazuli -
.

M oon ston e or , M alach ite or ,

M oroxite .
M arcasite
 P r e cio u s S t o n e s and u s es i n by g o n e t i m e s . I7

Na t ro l it e . Ne p h rit e
O pal . O nyx .

Pyrope or ,
Porphyry or ,

Peridot P l asma .

Q uartz . Q uartz agate -

.

R uby . R os e quartz
-
.

S apphire ,
S ard or
,

S pin e ! or , S ardony x .

S phen e .

T opaz or ,
T u rquoise .

T ourm al i n e .

U ran ite . U ltra marin e

-

Vesuvian ite . Verd an tique

- .

Water sapphire -
. Wood opal -
.

Xan thite . Xylotile .

Z ircon . Zurl ite .

I f, for i n stan ce it were requ ired to represen t the

,

word A l ice in a rin g the j eweller m ight choose A methyst

, ,

Lyn x sapphire I d ocrase C hrysober y l an d E m erald ; or

-
, ,

an y other group of ston es whose in itial letters spell

th e n am e .
 CHA PT ER IV .

TH E WO RK I N G OF PR E C I O U S STONE S .

LT H O U G H Professor R u skin i n an elo ,

quen t lecture del ivered many years ago at

the Lon don I n stitution advised the lad ies to ,

wear u nc u t P recious S ton es it may be safel y said that the

,

ecce ntric advice of the learned professor wi ll n ever be

follo w ed either by the p ublic at large or by those con
, ,

n o is s e u rs who appreciate the true beauty of a n obl e m in eral .

I t is un den iable that the qual ities for which Precious S to n es

are m ost p rl z e d their l ustre tran sparen cy refraction an d
,
—
, , ,

d ispersion of light may be to som e exten t visible even

,
—

i n their rough state ; but in order to en han ce these a d

van tages and to ren der the m m ore attractive to lovers o f
,

bea uty the D ia m on d m ust b e subj ected to cleavin g brutin g

, , ,

c utting an d polishin g while colou red ston es m ust in lik e

, ,

m an n er be subm itted to the art of the skil ful lapidary who ,

brings out all the bril lia n cy an d colour of the ston e while ,

c oncealing its i mperfection s .

T h e cle a ving bruti ng cutti n g an d polishing appertai n

, , ,

to the art of the d iamon d cutte r whose ai m i s so to -

,

m an ipulate the rough ston e as to prod uce with the l east

,

possible loss of weight a regu lar, or sym metr ical form

, ,

boun ded by s mooth bril li an t surfaces called fa c e t s T h e

, ,
.

s ubsequen t cutti n g of designs or mottoes in the polished

s ton e belon gs to the art of the ston e engraver -
.

I t does not appear that the A ncients appreciated the

a rt of the lapid a ry as highly as we d o T hey preferred .
 Th e Wo rh i ng of P r ec io u s S t o n e s . 19

weight to b rill ian cy and s ize t o e ffectiven ess T hey woul d

, .

h ave b e en horrifi ed to sacrific e eighty carats of a ston e

weighing 1 8 6 carats as was don e i n the case of the Koh
—

i-n ur merely to enhan ce its effecti v en ess as a gem

— To .

d ay on the con trary we shoul d b e satisfied with a ston e of

, ,

eighty six carats i f by losin g th e 1 0 0 we could obtai n

-
,

n early a perfect gem A ccord ingly we see that th e an cien t

.
,

lapid aries were gen eral ly con tent to rub d own the angles ,

polish the surfaces an d retain to a great exten t the n atural

, , ,

shape each ston e possessed when d iscovered .

T h e clasp of the regal man tle of C harlemagn e i n the

’

Fren ch N ation al C ollection i s set with D iamon ds which ,

have the n atural pl an es of the octahed ron on l y partial ly

polished I n the year 1 2 9 0 there was formed i n Paris a
.
,

guild of gem polishers an d c utters an d in 1 3 7 3 the art of

-
,

d iamon d pol ishin g was p ractised i n N uremberg ; the

mode of proced ure is however un k n own to us I t was , , .

n ot til l a subsequen t d ate that the famed table cutters ,

“
-

of N ure mberg formed themselves in con j un ction with the ,

s ton e engravers into a regu lar guild O n e of their rules

-
, .

’
was that appren tices to the l apid ary s an d engraver s art ’

s hou ld be bou nd to serve for five or six years u n der the ,

pretext of the great d i fficulty an d responsibility of their

mystery before they m ight ven t ure to set up i n busin ess
,

for themselves .

O n C hurch orn amen ts of u n ascertain ed period s but ,

u n doubtedly o f great an tiqu ity D iamon d s have been fou n d ,

havin g upper t able l ike s urfaces with four pol ished borders
-
,

a n d the lower sides cu t as four sided prism s or pyra mids

-
.

I n the i n ven tory of the j ewels of Lou is D uke of ,

A n j ou exhibited in the years 1 3 5 0

,
1 368 the followin g —
,

cut D iamon ds are m ention ed a D iamon d of a shield

shape fro m a rel iquary ; ( 2 ) two s mal l D iamon ds, from
,
20 Th e Wo rk ing of P r e c io u s S t o n e s .

the sa me reliqu ary w ith three flat cut four corn ered facets
,
-
,
-
,

on both sid es ( 3 ) a s m al l D iamon d in the form of a roun d

mirror set i n a salt cellar ; (4 ) a thick D iam on d wit h fou r
,
-
,

facets ; ( 5 ) a D iam on d , i n the form of a lozenge ; (6 ) a n

eight sid ed an d (7 ) a s ix sided plain D iamon d
-
,
-
.

I n the begin n in g of t h e fi fteenth centu ry there are ,

fou n d traces of the art of D iamond pol ishin g i n Paris and -

,

there still e x ists i n that capital a cross way called La -

C o u ra rie , where the D iamon d workers resided m ore than -

two hun dred an d fi fty years ago .

I n 1 4 0 7 , D iam on d cuttin g m ad e great stri des u n de r

-

H er m an n an able artist
,
Th e D uke of B urgun dy gave a .

magn ificen t din n er at the Louvre to the K in g of Fran ce

an d his C ourt and the n obl e guests recei v ed eleven D ia
,

mon ds set i n gold T hese gems were but i mperfectly cut

.
,

yet with the in t ention an d d esire of heighten in g the play

of light an d thus ren dering th e gift more gratifyin g to the
,

guests they were in ten ded to hon or .

I n 1 4 34 G utten berg l earn t gem cuttin g an d pol ishin g -

of A n dreas D ry t z e h e n of S trasbourg I t is k nown too .

, ,

that i n the year 1 5 90 a Fren chm an C lau d i us de la C roix

, , ,

wen t to N ure mberg an d carried on the cutting of R ose

,

G arn ets .

I t was i n B ruges i n 1 4 56 that Louis d e B e rq u e m , ,

who had lived lon g in Paris m ad e kn own his famou s ,

d iscovery of a mode of cuttin g the D iamon d i n to regul ar

facets T his in creased the play of l ight con siderably a n d
.
,

wrought so thorough a revolution i n the j eweller s art that ’

his con temporaries regarded hi m as the father of D iamon d

pol ishin g an d cutti n g J ust ten years afterwards a guild
.
,

of d ia m on d c utters an d l apid aries w as establishe d in

-

Bruges .

I n 1 4 7 5 Lou is de B e rq u e m mad e his fi rst experi men t

,
22 Th e Wo rking of P re c io u s S t o n e s .

fo r D iamon d s which prevailed amon g the higher cl asses i n

Fran ce the art prospered i n the s even teen th cen tury
,
.

o
T w ard s the en d of the sam e cent ury V in c e n z io ,

B ruzzi of Ven ice e x peri m ented on col oured D iam onds

, , ,

with the V iew of extractin g the colour an d l eaving the

D iamond white T his art is practised to som e exten t eve n
.

at the p resen t day but with l ittle success as the colour

, ,

a l ways return s after a great er or l ess in terval D e B oot .

who wrote i n 1 60 9 asserts that his patron the E mperor

, ,

R u d olph I I h ad obtain ed by the distil lation of an ti mony

.
, , ,

a secre t preparation with which he was en abled to rem ove

n ot on ly the colour but the flaws of i m perfect D iamon ds .

A bout the clos e of the seventeenth century, Paris

possessed seventy fiv e d iamon d c utters i n ful l work a n d
-
,

amon gst them n ot a few very clev er m asters O n e J a rl e t .

cut a D iamon d for the R ussian C rown of 9 0 carats weight ,

.

T h e prospect which seem ed n ow to p ro m ise great thin gs

for the d iamon d cutters at Pa ris was however b ut short , ,

l ived ; it soon became overcloud ed an d before the en d o f ,

the cen tury the trad e was wel l n igh extin ct I n 1 7 7 5

,
-
.

there were on ly seven masters left i n that ci ty an d thes e ,

gain ed bu t a scanty an d precarious livin g T h e rc cuttin g .

-

of ol d D iamon d s was a thin g of the past an d there were ,

over 3 8 3 2 carats of rough ston es waitin g to be cut I n .

con sequence of the pol itical troubles an d the social disorder

which closed i n blood at this m emorable ep och the ,

D iamond s had to be sen t from P ari s to be cut in A n twerp .

London h as al w ays had lapidaries an d d iamond c utters

”
of great ab il ity an d the O ld En glish cuttin g (so term ed
,

i n the trad e ) is looked upon a s the type of the b est work

man ship ; yet as the competition of skilled han d s in
,

H ollan d vastl y exceeds that in En glan d the labou r is les s ,

expen sive for d iamon d cuttin g an d the art is more

-
,
 Th e Wo rh i ng of P re cio u s S t o n e s . 23

c ultivated there than here T h e E n gl ish l apid aries are.

un rivalled i n the cutti n g of colou red ston es but i n the ,

c ase of D iamond s we m ust yield the p al m to the D utch

,
.

O f l ate years , however th e art o f d iamon d cuttin g has

,
-

been revived here an d a stone can be cut i n En gl an d

,

to day quite as wel l as i n H ollan d

-
.

When Portugal was at the height of her power a very ,

e x ten sive trad e i n Preciou s S ton es was carried on i n that

cou ntry by the J ews an d the lapid aries of Lisbon who
, ,

were also J ews d evelop ed thei r art to a state of perfection

,

n ever perhaps surpassed ; m any of the ol d Lisbon cut

, ,
-

gems exhibitin g a b eauty of work m an ship that taxes al l

the skill of ou r fi rst l ap idaries to rival B u t the lapid ary .

an d m erchan t however wealthy , were powerless to hold

,
,

t h eir own again st religiou s fan aticis m a n d b igotry an d the ,

expulsion o f the J ews fro m P ortu gal in the l atter part o f

the sixteenth cen tury drove the l apid ary an d hi s art fro m
,

Li sbon .

T h e exiled ge m merchan ts an d l apid aries fou n d an

-

asyl u m i n H ol lan d carryi ng thei r trad e wi th them in the

, ,

sam e m an n er as the H uguen ots b rought si l k weavin g to -

En gl an d S in ce that ti m e A msterd am has been the

.

great cen tre of the D iamon d cuttin g trade an d remain s so ,

to the presen t d ay I t is said that ou t of

. .
J ewish
in habitants of A m sterdam a b out on e third are i n so m e,
-

way or other con nected with this busi ness .

I n I n d ia the ston es are very i mp erfectl y cut by the

n atives often bein g quite irregul ar an d cut on on e sid e
, ,

on ly T h e size an d weight of the ston es are valued there

.

rather than the artistic cut I n work m an s lan guage the .

’

”
ston es c ut i n I n dia a re l u mpy an d it is easier to c ut a
“
,

D iamon d from the rough than to re cut on e of these -

lu mpy ston es .
 Th e Wo rbi ng of P re cio u s S t o n e s .

D I A M ON D C U T TI N G .

T h e D iamon d , the hard est of all k n own bodie s can ,

on ly be m an ip ulated by m ean s of powdered D iamon d .

T his powder is prepared gen erally fro m bort or faulty ,

D iamon d s an d fro m the refuse in cleaving an d cu ttin g

, ,

which bein g p ut i nto a m ortar of harden ed s teel is

, ,

poun de d u n til it is fi n e en ough for use .

T h e in d ustry of D ia mon d c uttin g has been more or

less in the hands of the J ews for the past 2 0 0 years T his .

may be attributed to the scien tifi c an d el aborate s y stem

they esta blished of n am in g every facet on the D iamon d
an d train ing the work m an to d etect at on ce the e x act grain
of that p artic ular facet T hey d ivi de the work i nto four
.

bran ches assign e d to the cutter pol isher setter an d cleaver

, , , ,

’
an d these all work i n to each other s han ds .

A s an example we will take the c u t t e r fi rst A ll th e .

rough ston es p ass through his han ds H is fi rst care i s to .

exam in e every ston e m in utely for flaw s an d i mperfection s ,

en abl in g hi m to decid e i n which way the D iamon d wil l

,

give the best attain a b le res ults T his d on e he takes a .

c utter box havin g two iron pegs for l evers an d affixin g two ,

D iamon ds on the en d s of two boxwood sticks m ad e ,

specially for this p urp ose he p roceeds to c ut the D iamon d

,

on the ol d fashion ed prin ciple o f D iamon d c ut D iamon d “

,

techn ically k n ow n as brutin g T his i s practically con

“
.

t in u e d throughou t the process as there are n o tools m ad e

,

of sufficien t hard n ess to make any i mpressio n o n the

D iamon d H avin g decided which way to obtain the best
.

resu lt the O perator proceed s to cut the rough sto n e i n to a

,

t w o poin t four poin t wass drop briol ette rondell e or table

-
,
-

, , , ,

ston e . We wil l n ow follow the fi rst men tion ed of these ,

the two poin t, i n its passage through the other branches of

—

the trad e an d the system carried out to the fi n ish .

 Th e Wo r hing of P re c io u s S t o n e s . 25

Th e stone h avin g been cut to the satisfaction of the

master is han ded to th e s e t t e r wh o selects a su itable sized
,

b rass cup fi lls it with a m ixture of l ead an d tin an d m elts

, ,

it over th e gas flame H a v in g worked the sol der to its

.

proper shape , he places the D iamon d i n the centre ,

leavin g on ly a very s mall p art exposed A m ark i s m ade .

on the sold er before i t beco mes thoroughly set a nd then ,

the ston e is passed on to the p o l is h e r By the m ark made .

o n the sold er the latter k n ows at once the precise ru n of

the grai n an d th e way in which it wil l p o lish to the best
ad v an tage on the mill T h e fi rst O peration i s m akin g the
.

”
“
table of the D i amon d T his don e it is h an ded back
.

to the setter that he m ay take it out of the solder an d reset

it for the operation of mak in g the fi rst corn er called the ,

flat corn er T h e solder i s agai n m arked to i n dicate to the

.

po l isher the ru n of the grai n of this partic u lar corn er an d ,

s o the proces s is con tin ued u n ti l the D iamon d is polished

t hroughout Every facet has a n am e an d every n am e
.
,

de notes the grain an d h o w to pol ish that particul ar facet

, .

T h e polisher u ses a m il l or circular d isc composed o f soft ,

porous iron so that as t h e D iam on d is pol ished away in

,

the form of d ust it en ters the pores of the i ron the result ,

b eing that we have the D iamon d c utti n g the D i amon d .

Withou t the assistan c e of the D i amon d d ust the iro n would

n ot m ake the slightest i mpression on the D iamon d .

T h e n ext b ran ch we have t o d eal with is the c l e a n ing ,

an i mportan t part b ut as on ly about 2 5 per cen t of the

,
.

D iamon ds fou n d requ ire cleavin g the cleaver has n ot so

m uch work to d o as either the cutter or pol isher H is work .

cons ists i n tak in g a piece off a D iam on d w here it is too

lon g or m ak ing it i n to s m al l ston es where it is bad ly flawed ,
,

thus tak ing away all the i mp urities an d d efects an d leavin g ,

the sou n d parts t o b e cut an d polished T o cleave a .

26 Th e I/Vo rh i ng f
o P re c i o u s S to n es .

D iamon d he com m en ces by fasten in g it to the en d of a

specially mad e stick with stron g cemen t A very sh arp .

piec e of D iam ond , cal led a sharp is si milarly attached to ,

a n other stick an d with it a V shaped i n cision is m ade in

,
-

the D iam on d at the pl ace where the p art is to be re moved .

Placin g a bl un t kn ife in the i n cision and giving it a sharp

tap with a n i ron cleaver s bar the fragmen t i m med iatel y
’

breaks o ff, i f the in cisi o n is truly m ad e an d exactly on

the g rain T hese fragmen t s are cut an d polished an d
.
,

sold as R ose D ia m on d s T his is a d istin ct busin ess from

.

D iam on d cuttin g but is carried out on exactl y the same

-
,

l in es the work m en requirin g about the same len gth of t i m e

,

to l earn either busin ess n amely abou t six or seven years

,
.

T h e great hom e for D ia m on d cuttin g is still A m ster

d am although in order to d i min ish the price of cuttin g
, , ,

G erman y an d S w itzerl an d have also been tried especiall y —

the l atter S witzerlan d bein g the great hom e for fe male

,

l abou r but the result h as n ot been s atisfactory , as will b e

seen by the following statement .

A parcel of rough ston es com in g fro m the C ape was

d ivided i n to three equal portion s of 1 0 0 c arats each an d ,

sen t to each of the a b ove n am ed cou n tries T h e cost of -

.

la b ou r i n G ermany was on l y 1 s 6 d per carat belo w that o f . .

A m sterdam yet the ston es lost so much by th e cuttin g

,

that th eir val ue was less by 1 0 s per carat ; an d i n l ik e .

m an n er those of S witzerl an d were z o s per carat lower in , .

val ue .

O nly highly skilled an d ver y hon est a rt iz a n s are

en trusted with the cuttin g of l arge D iamon d s When the .

D iamon d passes from the cutter s han d s it is b y n o mean s

’

perfect Th e lustre an d tran sparen cy for which it is so

.

much val ued are o n ly fu lly developed in the h and s of the

~

polisher .
 Th e Wo rh ing of P re c io u s S t o n e s . 27

Th e polishi ng ro o ms of som e of th e great factories in

A msterdam are wel l worthy of a visit
,
.

Th e gri nd ing an d polishing of the D iamon d are effected

on fla t w h e e ls propelled by stea m pow er which m ake
x -
,

about 2 0 0 0 revol ution s i n a m in ute B efore these silen tly

.

revol v in g d iscs you wil l see m e n so i n ten t upon th e i r

‘

work that they have eyes for n othin g els e ; for n o t w it h ,

stan d in g the perfection of the machi n ery the sk il l of the ,

work men re main s of pri m al i mportan ce I t is with their .

fi n gers an d thu mbs that they ad j ust the poi nts e dges an d ,

facets of the D iam on d with extrem e accuracy keepin g ,

them con stan tly moist with D iam on d d ust an d ol ive oil .

T h e thu mbs of the work m en b ein g used contin ually an d ,

with m uch force n ot u n frequen tly b ecome en larged

,
.

Th e l apidary who is occup ied with the cuttin g an d

,

pol ishin g of other precious ston es than the D iam on ds or ,

who is en gaged s i mpl y upon S e m i P recious S ton es arran ges

-
,

his work m uch i n the sam e m an n er as the D iamon d cutter -

,

but he u ses other mean s for the cuttin g an d pol ishin g ,

accord ing to the n ature of the ston e to be worked T hes e .

special m ean s wil l be n oticed where n ec essary un der the

, ,

description o f e ach particular ston e .

TH E FOR MS OF P R E CI O U S S TON E S .

Th e beauty of a cut or fi nished ston e d epen d s so much

upon the for m an d position of its facets that a mod erate ly ,

fi n e ston e , wel l cut an d polished is of far greater valu e than

,

a l arge on e less artist ically worked I t someti mes h appen s

.

that the lapid ary receives a ston e of very un fortun ate

shape his d ut y wil l therefore be to tak e al l possible care
, ,

to preser v e its size ; an d hidin g its faults give it such a

, ,
28 Th e Wo rh ing of P re c io u s S t o n e s .

form as shal l sen d i t forth with the greatest weight c on

sisten t with beauty an d brillian cy .

I n selectin g Prec ious S ton es you m ust m en tal ly ask

yourself the followin g question s : I s thei r tran sp aren c y
conspicuous ? A re they l ike d ew d rops han ging fro m a -

d am ask rose leaf ; are they of p ure water an d do they ,

possess th e power of refraction i n a high degree ? O r, are

they tran sparen t an d coloured ; a nd if the latte r h a v e they , ,

a play of colou r Lastly have they n otabl e i m perfection s ?

,

T ran sparen t stones m ust n ot be too thic k for either ,

they wil l refract l ight too stron gl y or i m ped e the l ight ,

passi n g through an d thus rob the ston e o f its bri ll ian cy

,

an d fi re.

I n colou rless ston es the wi dth an d thickn ess wh ich

,

they m ust have are as a rule d eterm in ate ; whilst in

, ,

coloured on es they are regulated by the i n ten sity an d

thoroughn ess of the colour .

T h e work man is compelled so meti mes to give the

ston e a form other than that in tend ed by n ature in ,

con sequen ce of flaws an d cl efts an d i n ord er to remedy ,

irregularities i n the ston e T his is most frequen tly the

.

case in large ston es .

D i fferent for ms of cuttin g receive di fferen t n am es ,

which are often exten ded to the fi n ished ston e itsel f Fo r .

”
in stan ce i f y o u hear of a B rill ian t or R ose y o u know
,
“

at once that the fi rst i s a D iamon d with a tabl e an d cu let ,

whilst the secon d is on l y a low pyram idal ston e facetted ,

over the top but with the u nder surface qu ite flat
,
.

1 —
. TH E B R I LLI A N T .

T hisi s the most favourabl e form for en han cin g the

play of colour an d i s therefore most e ffective for al l P reciou s
,
 Th e Wo rh ing oj P re c i o u s S t o n e s .

2 .
— TH E R OS E .

T hi s form which has been i n use sin ce 1 5 2 0 but is n ow

, ,

qu ite out of fash ion i s fan cifully sup posed t o rese mbl e an
,

'

open ing rose bud I t is chosen when th e loss to t h e s t o n e

-
.

woul d be great i f the B rilli an t c ut were selected T h e .

characteristic of the R ose is that it is flat below an d form s ,

a hem isphere or low pyram id above co v ered with s m al l ,

facets T h e facets are i n two rows : those in the u pper

.

row are called s t a r f ace t s ; those i n the lower d ia go n a l

-

f a c e.t s I n the centre there are gen eral l y s ix facets o f

trian gular shape A c ircular ston e i s best for the R ose
.

the facets b ein g more effectively brought out an d more ,

easily pol ished than in a fla t shaped ston e -

.

A lthough the R ose g i ves out a stron g fi re an d sen ds ,

its rays as far as a B rill iant , yet in the l atter th e play of , ,

l ight i s more rem arkabl e because the ston e i s d eeper an d ,

“

the facets exactly correspon d thus m akin g the prism atic ,

colours more d istin ct A R ose D iamon d has very little

.

val u e at the presen t d ay .

T h e n u mber of facets together with their position , ,

d ecides the n am e o f the R ose A D u t c h R os e i s con stituted .

of twenty four facets ; the R o s e R e co up e e of thirty s ix ;

-
’
-

an d the B ra ba n t R o s e of twelve or even fewer on l y les s ,

raised than the D utch .

3 .
-
I N DI A N CU T .

T his has an upper part, l ower part and gird le I ts ,

.

most frequen t form is that of a sin gle cut B rill ian t I n -

.

con sequence of the s mal l effect prod uced by this form it i s

gen erally re c ut to meet E uropean re q u irements but this
-
,

operation is usual ly atten ded with a very great loss o f

weight to the ston e ; the n atives always cutting the ston e
for weight an d n ot fo r brillian c y .
 Th e IVo rh ing f
o P r ec io u s S t o n es .
31

‘
4 .
—
P OI N 7 CU T .

S ton es m ay be pointed n atural ly or artificially S om e .

Precious S ton es m ay either be c ut as four sided pyram id s -

or are so formed by pol ishin g the faces of the octahedron

an d makin g the m exactly true and regular T his style of “

c uttin g is foun d in antiqu e orn amen ts on ly an d was well ,

k n own to K e n t m an n in 1 5 6 2 .

5 .
—
B RI OLE TTE S .

B r io l e t t e s are
pear shaped or oval ston es having -
,

n either tabl e c u le t t e nor ed ge b ut covered al l rou n d with

, , ,

trian gular sh aped facets an d frequ en tly p ierced through

-
,

at the top i n ord er that they may be worn s uspen d ed .

'
6 ,
—
P ORTRA I I S TONE S .

T hese con sist of thin pl ates of D iam on d even ly ,

polished on both sid es with l ittle facets on the edges ,

.

T hey serve to cover portraits i n J ewelry .

7 .
—
S TE P CU T OR GRA DU A TE D FORM
-
.

When the fa cets gradual ly decrease as they approach

the table an d c u la ss e the gem is design ated a S tep cut
,
-
.

T h e st y le is effective especia lly i n col o u red ston es , the

,

l ight bein g thereby better reflected an d the play of color ,

i n ten sifi ed .

8 CON VE X S TONE S OR CA B OCHON

‘
—
. .

When a ston e receives on e or two conve x faces with

"
32 Th e Wo rh ing of P re c io u s S t o n e s .

or without facets at the base it is said to b e c o n v ex c u t (e g

, , .

A l man din e G arn et ) B u t when its faces are si mply polished

.
,

it is said to be cut e n c a bo ch o n as i n the O pal an d

,

C at s eye
’
-
I n an cien t ti mes the S ap p hire was always so
.

cut an d sometim es the E m erald an d R uby are n ow so

,

treated especially for the R ussian an d occasionally for the

,

A merican market .

A ston e cut with a flat t is h con v e x surface i s said to be

t a ll o w t oppe d .
 CHA PTER V .

TH E E N G R A V I N G A N D C A R V I N G O F PR E C I O U S ST O NE S .

HE
en gravin g of Precious an d S em i Prec iou s -

S ton es is an art of u n kn own an tiqu ity We .

kn ow however, that as early as the year

,

1 49 0 B C the ston es i n the breast plate of the

. .
,

J ewi sh H igh Priest were en graved with the n ames o f t h e

-

”
twelve t ribes l ike the en gravin gs of a S ign et ( E xod u s
“
.

x x xix .
,
A ccord in g to my re a d in g the ston es were
as foll ow
1s t R ow . z ud Row .
3 r d R ow .

D iamond . O pal . A quam arin e , or B eryl .

R uby . C hrysol ite , J acinth or H yacin th

, .

S apphire . o r Peridot . Z i rcon or J argoon

, .

E m erald . T u rquoise . T opaz or ,

C hrysoberyl . Yel low S apphire .

The design in an en graved ston e is either su n k i n to

the m aterial below its surface when the engravin g i s ,

design ated an I n t ag l io or it i s in relief bein g raised above

, ,

the groun d or surface a process to whi ch the term Ca m e o i s

,
'

applied N early al l kin ds of ston es an d gems have been

.

treated by on e or othe r of these m ethods although for ,

o b viou s reason s brittle gems are n ot ordin aril y selected as

,

m aterial s upon which the art of the en graver can be satis

fac t o rily exercised A s a rule the m aster works i n thi s
.
,
-

d epartment of art are on beautiful transl ucent ston es A n .

D
 34 Th e E ng r a v i n
g and Ca r v i ng o f P re c i o u s S t o n e s .

artist n atural ly does n ot care to e x pend his ti me an d talen t

o n a ston e which wi ll n ot d isplay h is work to t h e best
advantage an d at its ful l worth
, .

Fo r C ameos it is d esirable to select large ston es ,

re markable for beauty of colour with d ifferen t l ayers or ,

strata although choice work s of art have so meti mes bee n

elaborat ed on gems of on ly on e colou r .

T h e greater the n u mber of l ayers that an A ustral ian

O pal or an O ny x or S ardonyx has an d the more beauti ful ,

an d varied th e colours which it presen ts the more costly i s ,

the stone T h e best ston es for this partic ul ar work are

.

th o se w ith a wh ite layer on a d ark groun d T hey are stil l .

better w h ere t here is a thi rd layer above such as white with ,

a reddi s h or brown ish tin ge which the artist can work in to ,

h air wreaths or d ress En tirely tran sparen t S tones are

, ,
.

very rarely u sed for C ameos .

S ton e en graving is said to h a v e been i n trod uced in to

t he West by J ews fro m A l ex an d ria I n the M idd le A ges .

an d even i n later ti mes when there was n o great master

,

i n the A rt of En gravin g the cut ston es of the an cien t,

G reeks an d R o man s were used as S ign et rin gs Kin g .

Pepin seal ed with the I n d ian B acchus an d C harlemagn e ,

with a ston e representin g J u piter S erapis .

Later on S ign et rin gs were en graved with the k in g s

,
’

s ign ature ; an d lovers were won t to exchan ge at their

betrothal rin gs c ut to represen t wishes or allegories
,
.

I n the fi fteen th cen tury when C onstantin opl e fel l ,

un der the do min ion of the T urk the G reek artists l eft thei r ,

fatherlan d carryin g with them i n to I taly their secret k now

,

ledge of ston e en gra v in g T h e first fru its of this i m migra

.

tion were seen du ri ng the Po n t ific a t e s of M arti n V a n d .

Pau l I I Loren zo de M edici assisted the de v elop men t of

.
’

t he art by affordin g to G io v an n i B ernard i the m ean s o f

 Th e E n
g r a v in
g a n d Ca r v i ng of P re c io u s S t o n e s .
35

acquiring it both by i n structio n an d by practice so that h e ,

even tu al ly received the cogn ome n o f G io v a n n i d el l e C o r

,

n io li, i n recogn ition o f the perfection he had acquired i n

en gravin g C arn el ian s H is work wa s so e x qu isite that it
.

bore favorable co mp arison with the ma s ter p iec e s of old

classic ti mes an d he has been regarded as the restorer of
,

the art of S ton e En gravi n g in I taly A contem p ora ry of .

hi s n amed D o m in ico de C a m e i e mployed hi msel f in

,
‘
’

cuttin g beautiful I n ta gl ios as wel l as C ameos H e sculp .

t u re d o n a p ale red R uby ;the l iken ess of Ludo v ico the ,

M oor D uke of M ilan

, .

T h e earliest trace of S ton e En gravin g i n G ermany is

foun d i n N uremberg an d S trasbou rg i n the 1 5 th an d 1 6 th ,

cen turies France En glan d an d i n m odern t i me s R om e

.
, , , .

have produced most excel lent artists i n S ton e En gravin g .

Modern artis t s have so well i m itated the works of

the A n cien ts that it is d ifli c u lt even for a practised eye to
d isti n guish th e old gems fro m the n ew when they are ,

cop ied fro m the origin als Th e Egypti an s an d so me .

other an cien t peop les possessed very able workers i n

S ton e En gravin g ; but it woul d b e unj ust to modern
a rt ists to declare that al l e x cellen c e i n this dep artmen t
bel ongs to the an tique as the origin als have n ot on ly
,

been equalled but even su r passed .

Fran cis I o f Fran ce made the fi rst collection of e n

.
, ,

graved stones ; an d the t e of O rlean s collection i n ’

Paris was of world wid e cel e brity M any of the m ost

-
.

beautiful of an cient ge ms are careful ly p r e ser v ed i n B erl in ,

an d i n Vien n a N apl es Floren ce in the B arberi n i Palace,

, , ,

i n the M useu m of D uke O d escalchi i n R o m e an d i n S t ,

.

Petersburg an d C openhagen T h e B l ac as collection in . ,

the B ritish M us eu m is reported to contai n some of the

,

most val uabl e I n t agl ios i n the world .

 tr
Po r a it o f a Ph il o s o p h e r .

r r
H e ad o f E m p e o L e o p o l d I I .

r
E n g a v e d C ro s s
r W
.

P f l
t
S ign e R in g u s e d by C h a l e s I w hr e n .
i n c e o a e s .

s I
t i M
r tt i a, Q u er e n o f C h a l
r e
i
S g R i d b H
.

u s e e n e a a
n e n g y
r
A R i n g, fo m e rl y t h e p ro p e t y o f M
r a r i e A n t o m e t t e .

f m e s II
S ign e t R in g u s e d by M a y o f Mo d e
r n a ,
u e e n o J a .

r i C h t l e s I
r
I m p e s s i o n fro m t h e D i a m o n d S g n e 0 a .

r r
H e a d o f E m p e o Nap o l e o n I .
38 The E ng ra v ing and Ca rv ing of P re cio u s S t o n es .

Mary of M oden a Q ueen of J ames I I possess e d a , .

,

D iamon d signet with her cy p her M R in terl aced an d . .

surmou nted by a crown ( fig .

T h a t t h e en gravin g o n D iamond s was n ot con fi n ed to

‘

foreign ers is shewn by an in terestin g extract fro m the

P riv y S eal books of the o ffice of the C lerk of the Pells n ow ,

in the P ubl ic R ecord O ffice ( No 1 1 p which is cited .

, .

by M r C D rury Fortn u m i n d escribin g the D iamon d sign et

. .

of Q u e en H en rietta M aria T his entry states that on J an . .

1 6 th 1 6 2 8
, 9 the su m of
—
£ 2 6
, 7 ( w h ich would b e e q u iv a

len t to n early of p resen t v alue ) was p aid t o on e

Fran cis Walwyn an En glish ge m en graver for cuttin g
, ,

fi n ishing an d polishin g a D i amon d an d en gravi n g upon it

,

the arm s of C harles I with the in itial letters of the n am e

.

o f his Q ueen o n e ac h side ( fi g '

.

’
O ther exam p les of Walwyn s han diwork are i n e x ist
en ce on e being in the p rivate collection of G ems an d
,

J ewel s at W indsor C astle ; n amely the D ia mon d sign et ,

rin g used by C harles I when Prin ce of Wal es an d en graved .

’
with t h e P ri nce of W ales s pl u me o f feathers ( fi g .

A n other is the i mpression of a seal a ffi xed to some of the

letters of Kin g C harles I ( fi g T h e cuttin g i s very . .

si milar in character t o that on 11 18 Queen s D iamon d ’

.

I n 1 8 7 7 an e n graved D iamond was offered for sale ;

it was a thin ston e engraved with the head o f the E mperor
,

N apoleon I T h e price was . but at such a su m it .

d id n o t fi n d a purchaser T his ston e ( rep resent e d i n .

fi g 9 ) was exhibited in the Paris E x hibition of 1 8 6 7

. .

A curious old M arqu is e rin g which formerly belonged

t o Marie A ntoin ette has i n the cen tre an oblon g D iamon d
,

engra v ed with her n ame M ari e : t h is is n ow i n the collee ,

t ion of S treeter C o Ltd an d i s represented by fig 6 ,

.
, .
,

on p .
3 6 .
 Th e E ng ra v ing an d Ca rv i ng f
o P re c io u s S t o n e s .
39

At the present d ay the art of gem en gravin g has

,

arrived at su ch perfection that D iamon ds are en graved

l ike any other gem ston es N o d i fficulty is m ade i f taken
-
.
,

to the p rop e r artist A n y d esign p attern , or arm s m ay

.
,

n o w be en graved on D ia monds as on R ubies

, S apphires , ,

or softer ston es.

 CHA PTER VI .

PR E C I O U S S T O NE S AS O BJ E C T S O F C O M ME R C E .

HE trad e i n Precious S ton es has con siderably

i n creased s in ce the year 1 8 6 0 D iscoveries .

have been m ade i n m any parts of the world ,

an d S A frica I n di a S iam C eylon an d

.
, , ,

A ustral ia now form the great empori u m s

,
.

Formerly Pegu s aid to be fa mous for its m arket of

,

beautiful gem s of al l kin ds received yearly a v ery l arge

,

su m for its exports so also d id C eylon fro m which is l an d ,

‘ '

we even n ow obtai n som e few of ou r colou red S ton es ,

especial ly C ats Eyes S apphires an d R ubies gen eral ly of an

’

i n ferior colour an d qual ity D urin g the dyn asty of the

.

Kan dy R ulers the right of d iggin g fo r P recious S ton es was

,

most j ealously gu arded as a royal p rerogative an d the ,

i nhabitan ts of particular villages u n der the superv ision of ,

h ereditary overseers were occupied i n the search for gem s

, .

A n u mber of m en are con stan tly occ upied i n this

e x citin g a n d precariou s busin ess ; an d the id le an d
d isorderly adven turers who visit the villages are th e
c ause of great i m m oral ity a m o n g t h e i n habitan ts Th e '

resu lts of their l abors they used to s ell to the M al ays

who cam e to S a ffra ga m with cloth an d salt which they ,

exchanged for Precious S ton es A t the yearly B hudd a .

Festival i n A ugust there is a j ewel m arket held in

R atn ap ura whither those in terested i n j
, ewel s flock fro m
al l parts of C eyl on .
 P re c i o u s S t o n e s as Ob
j e c t s o f Co m m e rc e .
41

Th e position of the people of S affraga m i s so m uch

i mproved of l ate years that they are abl e to retai n for
themsel v es any ston es they fin d o f great worth N ow .

an d then they are i n d uced to exchan ge them for D ia

m on d s or gold which they can equal ly wel l conceal
, .

T h e a rt ific e rs wh o c ut an d polish th e ston es on the spot

are gen eral ly M al ays T heir work was for m erly v ery
.

i mperfect an d their k n owledge of the art faulty b ut

, ,

of late years they h ave m uch i m proved i n the art of

cuttin g gem s S ton es of i n ferior val u e such as C in n a
.
,

mon ston e an d T ourm al in e are cut an d polished by

-
,

ord in ary work men i n Kan dy M at ura an d G al le while , ,

arti stic an d e x perien ced work men who c u t S apphires , ,

’
C ats Eyes an d R ub ies l ive chiefly i n Kal utara an d , ,

C olo mbo .

T h e rare ge ms are cheap er i n London than i n

C olo mbo .P reciou s S to nes are brought fro m all parts
of the world both i n the rough a nd n ative cu t to be
,
-

re c ut by Lon don l ap id aries

-
I n C eylon the s tock is so
.

u ncertai n that the price is l argely d eterm ined at the

,

mo m en t by t he ran k an d wealth of th e buyers T h e .

s m al l M al ay d ealers d o n ot p urchase rare an d fi n e

j ewels k n owin g qu ite wel l that the best and fin est s p ec i
,

men s are carefully h el d back by th e rich traders or ,

travel lers who con sign the m to E n glan d or obtai n fro m

, ,

the n ative prin ces of I n d ia who ha v e an arden t p assion ,

for gems such rem un eration as keeps u p the prices of

,

high cl ass j ewels

-
.

I t is quite i mpossible to j udge accurately by the

C ustoms R egi ster in C eylon o f the worth of the Precious
’

S t o n e s w h ic h are sen t out of the islan d

. O n ly a s mall .

part is d irectly con sign ed to En g l an d ; the rem ain der is

b ough t u p by p rivate han d s but for the most part , ,
 P r e cio u s S t o n e s Ob e c t s of Co m m e rc e
42 as
j .

ulti m ately fi n ds its way to th e En glish m arket I t iS .

calcul ated roughly that the val u e of Preciou s S ton es

,

fou n d in the islan d amounts to over yearly .

M ore than a hun d red an d fi fty years ago B razil became

a powerful rival of I n d ia for D iamon ds T h e m ost be autiful .

stones were fou n d i n the n e a rly in a c c e s s ible w ilds of M in as

G er aes by poor mu lattoes an d n egroes an d sol d to the
, ,

merchants Whil e B razil be l on ged to the Portuguese C rown

.
,

Lisbon enjoy ed the largest share of the tra d e i n P recious

S ton es. T h e trade was a prerogat ive of th e C rown .

A t the p resen t d ay the re markabl e develop m en t of

D ia mon d m in in g in S outh A frica has cau sed both the
-

I nd ian an d the B razilian D iamo n d m in es to al most cease -

workin g .

I n the trad e o f Preciou s S ton es the coloured ston es ,

stan d far beh in d the D iamon d ; i nsom uch that this ston e ,

alon e r e p resen ts about 9 0 per cen t an d the others ,

altogether only 1 0 per cent of th e quan tity on sal e . .

A part fro m the class to which the P recious S ton e

b e longs the price is d eterm in ed by t h e b eauty the qual ity
, ,

an d play of colour, bri llian cy purity rarity the perfection , , ,

of the cu t tin g an d above al l the weig ht of the ston e T his

, , .

l ast qu ality greatl y in creases the price ; for as the most

beautiful ston es are gen erally foun d i n on ly s m al l crystals ,

the val ue rises with the size of the ge m .

I n the case of S e mi Preciou s S ton es the size an d colour

-
,

also are m uch con sid ered i n d eterm in in g the price b ut ,

these adva n tages a re n ot so i mportan t as the artistic

workin g of the stones S ton es depen d m ain ly upon this
.

adven titiou s circ umstan ce for thei r actual worth A s a .

gen eral m axi m gems are val ua b le for their rarity freedom ,

fro m flaws an d qual ity ; fashion occasion ally exercisin g

in fluen ce i n a greater or less d egree u pon thei r market
 P rec io u s S t o n es as Obje c t s f
o Co m m e rc e .
43

valu e . T hus the E merald h as recen tly i ncreased i n value

ten fold .

At the Leipzig E aster M arket, m any years ago D ia ,

m o n ds fel l sud den ly 50 p e r cen t owin g to D o m P edro .

,

havin g paid the i n terest of the B razilian S tate D ebt to -

En glan d i n D iamon ds i n stead of m on ey an d t h ereb y ,

c au sin g a glut i n the m a rket I n 1 8 3 8 the p rice of D iamond s

.

again rose but in 1 8 4 8 i n consequen ce o f th e R e v ol ution in

, ,

Fran ce it fel l greatly

, Fro m t h at y e ar u ntil 1 8 6 5 the
.

v alu e of D iamon d s s eem s to ha v e in creased at about the

rate of 5 per cent per an n u m T hen at the en d of the C ivi l
.
,

War in A m eric a it spran g u p s udd en ly 2 5 per cen t A t .

the end of the Fran co G erman war o f 1 8 7 1 it ros e an other

-

1 0 p er c ent an d d urin g the n e x t t w o years there was a

.

grad ual rise amoun tin g to 2 0 per cen t A fterward s owin g .

,

to the pan ic i n A merica an d the e ffect of the d iscover ies at

,

t h e C ape the m arket price stead ily fell ; but with the
, ,

revival o f trad e fi n e D iam on ds agai n r e ached a very high

,

v al ue an d speci men D iamon ds n ow real ise a l arger price

.

t h an e ver .

I n buyin g Pre c ious S ton es m uch p recaution i s re

quired Fe w wares are l iabl e to m o re faults an d i m itation s
.

than the s e an d the faults alone are s u ffi c re n t materially to

,

les s e n t he ir v alu e I n the rough stones they are n ot

.

e asily observed ; a n d i n man ip ulated gem s they m ay be

hid d en to a large e x tent by clever work manship .

A m on g the mos t frequen t defects are : ( 1 ) Fe a t h e rs

l ittle ren ts o r fissu res i n the i n sid e o f the ston e foun d
i n al l k in d s o f P recious S ton es ( 2 ) Clo u ds : grey brown .
,

an d white spots very lik e clouds which m uch in crease

, ,

the l abou r of preparin g t h e ge m fo r sal e ; this fau lt i s

mostly foun d i n D iamon ds an d pale R ubies ( 3 ) S a n d .

o r l ittle seed l ike bod ies withi n

-
the sto ne of white brown , ,
 P re c io u s S t o n es as Obje ct s f
o Co m m e

or red colour : these are cal led d u s t w h en v ery fi n e an d

i n l arge n u mbers i n on e ston e A bsol ute p erfection is n o
.

more to be foun d i n D iamon d s an d P recious S ton es than ,

in any other created things ; for, howe v er p erfect they

m ay appear at fi rst s ight there is as a rule som e triflin g
, , ,

d efect d iscoverable o n m in ute i n spection 2 5 per cen t . .

of the D iamon ds foun d ha v e to b e cle aved where by the ,

D ia mon d cutter i s en abled to re m o v e black spots o r air

-

bubbles or any other flaws in the ston e

,
.

THE FIRS T KNOWN A PPLI CA TI ON OF DIA MONDS

FOR ORNA ME NT .

The ad aptability of the D iamon d for person al orn a

men t is grou n ded m ai nly on its con spicuous l ustre an d
beautiful pl ay of l ight properties wh ich are ren dered
,

promi nen t by c uttin g the ston e so as to gi v e i t the greates t

,

n u mber of surfaces consisten t with its size B y this .

m an ipul ation the rough ston e loses an a mou n t of m ateri al

tend in g i n some cas es to more than o n e hal f an d so me -
,

ti mes as much as t wo third s of its origin al we i ght

-
.

T h e T yrian s are sai d to have bee n the fi rst to ap p ly

the D iamon d to person al orn amen t b ut the author thi n ks ,

this very d oubtfu l an d bel ieves that i t was an article o f

,

com merce m uch earlier a mon g the peoples of the East .

T hey val ued it highly carried i t as an am ul et an d

, ,

attributed to it m an y med ical virtues I t was regarded .

also as a safeguard again st m ad ness .

T h e breastplate of A aron previously referred to is

m entio ned i n E xod us x x x ix 1 0 to 1 4 J ere miah ( x vii 1 )
,
. .

speaks of the s in of J udah b ein g written with the poi n t

”
o f a D iamond , p u n ct o a d a m a n t is of the Vu lgate though
— —

i t is p robable that this a d a m a s was the coru n du m an d n o t ,

 P re c io u s S t o n e s as Ob
j e c t s f Co m m e rce
o .

Th e origin al cut of the D iam on d was that of the table

form with a row of facets above I t was n ot u n til t h e
,
.

year 1 5 2 0 that the R ose cut was i ntrod uced whi le the
-
,

form of the B rillian t was n ot kn own u n til the reign of

Lou is X I I I of Fran ce I t was C ardin al M azari n who fi rst
. .

had the D iamon d cut as a B ri ll ian t .

 CHA PTER V I I .

THE B U R NI N G A ND C O L O U R I NG O F PR E C I O U S S T O N E S .

THE B U RNING OF PRE CIOUS S TONE S .

E R TA INkin d s o f Precious S ton es are often

bu rnt or subjected to a high temperature the ,

heat exercisin g a very peculiar i n flu en ce upon

m an y ston es an d in so m e cases m od ifying
,

or u tterly chan gin g th eir colou r .

T h us the O rien tal C arnel ian owes its beauti ful ti n t

,

t o artificial exposure to heat T h e Pin k B razilian T op az

.

too d erives its rem arkable colour from burn in g

, .

O n e way of b urn in g Preciou s S ton es is to rol l the m

up i n a piece o f spon ge or tin d er an d set fi re to the ,

envelop in g m aterial A n other m ethod is to pl ace th e m

.

i n a crucible wit h eith er un sl aked l i m e or i ron filin gs an d

,
-
,

heat the m until the y are qu ite cl ear O ccasion ally where .

a faul ty ston e with d ark spots is burn t with san d an d

i ron fil in gs , the spots are re moved and the colou r equalized
-

b ut the p rocess requires great care .

R ub ies are occasion al ly in fected with white spots

whi ch can be removed by b urn in g M any c olou red J ar .

goon s have their tin ts more or les s co mpl etel y d ischarged

on expos ure to a high tem perat ure S mok y R ock C rystal
.
-

a l so carefully heated i n a crucibl e with li me san d or

, , ,

c harcoal , wi ll usual ly com e out perfectly clear Th e .

d ischarge of colo ur is evidently d u e to the d eco mposition

o f the organ ic matter with which the ston e was tin ted
,
.
4 8 Th e B u rn ing and Co l o u r i ng of P re cio u s S t o n es .

THE DYE ING OF PRE CIOUS S TONE S .

Th e possibility of givin g artificial colours to Precious

S ton es was n ot un k nown to th e R o m an s P li ny rel at e s .

that recipes w e re o ffered for sale which p rofessed to tu r n

R ock C rystals i n to Emerald s an d other t ran sparen t gem s ;
-

t hat i n I n d ia many Precious S ton es were prod uced by

dyein g R ock C rystal an d that the Ethiop ian s d eposited

-
,

the pale C arb un cle i n vi n egar for fourteen d ay s when it ,

was al leged that it would shi n e brilliantly for a si milar .

n u mber of months .

R especti n g the artificia l col ourin g of certai n A gates ,

Pl in y says that i n his day more o f these ston es were

p robably coloured artificially than n atural ly : an d th at in
A rabia the A gate n od ules i f cook ed seven d ays an d se v en
-
,

n ights i n hon ey will when prep ared by the artist presen t

, , ,

v eins stripes an d spot s which in ere as e their effectiven e ss

, ,

as orn am ents
T his n otion of hon ey puri fyi n g the A gate seem s to
be th e foun dation of the foll owin g beautiful idea : A ll
k i nds of P rec i ous S ton es cast i nto hon ey beco m e m ore , ,

brillian t t hereby each on e accord in g to its colour an d all

, ,

person s becom e m ore acceptable i n the 1r vocation when ,

they j oi n devotion with it : househol d cares are thereby

ren dered tran quil the love of h usban d an d wife more
,

sin cere the serv i ce of the prin ce more faithful an d al l

, ,

ki n d s of b usin ess more easy and pleasan t E x t ra c t fro m .

—

”
t h e I n t ro d u c t io n to
“
Th e D e v o u t L ife , by S . Fra n c is d e
S a le s . Ch ap . 13 . 170 8 .

I n O berstein an d I d ar two n eighbourin g localities —

n ear Kreuzn ach on the river N ahe famou s for m any

, ,

cen turies for the i n d ustry of work in g i n A gate the artists —

have b ee n e mi n en tly s uccessful i n colourin g n ot on ly the

s urface but the in n er depths of a great variety of sil iceou s
 Th e B u rn ing and Co l o u r i ng of P re c io u s S t o n e s .
49

s ton es T h e use o f hon ey i n the dyei n g of ston es was i n

.

early t i mes the secret of a few A gate m erchan ts at I d ar ,

who obtain ed it from s om e R o m an s who periodically ca me

to p rocure variou s k i n ds of O ny x fro m the ston e pol ishers -

at that plac e an d at O berstein I t i s i m p ossible to say .

whether these R om an s acqu ired th e k nowledge by read in g

P l iny or received it as a trad it ion i n I taly
,
.

T h e A rt is based on the fact that th e altern ate l ayers

of the C halcedony in th e agate n od ule are n ot equal ly
,

porous som e strata read ily absorbin g a colourin g liqu id

, ,

whil e others i mbibe l ittle or n on e of i t Th e porosity o f .

certai n l ay ers l ed the ston e pol ishers to con cl ud e that-

they m ight so colou r these as to ren der m ean an d in s ig

n ific an t lookin g ston es s uitabl e for C ameos an d cogn ate
-

purposes an d thereby m ateri al ly i n crease thei r val ue

,
.

T h e A gat e merchan ts b efore p urchasin g a ston e test ,

the worth o f th e raw y e i n g by stri k in g a thin

piece o ff i t d am pin g ,
tongue an d observi n g ,

whether the dryin g of the strip es takes place q u 1c k ly or

slowly I f the S t ripes absorb th e m oisture read ily the
.
,

ston e i s good for dyein g an d especially fo r O nyx dyein g

,
-
.

T his test however can n ot always be rel ied on an d the

, , ,

m an ipulators are som eti mes obl iged to colour a s mal l

p iece experi men t al ly before buyi n g the st o nes .

A t O berstein an d I d ar the O ny x i s dyed i n the

followin g man n er T h e ston e i s t wice washed an d then
.
,

drie d I t is n ext laid i n hon ey and wat er (hal f a pou n d

.
- -

of honey to about s ixteen or twenty ou n ces of water ) or

i n sugar an d water or i n oil T h e d ish in which it i s
, .

laid m u st be clean T his is pl aced i n a warm oven or

.

on a s tove an d care m ust be t aken that the ston e i s

,
'

always co v ered w ith the l iqu id an d that the l iquid does ,

n ot boil T his treat men t is con t i n ued for a perio d of

.
,

E
 50 Th e B u r n ing a nd Co l o u r ing f
o P rec io u s S t o n e s .

'

fro m fourteen to twen ty one d ays T h e ston e is t h e n -

.

t ak en out of the hon ey or other med iu m washed an d , ,

pl aced i n an other d ish with s u lp h u r1c ac 1d T his d ish .

i s then covered an d pl aced i n hot ashes with burn i n g

,

charcoal over the cover D urin g this process the ac id .

i s absorbed by the porous layers an d carbon izes the

.

s acchari n e or ol eagi nous m atter pre v iously i mbibed by

the ston e I n a very short ti m e the ston e will gen eral ly
.

be dyed by m ean s of the carbon d eposited i n its pores ,

which i mparts to it a bl ack or rich d ark brown colou r .

S om e ston es require a longer ti m e an d so m e will d espite ,

al l care take n o colour T h e last step is to remo v e th e

,
.

ston e fro m the s ulphuric acid wash i t d ry it i n the o v en , , ,

and l ay it i n oil for a day : this i mp arts to it an i n creased

clearn ess an d brillian c y .

T h e ston e kn own as B razil ian C arn elian i s worked i n

“

'

great qua n tities in O be rs t e in an d I dar :the red colou r is p ro

d u c e d usu al l y by steepin g the ston e i n a sol ution O f green
c opperas or ferrous sulphate an d then exposin g it to heat
, , .

T h e method of i mpartin g a blue colou r to A gate was

i ntroduced at O berstein in 1 8 4 5 B y steepin g the ston e .

fi rst i n a solution of yellow prussiate of Potash an d then

i n on e of a ferric salt a precip itate of Prussian bl u e is
,

formed within the pores of the A gate I n oth er processes .

a sol ution of blue vitriol an d am mon ia is employed so ,

that an am mon iacal sulphate of copper of m agn ificen t ,

c olour,
thus becomes the tin ctori al agen t .

O f l ate exqu isite blu e dyes have been fou nd for the
,

C hal cedony by which the varied shades o f the more val uabl e
,

T urquoise an d L ap is L a z u li are prod uced-

B oth th e .

E n glish an d Fren ch m arkets have plentiful s upplies of these

a rt ific ial ly ti nted ston es b ut the precise m ode O f O peratin g
-
,

i n order to p rod uce the fi nest tin ts is kn own b ut to a fe w .

 Th e B u rn i ng and Co lo u ri ng of P re c io u s S t o n es .
51

A green co lo ur rese mbl ing that o f

, C hrysoprase ,
m ay
be obtained by i mpregn ating the A gate with certain salts
of n ickel or of chro mi u m while a yellow tin t is obtain ed
by digestion i n warm m uriat ic acid the iron in th e ston e
,

bein g thus c on v erted in to a c hloride I n fa c t the ch e m ical

.
,

resources of the G erman C he mist n ow e n able the work e r

to c olou r porou s ston es to any desired tin t .
 S E CT ION II .

CHA PT E R 1
.

T H E D I A MO N D .

IA M O N D S as they occu r i n Nature usua l ly

, ,

but n ot i nvariably presen t the form of crystals ,

more or less regular an d perfect in their d evel

o p m e nt. T hes e forms belong to the group of geom etrical
solids known to crystal lographers as the Cu bic or Te s s e ra l
or I s o m e t ric system
. T h e m ost com mon form s are the
regular o c tahedron an d the rhombic d od ecahed ron ; t h e
former bounded by eight equil ateral tri a n gles an d the ,

l atter by twelve rhombs or lozenge shaped su rfaces I t is

,
-
.

n otabl e that th e faces of the crystals are often more or less

curved or convex w hilst those of other crystal lin e bodies
, , ,

with few ex ceptions , are flat Not u n frequen tly the D ia

.

mon d takes the form of a six faced octahedro n, which by

-
,

the roun ding of its eight an d forty faces becomes al most

- -

spherical or approaches a s mall bal l i n shape I n som e .

”
cases the crystals are curiously twin n ed or m acled .

G roups of crystals dodecahedra as wel l as octahedra

, ,

are n ot rare ; there is for i n stan ce a very fi n e speci men

,

of su c h a mass of coalesced octahedra i n the R oyal M i n eral

M useu m a t D resden I n the Vien n a C ol lection there i s
.

a D iamond which has en closed W ithin itsel f another

, ,

-
l
si m ilarly crystal ised D iamon d of a yel low colo u r ; and -
54 Th e D ia m o n d .

R un d le for a su m which ga v e h im a l arge p ro fi t

B rid ge , .

L o n g be fore Wollaston s ti me however there m ust have ’

, ,

been many students of Precious S ton es who were fam il iar

wit h the cleavag e of the D i amon d T hus D e B oot writing .
,

i n 1 6 0 9 tells u s that he kn ew a physician who boasted that

,

h e could d i v id e a D iamon d into s mal l s c al es l ike a p iec e

“

of talc T h e fracture of the D iamon d apart fro m its

.
,

cleavage is con choid al an d here an d there the ston e is

, ,

l iable to spl it o ff i n fragmen ts .

A m on g the physical properties of the D iamon d that

of hard ness is p re emin en t a qual ity i n which it so e x
-

c e e d s al l other bod ies that i t can pen etrate the m without

bein g itsel f e v en scratched I n con sequen ce of its e x cess .

ive hard n ess it was form erly on ly possible t o p ol ish it

partially by rubbi n g it agains t another rough D iamon d a
,
—

p rocess which is k n own as brutin g . I n early ti mes there

e x isted so e x aggerated an idea of its extraord in ary hard
n ess that it was said a D iamon d coul d n ot be broken by a
ham mer on an an v il an d that it was far easier to strik e the
,

an v il i nto the earth than to break the D iamond T his wil l .

accoun t for the loss of many D iamon ds i n an tiqu ity as it ,

was the absurd practice to place them upon the anvil to

test their gen uin en ess T hrough this ignoran ce m any a.

regal gem has been shattered an d so lost to the world I t .

was of course on ly the bri t t l e n ess of t h e ston e which was

, ,

r e ally tested by the ham mer an d n ot its hard n ess wh ich , ,

is a v ery d ifferen t qual ity .

Pl iny gives a d etailed accoun t of the D iamon d in his

”
N atural H istory xx xvii 1 5 A s tran slated by old
, .
, .

D r H ollan d he says : T h e most v aluable thin g on earth

.
“
,

is the D iamon d kn own on ly to k in gs an d to the m im

, ,

perfectly I t is on ly engen dered i n the fi n est

.

gold . S ix di fferent kin ds are k no wn A mon g .

 Th e D ia m o n d .
55

these t h e I n d ian an d A rabian o f such i n domitabl e u n , ,

speakable hard n ess that when l aid on the anvi l it gives

,

the b low back i n such force as to shiver the ham mer an d

anvil to pieces I t can also resist fire for it is i ncapabl e
.
,

of bein g burn t . T his superiority over steel an d

’
fi re is s ubd ued by goat s blood in which it m ust be soaked ,

when the blood is fresh an d warm ; then on ly when the

ham mer is wielded with s uch force as break both it an d
the anvil wi ll it yi eld
,
O n ly a god coul d have
.

co m m un icated such a val uable secret to man k in d When .

at last i t yiel ds by m ean s of the blood it fal ls i n to s uch ,

”
s m al l pieces that they can scarcely be seen .

T h e curiou s opin ion s of the A n c ient s as to the in fran

g i b il it y of the D iamon d are d isc ussed by S ir T homas

”
B rown e in h is famous work on
,
V ulgar Errors written “
,

i n 1 64 6 T h e d octor i s n aturally led to d iscard the old

.

v iews n otwithstan d in g the s upport which they had re

,

c e iv e d fro m the early C hristian writers an d t o con clud e , ,

on the eviden ce of practical d iamon d cutters that D ia -

,

mon ds are so far fro m breakin g ham mers that th ey

“
,

s ubmit u n to p is t illa t io n an d resist n ot an ord in ary pestle

, .

A s a m atter of fact the D iamon d is so brittl e that it i s

read ily reduced to grai n s or p owder by p ou n d in g i n a , ,

steel m ortar .

H ard ness is the bes t t est of the gen u in en ess of a

D iamon d . I f a m i neral can n ot be scratched or c ut by
R uby o r S apphire it m ust be a D iamon d
, I t is true that .

certai n bod ies l ike C arborun d um recen tly formed i n the

, ,

electric fu rn ace are harder than R uby or S apphire ; but

,

these are n ot m in erals .

I t is notable that the hard n ess of the D iamon d v aries

i n d ifferent crystal s an d even i n d i fferen t parts o f the
,

s ame c rystal T h e experience of diamon d cutters l eads

.
-
5 6 Th e D ia m o n d .

to the con cl usio n that t he A ustralian D iamonds are h arde r

an d tougher than the ston es from I n d ia B orn eo an d B razi l , ,

while these again have a hard ness superior to that of most

of the stones fro m S outh A frica .

Op t ica l P p
ro e r t ie s .
—
R efr a c t io n .

con dition s which the D i amon d p resen ts i n rel a

Th e
t ion to l ight are very re markable I t is o n e of tho s e .

bodies which refract l ight m ost strongly that is to say —

,

when a ray of l ight en ters a D iamon d i t is turn ed from ,

i ts original path to a m uch greater exten t than i f it had

entered a T opaz or a R ock C rystal or a piece of gl as s
,
-
, ,

or i n fact any other tran sparent m ed iu m H ence the

, ,
.

magn ifying power of a D iamon d is m uc h greater than

that of glass I t is said that i f a D iamon d an d a p iece
.

of plate glass be groun d i n to lenses of si milar form the

-
,

m agn ifyin g power of the D iamon d wi ll exceed that of

glass i n the ratio of 8 to 3 I t was this that ind uced .

M r A Pritchard m any years ago to apply the D iam on d

. .
, ,

as a m icroscopic len s ; b ut owin g to the great di fficu lty

of m an 1p u l a t in g it so as to ad ap t it to the p urpose
, ,

as wel l as its intri nsic val ue its use was extrem ely ,

restricted .

A s the D iamon d is foun d i n n atu re as a crystall in e

sol id su b stan ce of d istinct form i t h as n aturall y been
, ,

gen eral ly assu med to be a m in eral production Probably .

the fi rst philosopher to throw d oubt on this con clusion was

S ir I saac Newton I n h is remark abl e optical res earches
.

he had establ ished a defi n ite relation between the refrac t ive
power of a body an d its den sity Th e power of refraction .

i n e ach body i s e x pressed scientifically by a certain

n u mber o r n u merical ratio called t h e i n d ex o f refra c t io n
, , .
 Th e D ia m o n d .
57

Now Ne w t o n fo u n d that the i n dex of refraction of D ia

,
'

mon d was m uch higher than he should have an ticip ated

fro m the specific gravity o f the ston e B u t he h ad .

observed that fatty an d resinou s bodies such as oils —

,

turpen tin e an d a mber possessed i n l ike m an n er a higher

,
—

refract ive i n de x than t heir d en sity woul d suggest H en ce .

h e was led to throw ou t the bol d conj ecture that th e

”
D i amon d m ight be an u nctuous body coagul ated l

R efle c t io n an d D isp er s io n .

I n ad dition to its prop erty of stron g refraction the ,

D iamon d possesses th e power in an e x traord i n ary degree

, ,

o f reflectin g an d dispersin g th e rays of l ight thus causin g ,

”
w hat is techn icall y termed the play of colors o bs e rv “
,

”
able O n a wel l c u t D iamon d T h e optical term d ispersion
-
.
“

is appl ied to the power which a t ran spa ren t substan ce

possesses of breakin g up the i ncid en t wh ite light i n to
pris matic ti nts l ike those of the rainbow a p ower which
,
-

is enjoyed to an u n usual exten t by the D iamond an d gives ,

r i se to the splen did flashes of fi re emitted by a ston e which

has been skilful ly c ut .

A s the val ue of a D iamon d d epen ds very m aterial ly

upo n this p l ay of colors m any m ethod s have been essayed
,

from ti m e to ti m e for testing it B abin e t recom men ded

’
.

the following plan wh ich he hi m sel f was i n the habit of

,

e mpl oyi ng I n a sheet o f wh ite paper he pierced a h ole

,

somewhat l arger than t h e D iamon d to be tested he then

let a ray of sun l ight pass throug h the hole an d holdin g
-
,

the D iamon d a l ittle distan ce from it yet at s uch an an gle ,

as to allo w the ray to alight on a poin t of a flat facet he ,

fou n d this facet to be forthwith represen ted o n the paper

as a w h ite figure whilst al l arou n d little rainbow circles
,

were del in eated I f the O bs erver fo u n d the prim ary colors

.
,
5 8 Th e D ia m o n d .

ie
. .red yellow an d blue defin itely separated on e fro m th e
, , , ,

other i n these l ittl e circles an d i f their n u mber were ,

con sid erabl e an d they stood at equ al d istan ces fro m each
,

other the n he pronou n ced the B rill ian t to be well cut

, .

T h e e ffu lge n c y of a good B rillian t largely depen ds on

”
the fact that by the s mall crit ical an gle of a D iamon d “

( m uch of the l ight which en ters the ston e in stead

°

2 4 ,

”
of passing through it is totally reflected from som e o f ,

the facets an d thus return s to the eye of the observer I n

, .

the R ose D iamon d the light is reflected fro m t h e un der

plan e .

A s the D iamon d i s a m in eral which crystall izes i n th e

c ubic syste m it does n ot i n its n orm al con dition posses s
, , ,

the power of doubl e refraction n either does it p olariz e ,

l ight but S ir D avid B rewster long ago shewed that there

are in man y ston es certain opt ical irregul arities d u e to
i n tern al air bubbl es cavities or other flaws T h e vapour o r
-
, ,
.

gas i n these m in ute caviti es is pen t up un der in ten s e

p ressure an d the D iamon d is thu s thrown locally into a
,

state of tension which gives rise to doubl e refraction S o

, .

great is the in ternal strai n i n some D ia m on ds that they ,

explod e when u nearthed fro m their matrix an d brought u p

fro m the mi ne especially when hel d i n a warm hand which
, ,

n aturally ten ds to expan d the in cl u ded gas .

L u s t re an d Co l o u r .

l ustre of the D iamon d i s of that peculiar

Th e ,

i n describabl e but well kn own character termed a d a m a n t in e

,
-
.

T h e surface of the n ative cr y stal is often rough an d has a ,

pecul iar l ead en grey se mi m etal lic lustre -

.

T h e D ia mon d i n its p urest cond it ion is colourless an d ,

t ran sp aren t ; yet at ti mes i t is foun d coloured througho u t

 Th e D ia m o n d .
59

of al most every possible ti n t ; it m ay thus beco m e p ale

yellow dee p yel lo w l ight bottle green yel lowish green
,
-
,
-
,
-
,

blackish green bl ue red brown an d black

-
, ,
Yellowish , ,
.

ti nts are the most com mon in o ff col ou red ston es “

-

n e x t to yellow green ish D ia mon ds are most n u merous

,
.

B lu e an d red are very rare an d are highly valued as fan cy ,

ston es When th e D i amon d is between brown an d bl ack

.

its transparen cy d is appears or is seen only at the an gles ,

.

Perfectly colourless D ia mon ds com e fro m the mi n es

of I n d ia B razil t h e C ape B orn eo an d A ustral ia Perhaps
, , , ,
.

a bout on e fo urth of the crys tal s which co me into the

-

”
m arket are colou rless ; on e fourth of pure water with a -
“
,

fla w or spot of colour an d the re main der coloured .

T h e colou red D iamon ds exhibit their l ustre an d

cl earn ess best when they are cut especial ly the yellow ,

on es which by can d le li ght are very bril lian t

,
-
, .

B arbot is said to h ave s ucceeded by m ean s of ,

c hemical agen ts an d a high tem p erature in removin g the ,

colourin g m atter fro m the rough D iamon d ; b ut it seem s

scarcely possi ble that this can be acc urate though ,

M B arbot on the title page of on e of his work s styled

.
-

hi msel f I n v en teur d u Proc é d é d e D é coloration d u D ia

“

”
m an t brut C uriously en ou gh D e B oot asserted 2 8 0
.
,

years ago that h is I m p erial p atron R ud olf I I p ossessed

, ,
.
,

a secret which en abled him to cl ear an y D iam on d of its

flaws an d colou r .

Various devices have been resorted to by u nprincipled

dealers for deceivin g the pu rchaser in respect to the col ou r
O f D iamon ds T hus the yel low tin t of m any o ff coloured
.
,
-

C ape ston es has been c orrected by p ain tin g them with

,
.

a pal e bl ue solution or washin g them with d ilu te violet

,

in k . T h e e ffect is on ly te m p orary ”an d the trick i s of ,

c ours e easily detected by p lacin g the D iamon d i n spirit .

60 Th e D i a m o n d .

I n many D iamon d s the core is n ot pure but show s ,

blackish or green ish spots T his is more parti c ul arly t h e

.

c ase i n the green ston es M an y D iamon ds have al s o .

”
“
fe athers an d fi ssures which m aterially modify t h e
,

passage of ligh t an d of course d i min ish the val u e of the

,

s ton es.

B lack D iamon ds of great beauty are occasion ally

suppl ied by B orn eo which are so ada man tin e that ord in ary
,

D iamon d d ust m akes n ot the s mallest i mpression upon

-

them an d th ey can on ly be groun d or pol ished by usin g

their o w n d ust for the pu rpose O f l ate black D i amon d s .

ha v e been m uch sought after .

P h osph o re s ce n ce , é '
c.

Ph o s p h o re s c e n Ce is prod uced n ot on ly by heat but

'

also by the action of l ight an d persists long after remo v al

,
.

fro m the l u m in ous source T h e D iamon d becomes phos

.

p h o re s c e n t un der the i nfluence of the su n s ra y s or by ,

i n sol ation and remai n s glowin g for so me ti me after removal

,

from the s un shin e even when covered with cloth leathe r

, ,

o r paper . I t appears t h at this property was fi rst record e d

by B oyle in the year 1 6 6 3 .

T h e phosphorescence is m o s t s t rik in g a ft e r t h e D iamon d

has been e x posed to the bl u e or m ore refran gible rays of
the spectru m ; u n der the red rays or rays of low re ,

fran gibility it is m uch weaker T h e author o n on e occasion .

exposed a fi n e oran ge col oured D iam on d of about 1 1 5

-

carat s to the prolon ged action of a powerful l i me l ight -

,

an d then remo v ed it to a dark room when the phos -

,

p h o re s c e n c e was sufficien t to l ight u p the ap artmen t A ll .

D iamon d s d o n ot ph o sphoresce after e x pos ure to light ,

bu t D iamon ds of yel low colour see m peculi arly susceptible

to l u m i n ous i n fluences .
62 Th e D ia m o n d .

Th e D iamon d is a n on con d uctor o f electricity

- a —

fact which is the more re markabl e as G raphite and C harcoal ,

s ubstan ces absol utely identical with it che mically are very ,

good con d uctors By friction however both i n the rough

.
, ,

an d pol ished state it becom es positively electri c When

,
.

exposed to the i n ten se heat of the electric arc the ,

D iamond swells up becom es black an d is con v erted

, ,

superficial ly in to a form of G raphite .

Ch e m ic a l Co mp o s i t io n .

The ch em ical co mposition of the D iamon d was n ot

d emon strated completely u n til about forty fou r years after -

S ir I saac N ewton s death ( b 1 6 4 2 d

’
.
No t w it h —
.

stan din g the expressed co n viction of Newton that the

D iamon d was combust ible a great contem porary, the H o n
,
.

R obert B oyle, desirous o f puttin g the combustibil ity of the

D iamon d to the test pl aced a D iamon d i n his crucible an d
, ,

then subj ected it to an i n ten se heat without effecting hi s

purpose H is d eath occurred i n 1 6 9 1 an d three years after
.

ward s the G ran d D uke C os mo I I I in duced the A cadem ia .

d el C i m en to in Floren ce to fi x a D iamon d i n the focu s of a

,

large burn in g glass an d expose it to the solar beam T h e

,
- .

experi men t was performed by the A cademician s A v e ran i ,

an d T a rgio n i ; an d the experi menters saw t h e D iamon d

crack coruscate an d fi n ally disappear without lea vin g be
, , ,

hind a n y appreciabl e ash I n 1 7 5 1 the E mperor Fran cis I

.
, .
,

i n the presen ce of the celebrated chemist D arcet i n V ien n a , ,

subjected D iamonds an d R u b ies of the estimated val ue of ,

£ 6 0 0 to the heat of a s meltin g furn ace for four an d twen t y

,
- -

hours when the D iamon d s wholly disappeared but the

, ,

R ubies re main ed not on ly un in j ured but more lustrous

, ,

than be fore . T h e author i n l ike man ner has exposed

 Th e D ia m o n d . 63

B urmese R ubies to very high temperatures i n order to see ,

w hether they m ight n ot b e thus removed fro m their

“

matri x of calcspar without producin g any appreciable

,

e ffect upon them .

M any authorities in the scien tifi c worl d turn ed th e ir .

a ttention d uri ng the l ast cen tury to the chemistry of the

D iamon d an d carried on experiments to ascertai nthe exact

, ,

n ature of its co mposition I n the l aborat ory of M M acquer

. .

o n J uly 2 6 t h 1 7 7 1 a m agn i ficen t D iamon d was burn t with

, ,

the sam e result as that which the E mperor Fran cis had
obtained twen ty years previously i n Vien n a A s a flam e .

“
was s ai d to be seen surrou n din g the D iamond i n Ma c q u e r s ’

e x peri men t there could be n o doubt that the m i n eral had

,

actually u n dergon e co mbustion a fate which h as befallen —

s everal h u n d red s of s mall D iamon d s burn t u n der the ,

author s care in experi m en ts perform ed in conj un cti on with

’

Professor P epper b oth at the R oyal Polytechn ic I n stitution

,

an d at the author s establ ishmen t : i n all cases the D iamo n d

’

was practically con su m ed leavin g behin d on ly an in s ign ifi ,

c an t amoun t o f ash i n the form of a light bl uis h powder .

I t appears that n otwithstan din g the experi men ts i n

,

Fran ce which d e mon strated the combustibility of the

D iamon d a well kn own jewell er of Pari s M Leblan c
,
-
, .

came forward an d decl ared the D iamon d to be i n de

,

s t ru c t ibl e i n the furn ace though heat m igh t be appl ied ,

for any len gth of ti m e H e stated i n con firm ation of

.

h is assertion that h e had often s ubjected D iamonds of

,

his own to i nten se fi re to rid them of blem ishes an d , ,

that they had n ever s u ffered the slightest inj ury from
his treatm en t of them T hereupon the two chemists
.
,

D arcet an d R ouelle deman ded that h e sh ou l d m ake the

,

experi men t before the m on the spot H e accepted the .

chal len ge an d tak in g som e D iamon ds he en closed the m

, ,
64 Th e D ia m o n d .

in a m ass of charcoal an d l i m e in a crucible , an d sub

m it t e d them to the ac t ion of the fire expressin g hi msel f ,

c o n fid e n t ‘t h at at the e n d o f the trial he should fi n d the m

u n in j ured B u t al as ! he had sacrificed his D i amon ds for

.
,

’
on look in g in to the crucible after the three hours trial ,

they had entirely d isappeared H is colleagues howe v er

.
, ,

d id n ot lon g enj oy their triu mph for M Mit o u a rd an other

,
.
, ,

j eweller i n the p resence of the em in en t chemist M Lavoisie r

, ,
.

took three D iam o n ds an d havin g c lo s e ly p a ch e o t h e m in

,
’

p o w d e r e d c h a rc o a l in an earthen pipe bowl sub mitted them

,
-
,

to the test of fire an d wh en the bowl was removed and

,

cooled there l ay the D iamon ds i n the cen tre of the

,

powdered charcoal , u n touched by the heat Lavoisie r .

was n ot convin ced by the experimen t an d it soon occurred ,

to hi m that the con d ition s un der which M it o u a rd s test ’

was con d ucted m ight accoun t for the d i fference of res ult .

I t was i n d eed soon discovere d that the i m m un ity

, ,

enjoyed by the D iamon ds of Mit o u a rd was d u e to t h e ,

exclu sion of the oxygen of the air fro m t h e D iamond

b y p ackin g it i n a s ubstance of the same n ature i n a stat e ,

of fi n e division by which m e a n s a ll the oxygen that w as

,
f

ad m itted attacked fi rst the carbon wit h whic h it combined , .

Lavoisier t h us appears to have set the m atter at rest ;

but it was n ot un til 1 8 1 4 that S ir H u mphry D avy showed
con cl usively by quan titative experi ments that the D iamon d
was practically n othin g b ut pure carbon .

When a D iamon d is burn t w ith a free suppl y o f ,

oxygen or of at mospheric air it is compl etely con verted

,

i n to the gaseous bod y k n own to che mists as ca rbo n

d i ox id e
— T his carbon d i o xid e which is co mmon l y called
.
,

carbon ic acid resu ltin g fr om the b u rn in g of the D iamon d

,

is i dentical with that which atten ds the combustion o f

 Th e D i a m o n d . 65

every fire an d gas burn er or the decomposition of organ ic

,

bod ies an d which is exhaled in every breath we b reathe

,
.

One o f th e
most beau tiful an d at the same ti me most , ,

conclus ive of experi ments both as regard s th e comb usti ,

bil it y an d the composit ion of the D ia mon d m ay be v ery ,

si mply performed as follows Fill a Floren ce flas k with —

o x ygen i n to wh ich pou r three or fou r ozs of li me water

,
.
-
,

perfectly pell ucid an d cl ear T hrough the stopper of t h e .

flask lead the t w o w i res from a galvan ic battery J oi n th e .

wires i n sid e the fl as k by a fin e coi l of platin u m wi re ,

wou n d roun d a D iamon d T urn on the curren t : the

.

pl atin u m wire will glo w white hot the D iamon d will ,

b urst in to flam e an d continu e burn in g after the curre nt

,

is b roken T h e clear pell ucid l i me water wil l beco me

.
-

t urbid an d m ilky owin g to the carbon ic aci d prod uced

,

b y the bu rn in g D iamon d form in g with the l i me water ,

-
,

carbon ate of l i m e ; an d fi n al ly a sed i men t of this sol id

white carbon ate of l im e will be precipitated while the ,

flask at the con clus ion of the experi m en t wi l l be foun d

, ,

to con tai n c arbon ic acid gas .

T h e te mperatu re m ust be very high an d somewhat

protracted for the b urn i n g of a solid D iam on d A m uch .

lower degree of temperature however wil l be s ufficien t , ,

to burn D ia m on d d u st i f the latter be spread out on

,

a thi n red hot pl atin u m plate placed over a spirit l a m p

-
, .

S mal l D ia mon ds wi ll burn i n a short ti me if put on a ,

plate of the sam e m etal an d i f th e flam e of a spirit l amp

.
,
-

be d irected by a blow pipe u n d er the pl a te

-
.

When a D iamon d is s u bj ected to the sun s rays in th e ’

foc us of a bu rn in g gl ass or heated in ox y gen gas it gives

, ,

out bright red sparks whil e burn ing I n order to O bserve .

how the D iamon d s u ffered d urin g the process of c o m bu s

tion Pe t z h o ld t took two sharp an gled pieces of D i a mon d
,
-

F
66 Th e D ia m o n d .

an d placed the m before the oxy hyd rog en blow p ipe - -

.

Fro m ti me to t i me they we re removed in order to observ e

the action o f the fi re upon th eir form an d substan ce ; he
thus detected that the h eat had fi rst acted on t h e
sharp angles thus round in g the D iamon d s ; an d on the
,

re appl ication of the heat he observed that the D iamon d s

-
,

soon split up i n p ieces an d l ost both their tran sparen cy

,

an d lustre H e could n ot d etect any eviden c e of

.

meltin g on the su r face o f the burn in g D iam on d s ; but

on removi n g them fro m the fi re they assu med a leaden ,

grey color d ue n o doubt to superfici al conversion in to

, , ,

G raphite Lavoisier also n oticed that o n exposin g the

.

D iamon d to i n tense heat black spots appeared on it then , ,

d isappeared an d re appeared G uyton d e Mo rv e a u con

,
-
.

fi rme d these statements H e con su med a D iam on d i n .

oxygen by means o f a burn ing gl ass First he saw on

,
-
.

th at corn er of the D iamon d which was i n the exact focu s

of the len s a b lack poin t ; then the D iamon d becam e bl ack
an d carbon ized A m omen t after he s aw clearly a bright
.
,

spark twin klin g as it were on the d ark groun d an d when

,

the light was i n tercepted the D iamon d was red an d for a , ,

ti me transparent A clou d n ow p assed over the s un an d

.
,

the D iamon d was more beautifully white than at first ;

b ut as the s u n again shon e forth the s u rface assu med a
metal lic l ustre Up to this poi nt the D iamon d had sen sibly
.

d ecreased i n bul k n ot bein g more than a fourth o f its

,

original size T h e experi men t was suspen ded for a d ay or

.

two O n its resu mption the same phen omen a occurred

.
, ,

b ut in a more m arke d degree subsequently the D iamon d

e n tirely d isappeared A t the conclusion of h is t re a t 1s e m
.
,

which these experi ments are detai led he say s I f i t were , ,

possi b l e while the D ia mon d is burn in g to collect the black

, ,

s ubstan ce which co v ers the surface the D ia m on d woul d ,

 Th e D ia m o n d . 67

i n di sp utably be shew n to be carbon : that is to s ay it ,

would be recogn ized un d er the m ore gen eral ly k nown

form of graph itic carbon .

Fo u rc ro y corroborated G uyton d e Mo rv e a u He .

placed two s m al l D iamon ds in a capsul e u nd er a m u ffl e , ,

heated them arreste d the burn in g su fferi n g the hal f

, ,

con su med bodies to cool and on removin g t h e m u ffler

,

he foun d the m qu ite black as though they had a coverin g

,

of soot which he removed by rubbin g with a pi e c e of

,

paper on which was left a black m ark

,
.

T o G uyton de M o rv e a u we are in d ebted for d e s c rib

in g an in terestin g e x peri men t m ade by C louet i n 1 7 9 8 ,

which con sisted i n convertin g iron i nto steel by heatin g

it with the D iamon d S in ce steel is a combin ation of
.

i ron an d carbon this in d irectly establishes th e co m po s i

,

tion of the ge m Pepys i n the early part of this cen tury

.
, ,

also effected the carburisation of iron W i re by heatin g it -

,

with D iamon d d ust by m ean s of a galvan ic battery Th e

-
.

e xperi men t has been repeated i n v arious ways by o ther

experi m ental ists i n modern ti mes n otably by M argue ritte ,

i n Fran ce an d H empel in G erm any an d by P rofessor

, ,

R oberts A u s ten i n this cou ntry

-
T h e l ast n amed chem ist
.

u sed pu re ele c t rolytic iron which was heated i n v acuo by

mean s of an electri c current so as to ex p el al l occluded,

g as : s ma ll D iamon ds were then i n trod u c ed i n con tact with

t h e iron an d the metal again con n e c ted with t h e dyn am o
, ,

w h en fusion occurred an d th e m olten m etal combin ed with

the s u bstan ce of t h e D iamon d .

T h e brothers R oger s two A merican scien tists of gre a t

,

reputation asserted that with potassiu m chromate a n d

,

sulphuric acid at fro m 1 8 0 to 2 3 0 the D i a mo n d is o x i

° °

d ized i nto carbon ic acid J a c q u e lain an d D e s p re t z used

.

very powerfu l galvan i c batteries an d foun d that a ,

68 Th e D ia m o n d .

D iamon d ,
heated i n an at mosphere of carbon ic acid by ,

mean s of the oxy hyd rogen blow pipe grad ually d is

- -
,

appeared without any sign o f soften in g Morre n has .

stud ied th e beh aviour of the D iamon d when exposed to

high temperatu re i n various gaseous media .

G as s io t experi men ted on the D iamon d by stron g

galvan ic cu rren ts between carbon poin ts demon stratin g ,

that in burn i n g D iamon ds un crystall ized bl ack carbon i s

,

fi rst prod uced which at a very high temperature burn s

, ,

off into carbon d i oxid e ; that m any rough D iamon d s

-

possessin g a metall ic l ustre become leaden grey an d that -

,

the bl ackish spots adherin g to the surface of som e may

, ,

be got rid of by great h eat .

S o me very n otable experi men ts o n the action of heat

u pon D iamon ds were m ad e som e years ago by the late
, ,

Professor G ustav R ose of B erl in En closin g the ston es i n

,
.

'

stron g gl ass vessel s fro m which the air had been ex

,

h au s t e d he subjected the m to the int ense h eat of the

,

electric arc produ ced by S iem en s s p owerful m ach in es ’

.

A ir bein g thus excl uded the D iam ond s could n ot be ,

con su med but it was rem arkable that they grad ually
,

became en crusted w ith a dark coatin g o f gra p h it ic carbon ,

‘

resemb l in g blacklead .

T hat the D iamon d coul d be con verted into G raphit e

when heated i n the electric arc was clearly demon strated
as fa r b ack as 1 8 4 7 by J ac q u e la in b ut qu ite recen tly
M M oissan by m ean s of his el ectric furn ace has carefu lly
.
, ,

stud ied the phen omen on an d has foun d that the resu ltin g
,

G raphite occurs in i rregular cry stallin e forms A t a v ery .

e x alted temperature h e has been a b le to volatilize carbon .

Professor D ewar i n his remark able researches on

,

l iqu id o xygen at t h e R oyal I n s titution has shewn that i f a ,

D ia mon d be stron gly heated an d then suddenly thrown ,

7 0 Th e D ia m o n d .

electri c ity es p ecial ly i n the form of l ightn in g upon car

, ,

bo n ic acid that its decompositio n i s e ffected ; an d he

,

qu o tes the statemen ts of the A n cien ts that i n those m in es ,

“

where the largest n u mber of D iamon ds were foun d w e r e ,

s o called thun der bolts

- -
.

A mon g those who ha v e supported the v e getable

origin of th e D iamon d i s N ewton who believed it to be a
, ,

c o agul ated fat or oily body of vegetabl e origi n J am eson

, , .

an d B rewster advan ced si m ilar views an d Pe t z h o ld t also

d ecided for the v egetable origin bas in g his con cl usion s ,

m ai n ly on the m icroscopic study o f th e resid ual ash left

when a D iamon d is bu rn t I n vie w o f our presen t
.

kn owledge it is i n teresti n g to read what the great che m ist ,

Liebig said on this subj ect S c ien ce a fford s u s n o

“

an alogy e x cept that of decomposition an d d ec ay for the

, ,

formation or origin of the D iamond We kn ow that it .

does n ot owe it s origi n to fi re ; for a high temperature

and t h e presen ce o f oxygen are i n c om p atibl e wit h it on
accoun t of its combustibil ity : on the c o ntrary there is ,
‘

u n den iable groun d for su pp os in g that it w as fo rmed i n

t h e wet way ; an d the d ecomposition process alon e ’

hel ps us i n our attempts to solve the mystery o f its

origi n What kin d o f vegetable s u b stan ce rich i n hydro
.
,

carb o n s the d ecom p osition o f which gave ris e to the

,

D iamon d an d what particular con dition s had to be

,
’

ful filled in order to c ry s t a l liz e t h e carbon are n ot at ,

present kn own to us ; but this m uch is certain tha t the ,

pro c e s s m u s t h av e b e en e x ceed ingly grad ual an d i n n o ,

"

way hasten ed by a high tem p eratu re ; otherwi se the

c arbo n woul d n ot have become crystal lized but would ,

”
ha v e s eparated i tself a s a black powder .

W o hler al so was o f opi n ion that the D iamon d d id n ot

origin ate at a hi gh temperature, or at l east n ot by fusion
r
.
 Th e D ia m o n d .
7 1

Th e lat e G eorge Wilson of Ed in bu rgh hel d t h e v ie w , ,

th at the D iamond m ight be form ed fro m anthr acite or

, ,

steam coa l w ithout a chan ge from the sol id state

-
, .

D an a the v en erabl e A meric a n geol ogis t regarded the

, ,

D iamon d as a p rod uct of the d eco mpos ition of orga n i c

matter u nder the O p eration of variou s agents of meta
,

m orphi s m Th e l ate Pro f C arvi ll Lewis s ought the origin

. .

of the S outh A frican d iam on ds i n the d ecompositionof

carbon aceou s shales by the action of certain vol can ic mater
ia ls thrust t h ro u gh t h e m A cco rd in g to the late A Fa v re
'

. ;

the paragen esis of the B razil ian D iamon d s suggests the p re

sen ce of chlorid e of carbon as the s ubstan ce wh ich by its ,

d ecomposition yielded the pu re carbon C a n n al a dvocated

, .

the V iew that it results from the decomposition of c arbon

d isulphide .

O pposed i n som e d egree t o al l the above theories ,

is the v ie w of S im la r of B resl au that the D iamon d i s the

, ,

resul t of the crystall ization of carbon from a liquid sol ution .

A ccordin g to his theory carbon ic acid col lected i n far , ,

away ti m e i n a n u mber o f ca v ities an d was l iquefi ed u n de r

, ,

great p ressure it then d issolved som e pre ex istin g form o f -

carbo n an d subsequen tly the car bon ic acid becam e

g rad ually d issip a ted through fi ssu res an d clefts a n d t h e ,

cryst al lization of the d issol v ed c arbon began S uppos i n g .

the pressure sudden ly to abate an d a q u ick eva p oration o f ,

the l iquid to occu r a co nsiderabl e m ass of compa ct black

,

D iamon d m ight be for m ed s u ch as i s k n ow n i n com merce ,

as carbon ado or carbon , .

T here has been a suspicion iii the m in ds of m any

chem ists that the origi n of th e D iamon d m ay be possibly
sough t i n t h e slo w: decompos ition of certain gaseous hyd ro
carbon s T hu s C h an c o u rt o is suggested that em an ations
.
,

of hydro carbon s fro m fis s u re s in the earth m ight s u ffe r

’

- ,
7 2 Th e D ia m o n d .

partial oxidization the hyd rogen bein g converted in to

,

water an d part of the carbon i nto carbon ic ac id while the ,

resid ual carbon might be deposited i n a free state j ust as ,

sulphu r is set free on the ox id ation of e man ation s of su l

h u re t t e d '
h d R ousseau has obtain ed black D iamon d
p y ro
ge n .

by heating acetylen e inthe electric furn ace .

I t is wel l kn own to metal lurgists that molten iron w ill

d issolve carbon an d that the excess b eyon d that which
,
’

forms c ast iron will separate on c o ol in g i n the form of

-
, ,

c ry stall in e pl ates of graphite kn own to the iron workers ,

-

”
un der the curious n ame of k ish M M oissan has shewn . .

that the phys 1eal con dition which the carbon assu m es is
d epen den t to a l arge exten t on the pressure to which it is
subj ected at the ti me of con sol id ation an d that u nd er ,

enormous pressure i t is l iberated i n the form of D iamon d .

T his discovery has given fresh i nterest to Some o b servations

m ade i n Ed in burgh abou t the y ear 1 8 8 0 by D r S yd n ey .

M arsden H e fou n d that m olten silver d issolved carbon

.
,

an d that this separated on cool in g p artl y as amorphous

, , ,

or u n crystall ized m atter an d partly i n the crystallin e

-
,

states of G raphite an d D iamon d T h e u se of the electric .

furn ace has en a b led M M o iss an to con fi rm a n d exten d

.

these observation s .

I n order t o secure the separation of carbon i n the

adaman toid form M oissan saturated the i ron with pure
,

c ar b on an d suddenl y cooled the m ass by plun gin g i t i n to

,

a bath of molten lead when the exterior con sol id a t e d as a

,

c ru st aroun d the molten iron : this then slowly solid

ifie d an d by its e xpan sion i n coolin g an en ormous pressure
,

was secu red T h e experi men t has been success ful ly

.

re p eated by several che mists i n this coun try .

B u t though D iamon ds have thus been arti ficially

‘
p r od uced they are of such m in ute size bein g merely ,
'
 Th e D i a m o n d .
73

m icroscopic grain s as to be u t terly destitute of com mercial

,

val ue Neve rtheless they are of great scientifi c in terest as

.

suggestin g a possible mod e of origi n for n atural D iamon ds .

I nd eed S ir W C rookes bel ieves that the S outh A frican

.

D iamon ds m ay have been formed i n a somewhat s i m ilar

way from d eep se ated m asses of metal lic iron
-
.

I n con n ection with this subject men tion shoul d be

made of som e rem arkabl e d iscoveries o f d iaman toid carbon
i n m eteoric iron O n September 2 2 n d 1 8 8 6 three m eteo
.
, ,

rites o r s ky s t o n e s fe ll n ear N ovo Urei i n a remote part

,
-
,
'

of S outh E astern R ussia T hese stran ge visitants fr om

-
.

space were subjected to scientifi c examin ation by M M .

f ff s c a rbo n
J e ro e i an d L a t c h i n o ff ; an d i n on e of the m e t e o rit e ,

was foun d i n a d iaman toid con dition form in g abou t on e ,

per cen t of the entire weight of the ston e It is tru e that

. .

this carbon was rather of the c haracter of carbon ado the ,

black variety of D iamon d to be subsequently d es cribed ; b ut ,

s til l the presence of any kin d of D iamon d i n an aerol ite is

a fac t o f s urpassin g sc ien tific i n terest wh ile e v en those who

'

are n ot scien tific wil l n ot fail to appreciate the i mportance

,

of fi n d in g this re markabl e m in e ral i n a heaven d ropped -

ston e ,

S til l more rem arkabl e resul ts attend ed the exam i n a

tion of the famous meteorites of C anyon D iablo i n A rizon a ,
.

I n 1 8 9 0 n u merous fragments o f iron so me weighing as ,

m uch a s h alf a ton were fou n d scattered over the su rface

,

o f a plain inA rizon a an d were regarded by a prospector ,

as represen t ing the outcrop of a lode of m et al lic iron T heir .

meteoric char a cter was howe ver re c o gn iz e d by the late D r .

A E Foote of Ph il adelphia ; an d i n c utt in g through on e

. .
,

of the masses to form a slab h e discovered certain hard

, ,

grain s which Professor G A K oen ig o n c areful examin a

, . .
,

tion p ron oun ced to be verita b l eD iamonds ! T his remarkable

,
74 Th e D ia m o n d .

d iscovery has si nce been amply con firmed by many scienti fic

o bser v ers i n various parts of the world .

O n d issolving the A rizon a m eteori tes by mean s of ,

acids the D iam on d m ay be liberated from their i mprison

,

men t i n the iron sinc e the y resist al l sol v en t action

,
If .
,

n ow as pointed out by S ir W C rookes these m asses of iron

, .
, ,

as they lay exposed u pon the groun d had been grad u al ly

attacked by at mospheric agen cies an d eaten away as so ,

m uch rust all th e m etal would have d isappeared while the

, ,

D iamon ds set free wou ld ha v e be e n foun d scattered o v er

the soil an d might then ha v e been n atu rally regarded a s
,

terrestrial m in erals H en ce the startli ng s uggestion is

.

forced upon us that som e of the D iamon d s foun d i n san ds ,

gravels an d ot h er su p erficial deposits on the surface of the

,

e arth especially where on ly a s ingle D iam on d i s n ow an d

,

then picked U p may after all ha v e been origin ally

—
, ,

dropped from the sky i n the shape o f meteori c matter a n d ,

be therefore l iterally a d irect gift fro m H ea v en

D I A M ON D .

P ure C arbon .

to 35 2
3 .

10 .

‘
Sy s t e m f
o Cry s t a l l iz i
a t on I sometri c or cubic al .

Co m m o n Fo r m s of Cry s t a ls O c t ah e d ro n R h o m bic ,

D od ecahedro n ,
H e x a k is O ctahed ron é c ,
’
.
 C H A PTER II .

A FR I C A N D I A M O N D S .

N deal ing wit h the geographi c al d istribution

of D iamon ds the stones of each local ity
,

wil l be d escribed i n a separate chapter ,

an d the se v eral local it ies will be taken i n

their alphabetical order I t is n ot however a mere
.
, ,

al phabetical acciden t which places A frica at t h e head of

the d iamon d yield in g local i t ies for d urin g t h e l ast th irty
-
,

years the yield of the S outh A frican m in e s h as been

w ithout a pa rallel in any other part of the world an d ,

p rob ably without a parallel at any p eriod of the worl d s ’

h ist o ry
.

A lthough S outh A frica has risen as a diamon d

producing l ocal ity within th e recollection o f the presen t
ge n eration much evid ence m ay be add uced i n s upport of
,

the v i e w that D iamond s were kn own an d worked there at

a very remote period T hus t h e Mon astery M in e in the
.
, ,

O ra n ge Free S tate though u n kn own in m od ern ages u ntil

,

a few years ago had evidently been previously worked an d

.
,

ab an d on ed the an cien t work in gs probably going back to

—

prehistoric ti mes I mplem en ts wrought i n ston e an d

.

bron ze have been d isco v ered i n the deserted m in e ,

a ssociated with h u m an skeletons an d it is hoped that the

s c ien tific exam ination of these rel ics by co mpeten t e x perts

m ay t hr ow l ight u pon the d ate of the ol d workin gs I t .

m ay be ad ded that M r W l l Pen n ing also b eli e ves fro m

, . . .

h is d iscoveries of sto n e i mplem en ts at Ki mberley that the

7 6 Af r ic a n Dia m o n ds .

D iamon ds of that d i strict were kn own to an d worked by , ,

a prehistoric peopl e My own view is that S outh A frica

.

m ay have supplied the D iamonds used by M oses in t h e

H igh Priest s breast plate as wel l as the prec ious stones
’
-
,

which the Q ueen of S heba presented to Kin g S ol omon .

M oreover the resemblan ce of the D iamon d s of the

,

M on astery M in e to I n d ian ston es raises the s uggestion

that thi s may have been the origin al source of m any
s o called I n d ian D iamon ds
-
a suggestion which recei v es
,
-

support fro m the fact that the presen t yield of the m ines
of I n d ia is extremely s m all .

I t appears certain that the presence of D iam on d s in

S outh A fric a was kn own to E urop ean colon ists in the
mid dle of the last cen tury ; an d the words H ere be “

D iamond s are to be seen in scribed across our moder n

territory of G riqualan d West in a M ission M ap of 1 7 50 ,
.

Th e old D utch residents of C ape T own appear to have

been quite astir about the m atter on several occas ion s bu t ,

years passed on an d the an cien t ru mours d ied away .

R ather m ore than th ir ty years ago it happen ed ,

that a chi ld of M r J acobs a D utch farm er settled at the

.
,

C ape a m used hi m self by c o llecti ng pebbles fro m the

,

n eighbourhood of the farm n ear H opetown A t fi rst sight

,

there m ight fie m n othin g rem arkabl e i n this c ircu mstan ce ,

for pretty pebbl es were to be had in plen ty near the

n eighbouring river O n e of these ston es howe v er was
.
, ,

suffi cien tly bright to attract the keen eye of the mother ,

though she regard ed it s i mply as a cu rious pebbl e an d ,

gave i t l ittle more than a passin g gl an ce S om e ti m e .

afterwards a n eighbouring boer M r S chal k van Nie k irk ,

. .

visited the farm an d k n owin g hi m to be curiou s i n such

, ,

m atters M rs J acobs c alled his attention to the bright

, .

tran sparen t ston e S o little heed however had been gi v en

.
, ,
 Af rica n D ia m o n d s .

pron oun ce it a gen uin e D ia m o n d ! T his was i n M arch 1 8 6 7 , ,

an d the Un iversal Exhibition i n Paris was ab out to ope n i n

the sprin g What more (appropriate th e doctor t h oug h t
.
, ,

than to sen d this ston e to Pari s ? H ere w as the greates t

n ovel ty the C olon y could exhibit the fi rst A frica n —

D iamon d of modern d a y s

Dr th erston e accord in gly com m un icated his sug

. A
gestion to the C olon ial S ecretary the H o n R S outhey , . .
,

an d i n con sequen ce of this suggestion the D iamon d w as

d uly conveyed by steamer to C ape T own where it was ,

e x am in ed by the Fren ch C on sul M H e rie t t e who ha v in g

, .
,

con firmed A t h e rs t o n e s determ in ation as to the ston e for

’

ward ed it in d ue course to Paris T here it stood d urin g .

the whol e s u m mer an d havin g been exam in ed by s a v a n t s

,

o f all n ation s it was pu rchased at the c lose of the E x h ibi

,

tion by S ir Phil ip Woodhouse at that ti m e the G overn or

,

o f th e C olon y for the su m of £ 50 0 T h e weight of this

, .

D iamon d was 2 1 1 3 carats

3
.

S uch is the history of the d iscovery of the fi rst C ape

D iamon d of m odern ti m es O R e il ly soo n afterwards
’
.

fou n d a secon d ston e weighin g 8 yé carats which realised ,

£ 20 0. T his m an m ay therefore be j ustly regarded as the

,

pion eer i n this cen tury of the great D iamon d min in g in -

d u s t ry of S outh A frica .

M r Van N iekerk who also played an i mportan t part

.
,

in the early history o f the D iamon d fi elds shortly after ,

ward s obtain ed fro m a n ative a D iamon d weighin g 8 3 %

carats w hich he sold in H opetown for
, T his
ston e w hen c ut b ecam e kn own as the S tar o f S outh
,
“

”
A frica . O ther d iscoveries ra p id ly followin g on e another
, ,

led to the modern develop me nt of the gr e at D iam o n d

fie ld s of S outh A frica .
 Af r ica n D ia m o n ds .
79

Unt il the discoveries of D iam on ds d irected atten tion to

this distric t scarcely a nythin g was k n o w n of its geological
,

character S tripped of all s uperficial deposits the sol id

.
,

framework of the cou n try con sists of r e cks belon gin g

to that great geological seri es which from its con spicuous ,

occ urren ce i n the k a rOo s or vast pl ai n s i n the i nterior ,

has received the n am e of the K a ro o fo rm a t io n Fo r the -

.

most part it co n sists of shales an d san dston es , which re

presen t ol d deposits of m u d an d san d n ow harden ed an d ,

altered but origin ally thrown down as sedimen t i n a vast

,

fresh water l ak e A frica i s stil l famous for its l arge sheets

-

o f i nlan d wa t e r ; but the l akes i n which the k aroo beds wer e

deposited are of great geological antiquity probably cor ,

re s p o n d i n g ro u gh l y i n ti me with the period at which the New

R e d S an dston e of this country was formed A lthough fo r .

the most p art d estitute of fossils the karoo strata are in ,

places rich in organ ic remains the m ost n otable bein g the

,

rel ics of extinct reptiles which m ust have lived n ear th e

,

margin o f the waters which deposited the an cien t sed i men t .

I n ad dition to these re main s of e x tin ct an i mals we fi n d ,

in ma ny of the k aroo beds n u m erous vegetabl e rel ics in

-
,

some p laces i n the form of fossil wood while els ewhere the
-
,

wood has been converted in to coal T h e coal sea ms of the .

karoo series occur especially i n the upper part of the

format ion an d n otably at the S tormberg B y the action
, .

of heat so me of th e S tormberg coal has been con verted

,

in to an thracite or stea m c oal a variety of fossil fuel

-
. -
,
-

pecul iarly rich i n carbon ; w hilst the occurren ce of graphite ,

”
or black lead i n some of these beds has been regarded
“
-
, ,

as the resul t of further modi fi cation of the coal A s graphite .

is but an i mpure v ariety of c arbon whilst we k no w that ,

the D i amond is si mply a pure c rystal l ized form of the

same elemen t some geologists ha v e been tempted to
,
80 Af rica n D ia m o n ds .

s p eculate as to the possible effects of further metamorphosis

u pon the gra p hite an d have thus d i mly seen i n the
,

vegeta b l e foss ils of the karoo formation the ulti mate

or igin of the S ou th A frican D iamon ds Quite recen tly .

D r Friedl an der has suggested o n experi men tal evi dence

. ,
,

that the D iamon ds m a y have been form ed by the action

of a m olten sil icate lik e olivi n e on graphite ; an d the l ate
, ,

Pro f C arvil l Lewis held that the S o u th A frican D iamon ds

.

had probably b een formed by the action of an ol ivin e rock ,

or peridotite on the carbon aceous m atter of the karoo
,

shal es M any other observers however are d isposed to

.
, ,

refer the D iamon ds to a m uc h d eeper subterran ea n origin .

I n certain places the lacustrin e shales an d san dston es

of the karoo formation are c ut through by dykes or vein s
-

of various eruptive rocks kn ow n popul arly as trap ,

“

W hilst i n other places si milar ign eous rocks are spread out
in sheets in tercal ated between the sed imentary strata
,
.

Varyin g con siderabl y i n their characters i n d i fferen t local

ities som e of them exhibit a vesicul ar texture an d contai n
, ,

in their bub b le l ike cavities kern el s of C halcedony A gate

—
, ,

J asper an d other s 1lic e o u s min erals B y the d isin tegration

,
.

of such rocks the hard A gates an d ki n d red ston es are set

,

free an d carried do w n as pe b bl es by th e rivers I n deed

,
.

the shingle of the O ran ge an d Vaal R ivers has lon g been

famous for the beauty of its A gates an d other pebbles I n .

add ition however to these attractive chalcedon ic pebbles

, , ,

the shingl e contain s a great variety of other m in erals ,

among which there i s on e of paramount i n terest the —

D ia mon d itself I t was i n the agate bearin g gravels of the

.
-

Vaal an d O range R ivers that the D iamon d washer origin

”
ally established his river d iggin gs “
-
.

T h e s earch for D ia mon d s alon g the Vaal R iver com

m e n c e d in A ccord in g to M r R W M urray the
’

. . .
,
Dr Fried l
.

re fe r the D i am
o n d s to
i n M ain p la c es t
of t he k aro m fo rm at io n
of ri o u s
va

w h ilst i n o t

i n sh e e ts ,
st rat a .

V aryi ng
c o n ta i n
i n t he ir bu b le lik e c anine
b r w

l h
"

gr a v e s of t e
!
 Afr ica n D ia m o n d s .

to the deposits alon g the m argin s of the river v al le y s t h e re ,

are superfic ial accu m ul ation s o f gravel san d an d clay , ,

widely spread over a v ast area of the cou ntry T hese .

wide spread d eposits of drift con ceal the su rface risin g up

-
,

t h e s id e s an d coverin g the su m m its of the l ittle hill s which

form so m arked a feature i n the scenery of the D iamon d

d istricts T hese h illocks or kn olls which i n some cases
.
, ,

attai n to a height o f upward s of 1 0 0 feet are known locally ,

as k opje s an d the d iscovery of D iamon d s on som e of these

,

k opje s led o rl gl n a l ly to the establ ishm en t of th e famous

”
d ry d iggin gs .

T h e most remarkable group of D iamon d m i n es i n t h e

world is form ed h y the celebrated workings k nown as
Ki mberley D e B eers D u T oit s Pan B ultfon tein an d
, ,
’

, ,

Wesselto n M ines T h e origin o f these m in es is of great

.

i n terest A D utch B oer n amed V an Wyk who occupied

.
, ,

a far m house at D u T oit s Pan was s urprised to fin d D ia ’

,

mon ds actual ly embedd ed in the wall s of his house which ,

'

had been bu ilt o f m ud fro m a n eighbourin g pon d T h is .

led to e x am ination of the surroun d in g soil w herein D ia ,

m on ds w ere foun d O n d eep en in g the d i ggin g D iam o n ds

.

,
,

we re stil l bro u gh t t o light ; n or d id they cease when the

'

bed rock was at l e n gth reached S uc h was the origi n o f

-
.

the famous D u T oit s Pan ’

.

T h e estate kn own as V o o ru it z igt w a s the prop e rty

of M r D e B eer an d after D iamon d s h ad been d isco v ered
.
,

at D u T oit s Pan an d B ultfon tein workin gs were c o m

’
,

m e n c e d there with such su c cess that a m i n i n camp s oon

g
spran g u p kn own as O ld D e B eers I n J uly 1 8 7 1 a fresh
, .
, ,

c en tre o f d iscovery was reported at a s m al l hil l or

k opje sit u ated at on ly about a m ile from D e B eer s ’
,

w here a you n g m an havin g taken s h elter from the sun ,

u nd e r a m imos a bush , acciden tl y foun d a D iamon d

- . .
 A f r ica n D ia m o n ds . 83

b y scraping the soi l w ith his kn i fe A rush n atur .

al ly e nsued an d the l o cal ity becam e k nown as C olesberg

,

”
or the N ew R ush while the surroun din g
,

town which to meet the wan ts of the n ew comers

,

sprang up with m ushroom li ke celerity received the -

,

n am e of Ki mberley i n compl imen t to the Earl of

,

Kimberle y ; at that ti m e H M s S ecretary of S tate for the

‘
. .
’

C olon ies . T h e town of Ki mberley l ies betwee n the

workings of the Ki mb e rley m in e an d D e B eers B ultfon tein .
,

on e of the earl iest mi nes origin al ly belon ged to M r D u

,
.

Pl o o y who sol d it i n 1 8 7 0
, .

E arly i n 1 8 9 1 D iamon ds were d iscovered on the farm

k n own as B e n a u d h e id fo n t e in , i n the d istrict of Ki mberley ,

a nd as this farm was the property o f M r J J Wessel s . . .

,

'
sen ior the min e came to be kn own as the Wesselton
,
.

T h e site of each D iamon d m in e is a m ore or less .

c ircular area su rroun ded by horizontal shales the edges o f

, ,

wh ich are slightly turn ed upwards roun d the m argi n of the

a rea . T his evidently suggests that the s h al e s which were ,

o rigin al ly horizon tal ha v e been p ushed aside by the

,

i ntrus ion of matter forced from below I n deed al l .

,

geologists n ow m ai n tai n that the D iamo n d bearin g rock is -

of eru p ti v e ori gin bein g probably to som e e x ten t a k i n d o f

,

v ol c an ic m ud an d h as p assed upward s i n col um n ar pipes

, ,

a n d be e n thrust throug h the s urrou n d in g s h al e s .

T h e u p per portio n of e ach p ipe was fou n d to con sist

o f the redd ish san dy soil of the coun t ry an d below this ,

came a l ayer of cal c areo u s tufa , or a light d eposit o f

carbon ate of li me ; a n d i t w a s by n o m ean s u n c o m mon to
fi n d D iamon ds adheren t t o this tu faceous ro c k A t a still .

l ow e r depth the m a in c on ten ts o f the pi p e were reached

, ,

whi c h con s i s ted in l arge part of a n a ltered v olcan i c rock in

’

pla c e s m u c h broke n u p a n d pas s in g i n t o a bre cc ia T h e

,
.
 Af ri ca n D ia m o n d s .

upp er p art of the rock was o x id ised by m eteoric agenc ies ,

”
an d was k n own from its color as yel low earth
, T his ,
“
.

”
passed down ward s i nto the bl ue gr oun d the c o lou r of “
,

which suggests that the iron p resen t has n ot reached the

con d ition of pero x id e .

Th e ex act n ature of the bl ue earth p uzzled petrologi sts

for a lon g ti m e ; but th e rock was carefu l ly e x am in ed by
Pro f N e v il S tory M askelyn e an d afterwards o n the C on ti n
.
-
,

ent by m any petrographers esp ecially by C ohen an d ,

S t e l z n e r i n G erm any an d by Fou qu e an d L evy i n Fran ce

, ,

a n d m ore recen tly i n this coun try by P ro f B on ney an d .

M iss R aisin Th e late P ro f C arvil l Lewis suggested that

. .

the blue D iam on d b earin g rock should be d istinguished

-

u nder the n am e of K im be rl it e Th e base o f the rock i s .

'
gen erally a soft m in eral soa py to the touch an d of green, ,

or bl uish color B y the late P ro f A S t e l z n e r of the M in in g

. . .
,

A cademy of Freiberg i n S a x ony the bl u e m atri x was re ,

garded as an altered ol ivin e diabase the whole rock bein g -

m ore or less serpen tin ized T h e d iam an t iferou s m ateria l

.

i n the p ipes i s however n ot a d istinct s pec ies of rock but

, ,

a m i x ture partly of matter erupted from below an d partly

—

of a ltered sedi mentary rocks I t con tain s an gular fragmen ts .

o f shale associated with variou s m in erals s uch as pyrope

, , ,

or chrome garn et chrome d iop sid e of b right green colou r,

-
,
-

en statite m ica vaal ite zircon cyan ite horn blen de b arytes
, , , , , , ,

magn etite chrom ite t itan iferous iron ore p erofskite etc
, ,
-
, , .

’
B u t the on ly m in eral s that attract the m in er s attention
are the D iamon ds T he s e are sparkl in g pretty fr eely through
.

the stu ff ; som eti mes as beautiful ly fo rmed c rystals bu t ,

'

frequen tly as m ere fragm en ts an d spl in ters T hey are s aid .

t o be most abun dan t i n the n eighbourhood of d oleriti c

dykes bu t their distribution is v ery irregul ar ; i n on e c lai m
,

they may be richly d i ss emin ated whilst in the n eighbouri n g ,

-
86 Af r ica n D i a m o n d s .

t o S t e lz n e r this rock is a p ik rit e porphyry m uch altered

-
, ,

an d he bel ieves that though destit ute of D ia m on ds it w as

, ,

d erived from the s am e subterranean source when ce the

bl ue earth took its rise .

T h e volcan ic m aterial risin g fro m below and brin gin g ,

with it the D iamon ds ascen ded the pipes bu t these were

,

n ot al l fi lled at the sam e t i me n or was the bl ue earth

,

o f on e pip e d ue to a si ngle ascen t of the m ateri al .

”
T hus both i n D e B eers an d i n Kimberley the bl ue of
’

the west s id e is u n like that o f an y other part of th e m in e

it carries but fe w D iamon d s an d these presen t d isti n ctive
ch aracteristics .

A n in gen ious hypothesis regard in g the origi n o f the

D i am on d bearin g p ipes an d their contents has recen tly
-

b een en un ciated by S ir W i llia m C rookes who has latel y ,

return ed fro m a visit to S outh A frica H e sug gests that .

a solution of the perplexin g problem as to the gen es is

of the S outh A frican D iamon d m ay b e read il y fou n d i n
the assu mption that they h ave b een formed fro m deep
seated m asses of metallic iron in a molten con dition u n d er ,

e normous pressure a n d at a te mperatu re so high as to be

comparabl e to that of our electric furn aces T his molten .

i ron held carbon in solution an d on sol id ifying un d er

,
.

pressure the carbon would crystal lize out as D i amon d j ust ,

as it does in M Moissan s experi men ts ; on l y i n n ature

.
’

the pressure might be vastly greater than i n our labor

a t o rie s an d the process of cool in g m ight be continu ed
through ag e s of time so that large crystals would be
,

produced by n atural mean s whereas the crystals formed in

,

our la b oratory exper imen ts are m ere m icroscopic specks .

I f water passin g downwards gained access to the heated

, , ,

m aterials it woul d give rise t o vast vol u mes of steam an d

,

other gaseous prod ucts whic h ru shin g upwards c ould ren d

,
 Af r ic a n D iam o n ds . 87

the rocks an d so force open the chan n el s which we recogn iz e

,

as the pipes T h e v ap our rushin g up thes e pipes migh t

’
.

tear the shales an d other rocks form in g th e walls an d thus ,

give ris e to fragmentary m aterials to be caught i n th e

uprisin g pasty magm a; producin g as it cooled a brecciated
m ass T h e pipes have thu s beco m e fi lled with a m edley
.

of m aterials p artly brought u p from great d epths an d

, ,

partly d u e to t h e d isin tegrat ion of the l ocal rock s B u t

. .

the D iamon ds which give supre m e v alue to the brecci a

have been formed in a d eep seated laboratory u nder the -

p ipes where carbon h as cry stal l ized from a saturated bath

,

of iron u n der p rod igiou s pressure an d with i n conceivabl e

, ,

s l own ess .

I n the early d a y s of D i amon d m in in g i n S outh A frica -

the groun d i n these vol can ic n ecks was wor k ed as quarri e s ,

or open casts an d the m aterial was hauled u p by m ean s

,

o f aerial wire ropes M u ch i n con ve n ien ce however wa s

.

experien ced as the d iggm gs grew d eeper, especially by the

”
heavy falls o f the surrou n d in g shales or reef whi c h ,
“
,

t e nd ed to slip i n l arge m asses in to the work in gs More .

over the shales contained iron p y rites which occasion ally

,
-
,

ign ited spon tan eously with d isastrous results , .

A n en tirely di fferen t system of workin g was therefore

i ntrod uced at t h e Ki mberl e y M in e an d this was soon ,

followed at D e B eers S hafts were su n k at a conven ien t

.
'

d istan ce from the p ipes an d successive galleries driven ,

i nto the D iamon d bearin g grou n d a s i n the o rd in a rv

-
,

s y stem of undergrou n d m in in g T h e rock is brought dow n .

by d rillin g an d b l a sti ng an d is ru n i n tru cks to the bottom

,

o f the sha ft u p which it i s hoisted i n skips ru n n in g o n

,

steel rails an d worked by a steam win d in g en gin e T h e -

.

m in es are fi tted with al l modern i mprovem en ts such as ,

electric l amps an d telephon es con n ecting the d i fferent

cen tres of work .
 Africa n D ia m o n ds .

A rrived at the surface th e bl ue ear t h is con veyed to

,

a pl atform of con sid erabl e altitud e from when ce i t i s ,

al lowed to fal l to the groun d b elow By this m ean s th e .

earth is broken U p an d crushed u n til the process has r ed uced

it down to the s ize of a wal n ut or less I t is then searched
, .

for large d iamond s a n d after these have been abstracted

,

the stu ff is gravitated throu gh a m achin e consistin g of si x

pl ates each of which i s covered with a layer of fat I n
, .

passing over these plates the d iamon d s are retain ed by t h e

fat to which they ad here, whilst the refuse is rej ected an d
,

”
p assed throu gh the machin e S o rel iable is this separator
.

i n its worki ng th at we have on the authority of M r C D

, . . .

R udd who has j us t return ed fro m S outh A frica the re

, ,

m arkable statemen t that 9 0 per cen t of the d iamon d s .

con t ai ned i n the blu e earth are fou n d on th e fi rst plate ,

an d he has n ever kn own of on e b ein g foun d below the

secon d plate .

I t is esti mated that every load ( a load weighs abou t

pou n d s ) of b l ue groun d fro m the Ki mberley m i n e
yiel d s on an average fro m on e an d a quarter to on e an d a
h al f c arats of D iam on d s from D e B eer s m ine on e an d a ’

fi fth to on e an d a third carats ; fro m D u T oit s Pan on e ’

si xth to on e fift h carat ; an d fro m B ultfon tein on l y on e

-

fift h to on e thi rd of a carat

-
.

T h e m in es of D e B eers Ki mberley D u T oit s Pan

’
, , ,

B u ltfon tein an d Wessel ton are practicall y u n der the con trol
of the po w erful combin ation kn own as D e B eers “

”
C onsol id ated M in es Li mited
,
T his C ompany of whic h
.
,

the H o n C eci l R hodes is C hairm an has a capital o f

.
,

Inorder to preven t the theft of D iamon ds at the

m in es the n ative k a fli rs or bo y s employed at the
,
“
,

K imberl ey min es are co n fin ed i n a n en closed vill age o r ,

 A rrive d at t he a c e t h e bl u e e a rt h is
s u rf ,

a p l at fo rm o f c o ns id e ra bl e altitud e .

a ll o w e d t o fal l t o t h e groun d b elow By this .

e a rt h is b ro ke n u p an d crus he d u ntil the p ro c e s s b

it down t o t h e s ize of a walnu t or le ss I t is the , .

fo r l ar ge d i am o nd s a n d after t h e se h a v e bee n
,

t h e st u ff is grav itat e d t h ro agh a m a c h i n e c t m s ist in g o f .

p l a tes ea c h of w h i c h is c o ve re d w ith a Sa y e r o f fa t
, .

sing over these l t t h d i m t r e re m itt e d la

p e s
p a s a e s e a e ar y .

fat to which th e y ad h e re wh il st t h e re fu s e is
, ,

p as se d through th e mac h ine 8 0 r e li a ble is this

.

i n it s working that we h a ve o n the authori t y of Mint

, .

R u d d w h o h as j us t re t u rn e d fro m S out h A fric a; t h e

’

,
i

m arkable state men t t h at 9 0 per c en t of the d iamo .

.

c o n tai n ed in the bl u e e ar th a re fou n d on th e first pl .

and h e h a s n eve r kn ow n of one bein g foun d bel ow

sec o nd p la t e .

I t i s estimat e d th a t e ve ry lo ad ( a l o a d weighs ab
p ou nd s ) o f bl u e gro u n d fro m t h e K i m be rle y m
yiel d s on an ave rage from o n e a n d a t we e n t N ee a n r
.

h al f carat s of D iam on d s from De Be e r s mire e m e a t

'
-
,

fift h t o o n e an d a third carat s ; fro m Du Toi t s Pa n c

’

. ix t h t o n n e fift h c a ra t ; an d fro m B ultfo n t e in on ly c

-

fi t h t» c nu t h inj o f 3 car at
f
. a .

I n :thin gs a t we 5 e re M a dm e n 3 1m I e it s l
“ " ’
’
»
J .
CR YSTAL OF Y E LLO W C A PE D IA MO N D .
 ‘

90 Af r ic a n D ia m o n d s .

At J agers fon tein i n the O ran ge R iver Free S tate a

, ,

:
D iam on d o f 2 0 9 % carats was d iscovered an d i t is said that ,

this magn ifi cen t ston e was purchased fro ma k affir by an ,

ill icit D iamon d buyer for the ab s urd su m of £ 1 5 A "

.

D i amon d weighin g over 6 0 0 carats but very i mpure was , ,

u n earthed som e y ears ago at these d iggm gs an d the same ,

m in e has sin ce yielded the largest Diamon d ever recorded .

”
T h is ston e known as T h e Excelsior
,
“
weighed i n t he ,

rough 9 7 0 carats an d is n ow bein g c ut at A m sterda m

,
.

A figure o f the ston e i n i ts rough state forms the tail piece -

app en d ed to this chapter (p .

While S outh A frica has thus been re m arkable for

yiel din g ston es of exception ally l arge s ize it m ust also b e ,

ad mitted that the qual ity of the gems brought to light is

by n o mean s u n satisfactory T rue a large n u mber of the
.
,

D iamon d s are o ff colou red

“
-
ston es gen erally exhi b itin g ,

a del icate straw t in t but n on e th e less the y are extre mely

-
,

b rillian t when p roperly cut

-
A ver y fair p roportion of
.

the S outh A frican D iamon ds are of t h e first W ater \

rivallin g i n b eaut y an d p urit y the fi n est B razilian an d

I n dian S ton es T his is especiall y the case with the D ia
.

mon d s fro m the J agersfon tein an d K o ffy fo n t e in m in es l n

the O ran ge Free S tate With regard to the Ki mberl ey
.

m in es it is foun d that iron pyrites exists i n lar g e quan tities ,

an d the theory has b een broached that to this cause is d ue

the extraordin arily large n u mber of colou red or off colour ”
-

ston es that are foun d there ; whil e in the J agersfon tei n

,

m in e iron pyrites is not foun d an d n earl y al l the D iamon ds

,

foun d there are the p u rest wh it e T h e great majorit y of .

these ston es are n ot on l y pu re i n colour b u t splen did ,

crystals sym metrical i n shape an d read il y cut

,
.

I t has been esti mated that about 2 0 per cen t of the .

C ape D iamon ds are of the fi rst quality ; 1 5 per cen t

 A f r i c a n D i a m o n ds . 1 _

of the secon d ; a nd 2 0 per cen t of the third ; the re .

”
m a in d e r b ein g bort T h e average val ue of rough D ia
“
.
~

”
m on ds at a sale on the Field s is as follows R iver 6 5s “
,
.

” ”
“
J ar 4 5s ; D u T oit s Pan 2 8 s ; Ki mberley an d D e
,
.
“ ’

, .
“

”
B eers to z z s 6 d ; B ultfontein 1 8s 6d an d “
,
z ls .
, . .
,

Wessel ton 2 5s , .

I t i s said that D iam on d s from th e Lei cester m in e

are mostly hard , white cross grain ed ston es with an ,
-
,

etched or frosted a ppearance ; whilst those fro m the

N ewlan ds M in es latel y d iscovered i n G riqualan d West
’

, ,

are wel l crystall ized ston es of remarkable whiten ess

-
.

A l l D iamon dswhich are too i m p ure for cuttin g are

n ow k n own un der the gen eral n am e of oo r t ; an d thes e
possess a fixed m arket val ue the powder which they ,

yield when crushed bein g used for c utti n g an d polishin g

,

D iamon d s an d other ston es an d in the en gravin g o f ,

ge ms o f exception al hard n ess .

Notwithstan d in g the enormous n u mber of D i amon d s

wh ich have been brought to l ight d uri n g the recen t
workin gs i n S outh A frica it is n otable that, so far as t h e ,

author k n ows n o Ca roo n a d o the black , i mpure variety

,
—

of D iamon d fou n d i n B razil has yet been discovered

“
—

t h o u gh t h e il men i te o r tit a n ifero u s i ron ore someti mes

'

-
, ,

”
s e s i m p ro p e rly u n d er the n am e of carbon “

p a s ,
.

Th e fol lo w in g in form at i on i s i nterestin g as givin g the

latest resul ts of work in g at the various D iamon d M in es o f
S outh A frica
Prod uce of the D E B E E R S M I N E Ou t p u t of B l u e o r — -

D ia m o n d h ea r i ng G ro u n d — T o en d o f J u n e 1 8 9 7
-
,
.

T h e out put for the year fro m this m in e was

-

loads of 1 6 cubit feet wh ich was min ed

, ,
9 2 Af r ic a n D ia m o n d s .

from the various l evel s follows

74 0 an d 77 0 foot lev e ls 1 loads
8 0 0 foot le v el
8 40
8 80

9 2 0

9 6 0

D evelop men t Work

Th e
total co s t of mi nin g an d d epositin g was 5s 1 7 d .
'
.

per load of blue grou n d as again st 4 s 7 7 d for the previous

, .
'
.

year T h e out put is practically the S ame as for 1 8 96

.
-
,

while the total exp en diture is gr ater e

.

Ever y thing is bein g an d wi ll be d o n e to bri n g about

the same con d ition of things i n D e B eers as i n K imberley
M i ne T h e probl ems are n ot the same
. for i n the ,

Ki mberley M in e the de b ris had fal len down as the bl u e

grou n d was extracted an d had l eft the hard rock ( mel a
,

h
p y ) exposed to vie w an d it coul d b e seen where the
re ,

streams of water flowed i n to the open m in e ; but i n

D e B eers n o h ard rock has y e t been exposed a nd the ,

min ers have to grope i n the dark as it were to fi n d ou t , ,

where the water en ters th e ope n or worked out portion -

o f th e m in e .

T h e cost of washin g was 2 s I 8 d as again st 2 s 7 9 d

' ‘
. . .
, .

per load for the previous y ear T h e average cost of

.

w in n in g a n d washing the D iamon d s was 7 s 3 5 d as against

'
. .
,

7 3
s 6
. d per°

load
. for the year 1 8 9 6 .
94 Af r ica n D ia m o n ds

DU PA N B U LT FO N T E I N — D e B eers C o m
’
T o rr s A ND .

pany own these m in es also with others below b ut , ,

have stopped work in g the m i n fact shut the m u p , ,

.

I n B ultfon tei n there are stil l a few cl ai m s own ed an d

worked by a separate company b ut the result i s ,

thought to be very poor .

J A G E R S FO N T E I N D e B eers C o mpan y has acquired a pre

.
-

pon deratin g in terest i n J agers fon tein wh ich i s i n ,

the O ran ge Free S tate I t is bein g ac t ively worked :

.

an d p ro d u c e s a fair qu an tity en ablin g the m to ,

pay thei r shareholders a d ividen d l ast year of

1 2 p e r cen t .

K O FFY FO N T E I N — inthe O range S t ate prod uces v ery ,

fi n e D iamonds but i n very s m all quan tities in

,
‘

s u ffic ie n t to make the co mpany a success .

THE R OBI NS ON —
T his
is situated in the O ran ge R iver
Free S tate .Very l ittle is kn own o f the cap abilities
of this m in e beyon d that D iamon ds ha v e been fou n d
,

i n it of very d isti ncti v e character bu t n on e have ,

yet been offered for sale i n the market th o ugh ,

”
S treeter s
’
have c ut so me o f v ery fi n e qual ity for
the parties con n ected with it .

L EIC EST E R M I N E — T hi s m in e prod u c es a s mall o utp ut ,

but so far the co m p any workin g it is far from a

suc c ess ; still u n doubt edly t h e re are p o ssibilities
, ,

of th e m in e beco ming prod u c ti v e wh e n fu rt h er

de v eloped .

T H E FR A N K S MI T H
’
M I NE an d T H E O TT O S P R OS PE C T
M I N E — T hese M in es are s it u at e d in G riqualan d West ,

between t h e Vaal and H a rtz R i v ers a n d abou t 40 ,

m il es fr o m Ki mberley T hes e m i n e s prod uc e v e ry

.
 Af r ica n D ia m o n d s .
5

fi n e D iamon ds but whether they can be worked at

,

a profit has yet to b e proved S u fficien t work has .

n ot yet been don e on which to form an opin ion .

O utsid e the group worked by the D e B eers C o mpany ,

the prod uction of D iamo nd s from other m in es is sm all a n d ,

n ot as yet though we can n ot s ay what will happen

, ,

s u fficien t to i nterfere with the practic al mon opoly ex

e rc is e d by the D e B eers C ompany or seriousl to com ete
y p ,

with the m i n the market .

T HE E X C E LS IO RJ

Ta n L . A RG E S T K n o w n D I M O ND A .

N A T U R A L S 12 3 1 11 n s RO U G H S T T E A .

W e re n fr , 97 0 C a RA r s .
 C H A PT E R III .

A U STRA LI A N D I A MO N D S .

three at l east of ou r A ustralian

LT H O U G H , ,

C olon i es have yield ed D iamon d s it is on l y ,

i n N ew S outh Wal es that they have been

fou n d i n s uffi cient quan tity t o invite system
atic explorat ion A s far b ac k as the year 1 8 5 1 M r E
.
, . .

H H argraves i n a R eport d ated from G uyon g referred

.
, ,

to some speci men s of gold an d to a n u mber of gems , ,

i n cl ud in g wh at he call ed rather vaguely a s mal l on e o f , ,

“

”
the D iamond kin d foun d i n R eedy C reek n ear B athurst
, , .

M r S t u t c h bu ry th e G overn ment geologist also reported

.
, ,

in 1 8 5 1 that he had seen a fi n ely crystallized D iamon d

,

from the T u ron R iver B u t i t was especial ly the l at e

.

Rev B W . . C l ark e a gentlem an well kn own for h is

.
,
-

researches i n A ustral ian geology , who fi rs t d irected publ ic

attention to th e D iamonds of Ne w S outh Wales Fou r .

speci men s had been brought to him from the M acquari e

R iver , n ear S u t t o r s B a r i n S eptem b er 1 8 5 9 an d a fi fth
’

, , , ,

the followin g mon th fro m B u rre n d o n g I n the mean tim e

,
.

h e had received D iamon d s fro m Pyram ul an d C alabash

C reeks . T hese d iscoveries were con sidered by M r C lark e .

s o si g n ificant that he wrote a description o f the occ urren ce

, ,

b o l d ly head in g it with the startl in g title N ew S outh Wales ,

“

a D iamon d count ry T his an n oun ce men t was n o t com

m e rc ia l ly j ustified till seven or eight years l ater when t h e ,

gol d rush occurred at Warburton better kn own a s T w o ,

m ile flat on the C u dgegon g R iver about n in eteen m il e s

, ,
98 A n s t r a l ia n D ia m o n d s .

pop ularly kn own as the B ig R iver A ccordi ng to Pro

“
.

fe s s o r Liversidge of S yd ney the D iamon d bearin g d eposits

, ,
-

are sit uated i n a k in d of basin about four m iles long an d ,

three m iles wide hem med in by hills on all sides save o n the
,

n orth . T h e D ia mon ds occur i n T ertiary an d Pleistocen e

d rifts as i n the C ud gegon g Field
,
T h e old river drift .
-

rests upon rocks of D evon ian or C arbon iferou s age an d i s ,

p artially covered by a cappin g of basalt I n som e pl aces .

the materials of the d rift are compacted together in to a

conglomerate so that the mod e o f occurrence o f D iamon d s
,

at B ingara striki ngly resembles that at M udgee T h e .

m in erals composing the gravels are also generally si m ilar

i n the two cases though p oin ts of differen ce are n ot want
,

i ng O n e of the best in dication s of th e presen ce of the

.

D iamon d accordin g to th e B in gara m in ers is a black

, ,

”
T ourmalin e known local ly as
,
“
J e t s t o n e S ome of the .

D iamonds are clear and colourless others have a p al e ,

straw tin t : al l are of s mall s ize, the largest yet k n own

-

weighin g about ei ght grain s A ccord in g to an examin atio n

.

of so me of the B i ngara d ri ft by th e G wy dir M in in g C o m ,

”
p any a ton of stu ff yields on an a ve rage twen ty D ia
,
“

m on ds Up to A ugust 2 6 t h 1 8 7 3 the Eaglehawk clai m

.
, ,

had prod u c ed D iamon ds ; b ut as the aggreg a te

weighed on ly 8 0 3 grain s troy the very s m al l size of th e ,

average ston e is s u fficien tl y apparen t T h e gen eral weight .

o f the D iamon ds of N ew S outh Wales ran ges fro m to

g
1 5 carat per ston e but though s m
4
,
all th ey are extrem ely
, ,

hard an d bril liant Th e A ustral ian D i amon d C ompany s

.
’

cl ai m i s situ ated about si x miles S W of B in g ara . .

C on sid erable in terest has be e n recen tly aroused by the

re markable results obtai ned at the M on te C hristo m in e ,

i n the B in gara D iam on d Fields T his m in e is situated on .

a hill about 7 50 feet above the G wydi r R iver which i s fou r

, ,
 '

A n s t ra ii a n D ia m o n d s .
99

m iles d istan t T h e d rift has lost its basaltic cappi ng

.
,

which has been removed by den ud ation an d the d rift itsel f ,

has probably been re d istributed C aptai n C harles R ogers -

. ,

the proprietor esti mated that the w a sh d irt woul d yield

,
-

abou t 3 0 carats of D i amon d to t h e load of 2 7 cubic feet ,

.

M r G A Lawson d uri n g a visit to the m in e obtain ed

. . .
, ,

1 2 2 D iamon d s fro m on e b arrow load of the d rift an d 1 4 6 -

,

fro m a secon d barrow load as it takes ten barrows to form -

”
a load the richn ess of the deposit i s very rem arka b le
“
,
.

T h e R e v M iln e C urran states that wh ile he was visitin g

.

the m in e 29 s mal l D ia mon ds were washed out of a

,

h un dred weight of the dri ft H e c alculated fro m an ex

-
.
,

am in ation of several p arcels that about 1 2 per cen t of t h e , .

D iamon d s are reall y good ston es 4 5 per cen t are m arket ,

.

able an d 2 0 per cent m ore m ay be worth cuttin g wh ilst

, .
,

the remain in g 2 3 per cen t are useless as ge ms . .

O f l ate years con siderable attention has been given to

the D iam on d beari n g d rifts i n the tin m i n in g d istricts n ear
- -

I n verell n ot far fro m the j un ction of C ope s C reek with th e

,
’

G wyd ir R iver T h e fi eld kn own as B oggy C amp is situated

.

about 1 2 m iles south west of I n verel l i n the parish of M ayo-

, ,

C oun ty of H ard i n ge T h e ti n drifts which con sist o f .

-
.

d eposits of san d an d gravel placed between floors o f basalt ,

above an d a gran itic b ed ro c k below con tain n ot on ly -

,

D iamon d s G old an d T in ston e but such mi nerals as

,
-
,

S apphire Zi rcon T ou rmal in e G arn et an d T opaz

, ,
Th e , .

”
fam ous clai m kn o wn as T h e S tar of the S outh is situated “
,

on a hill o f basalt i n which shafts ha v e been sun k to the

,

un derlyin g d rift an d l evels h ave been system aticall y driven

,

to open up the wash d irt I n the course of eighteen -

.

mon ths upwards of D iam on d s were foun d Mr E . . .

F P ittman the G overn m ent G eologist of N ew S outh

.
,

Wal es stated in h is o fficial R eport for 1 8 9 5 that when he

, ,
10 0 A u s t ra l ia n D ia m o n d s .

v isited the fi eld 4 2 loads of d rift had yield ed 60 0 carats o f

D iam on ds O n e load of wash d irt of exception al rich n ess
.
-
, ,

yielded n o fewer than 5 1 5 D iamon ds of the aggregat e ,

w eight of 1 8 4 carats T h e D iamon d s are d esc ribed as

.

s i m ilar i n size and qual ity to those fou n d on the B i n gara

Field .

I n 1 8 9 7 a Lon don C o mpany was form ed for the

p urpose of workin g thes e an d other deposits of D iam ond s .

i n N ew S outh Wales u n der th e n am e of the I nverell

,
“

”
D iamon d Fields , Li m ited with M r C B arrington B rown
,
. .
,

as con su ltin g en gin eer T h e D iamon ds hitherto obtain ed

.

have been on ly of s m al l size but they are e x tremely hard , ,

a nd when cut e x hibit exception al bril liancy .

A t the M in in g E x hibition held at the C rys tal Palac e

i n 1 8 90 P rofessor Livers idge of S yd n ey exhibited som e
, , ,

i n terestin g D iamon ds fro m N ew S outh Wales i n cludin g a ,

c ry stal from the Lachl an R iver an d a black D iamon d ,

from M udgee .

C ompared with the D iamon d d iscoveries in N ew S outh

Wales those of other parts of A ustralia sin k i nto in s ign ifi
,
‘

can ce S outh A ustralia is rich i n m ineral treasu re ; but

.

t his treasure mostly takes the form o f ores of copper an d

i ron ; yet the colony i s n ot w ithout its gold fie ld s an d with .
-
,

the gol d a fe w D i am on d s h ave been fou n d I n the y ea r ,

1 8 5 2 D iamonds were d iscovered i n all uvial gold washin gs

,

i n the h ill s n ear Echun ga rather less than twen ty m iles

,
'

south eas t of A del aid e I t is said t h at m o re than a h un dred

-
.

D iamon ds have at d i fferen t ti m es been foun d i n th is

n eighbourhood S ir A rthur B ly t h t h e n A gent G en eral fo r
.
,
-

S outh A ustralia exhibited about twen ty D i amon ds fro m

,

Ech unga at the Pari s e x hibition of 1 8 7 8 O n e octahed ral .

crystal wei ghed 5 1 6 carats, an d another 3 } carats M r

5 . .

D o dd who report e d on them called atten tion to thei r ,

 C H A PTER IV .

BOR NE O D I A MO N D S .

can be n o doubt that D iamon ds are

H ERE
very widely d istributed i n the islan d o f
B orneo D r T heodor Posewitz a m in in g
. .
,

engin eer who resid ed there for n early three

,

years p ublished i n B erli n i n 1 8 8 9 a valu able work i n

, , , ,

which he discusses at great len gth the m in eral resources of

B orn eo an d gives an i nterestin g descriptio n of the occu r
,

ren ce an d prod uction of D iamon ds M uch has also been .

written on the s ubject i n the reports of the M in in g D e

a rt m e n t o f the D utch East I n d ies
p .

Extensive Diamon d fie ld s exist i n the rich gol d

-

beari ng d istrict of T a n a h l a u t especially near M artapu ra , ,

i n the south east of B orn eo K usan i n the e ast of the

-
.
,

is land is also a district of m uch repute for both D iamon ds

,

an d gold B u t perhaps the m ost famous localit y is

.
, ,

Land ak i n Western B orn eo Lan d ak is situated a few

, .

m iles E N E o f Pontian ak the capital of D utch B orn eo

. . .
, ,

an d is about three day s stea m fro m Sin gapore S an gan

’
.
,

also i n the west l ikewise yield s D iamon ds especiall y in

, ,

the rivers S ik aja m an d M eran Fi n al l y the S arawak R iver .

,

has of late years been cited as a D iamon d yieldin g stream

,
-
,

and some very fi n e D iamon ds b oth white an d of rare fa n cy ,

colours have been fou n d there ; b u t the d epos its can be

,

worked for on ly a few m onths in the year .

 B o r n e o D ia m o n d s . 10 3

At al l these localities the D iamon d s are foun d with

gold an d i n some cases with p latin u m in the san d s of th e
, , ,

rivers ; an d also in b eds of clay san d an d gravel some , ,

ti mes a t a consid erable depth A bl ue or bl uish gre y .

-

C orun d um known as B a t u i i m a na n is said to be a con stan t

, ,

co mpan ion of the D iamon d the n atives regardin g it as an ,

”
attend an t on the P rin ce as they term the m ore preciou s ,

st o n e
. D r Ver b e c k thin k s that the origi n a l m atrix of the
.

D iamon d which yield ed the s ton es occurrin g in the d ri fts

, ,

is t o be fou n d amon g the older s lat y an d schistose rocks

whilst the late Pro f C arvill Lewis s u ggested that the D ia
.

m on d s had b een brought up fro m d epths by the serpenti ne ,

or altered peridotite which appears to be n ot u ncom mon

,

i n the D iamon d d istricts o f B orn eo .

T h e n atives wash the san ds of the rivers i n s mal l

b owls an d b eco me so expert in detectin g the valuabl e
,

stones that the y can separate the D ia mon ds from th e

worthless minerals even when so s m al l as to escape
,

observation b y Eu ropean s T h e d rifts are worked by .

m ean s of s m all shafts sun k through the overlyin g deposits ,

a n d the D iamond yield ing b ed is then followed by l i ttle

-

tun nel s d riven i n a Very prim it ive m an n er C onsid erabl e .

i mprovemen ts have however been i ntrod uced by the

, ,

C hin ese who are ext re m e ly sk ilful an d economical m in ers

, .

O f late y ears E uropean s have entered the fi eld an d ,

D iamon d m in es i n T jempaka are now worked by Fren ch

-

engi neers ; but the washing of the D iamon d earth after -

it s extraction is sai d to be stil l d on e on the ol d M ala y

s y stem .

T h e D iamon d s of B orneo u sual l y occur i n crystals ,

presentin g the for m of the octahedron the cube an d the ,

rhom b ic dodecahed ron I f they presen t b right faces an d

.

sharp an gles an d are con sid ered by the n atives to n eed n o

,
10 4 B o r n e o D i a m o n ds .

'

polishing they are cal led i n t a n m e n ay a a i T h e u n cut Dia

,
’
.

mon d s are call ed p o d i ; the cut stones in t a n .

A ccord in g to Posewitz the followin g varieties a re

d istin gu ished
[n t a n K a tja ni i a m , of bottle green colou r an d of great
-
,

val ue .

hard d ark and not to be cut when spherical

B a n t a t in t a n , , ,

”
they are cal led the S oul of the D iamon d an d are “
,

worn as am ul ets .

[n t a n ajc r L a n t or S e a Water D iamonds , of pal e bl ue

- -
,

colou r .

'

K a oy a in t a n or King of D iamon d s ; of red col ou r very

, ,

rare .

[n t a n m inja /e brown D iamon ds , .

C/z ap ing triangular flat twi n c rystals

, .

Th e largest B orn eo D iamon d

d iscovered of late y ears
was foun d i n 1 8 6 5 at the d iggin gs of M B eretti at .
~

T jempak a I t weighed i n the rough 2 5 carats an d whe n

.
,

c ut 1 8 5 carats .

A D iamon d
of 7 7 carats was foun d n ear G u n on g Lawak ,

i n S outh B orn eo an d p assed i n to the possession of the

,

S ultan o f M artap ura I t i s said that a D iamon d weigh in g

.

”
7 0 carats k nown as ,
S e gim a is the property of th e“
,

S ultan of M atan .

Theart of cuttin g an d pol ishin g D i a mon ds h as lon g

been p a rc t is e d by the n atives of B orn eo an d is rathe r ,

e xten sively carried on at Pontian ak and M artapu ra .

I n th e case of o c tahed ral c ry stals the y si mply rub down ,

the s ol id angles at the top and bottom an d havin g ,

pol ished these culets regarded the work as complete n ever ,

allowin g the ston e to lose weight by c uttin g facets on

the sides
 C H A PT E R V .

B RA ZI L I A N D I A M O N D S .

washin g the san ds of som e of the B raz ilian

rivers for sake of the gol d which they con
,

t a in e d the n atives i n the early part of t h e

,

last cent ury occasion ally lighted upon l ittl e

hard stones of p e c u la r sh a pe which they regarded as of n o
,

val ue an d therefo re either threw them away or used the m ,

as coun ters i n card pla y i n g I t was n ot unti l 1 7 2 7 that

-
.
,

B ern ardo d a Fon seca Lobo an i nhabitan t of S erra d o Fri o

,

i n the gold d istrict of M in as G er ae accidental l y discovered

- s
,

the true n atu re of these ston es H e had seen rough.

D iamon d s i n I n d ia an d the l iken ess to these was so strikin g

,

that he took a n u mber to Portu gal fo r sale an d th us drew ,

gen eral o b servation towards the n ew D iamon d m i nes S uch .

at least is t h e stor y tol d of the d is c o v e rv o f the B razil ian

D iamon d fi elds .

T h e E uropea n merchan ts who up to that ti me had

,

o b tain ed thei r D iamon d s fro m I n dia were frighten ed l es t ,

t his d iscover y should caus e a fall i n the price of the gem s .

i n their possession T he y con sequen tl y spread the report

.

th at the B razilian D iamon ds were on l y the refuse of the

I n dian ston es forwarded to G o a an d then to B razil j ust
, , ,

as when the S o u th A frican D iamon d fi elds were d iscovered ,

it was said that the y yielded on l y yellow ston es of l ittl e ,

or n o val ue .
 B r a z il ia n D i a m o n d s . I0 7

Th e Portuguese however t u rn ed the tables , an d sen t

, ,

th e B razil ian D iam o n d s to G o a an d then ce to B engal ,

where the y were o ffered for sal e as I n dian ston es an d ,

obtain ed I n d ian prices .

I t i s on ly within th e l ast few y ears that the D iam ond

-
.

bearin g rocks of B razil have b een su ffi cien tly stu d ied to

e n abl e geologists to spe a k with anythin g l ik e con fi den ce
,
in regard to thei r n at u re an d thei r age T he y h ave n ow .
,

however been thoroughl y exa m in ed especially by P ro f

, ,
.

G o rc e ix t he head of the S chool of M in es at O u ro Preto

, ,

the capital of M in as G er aes an d by Prof O rville A D erby

-
,
. .
,

of the G eological S urve y of S ao Paolo S ection s have .

been mad e of the strata of which the D iamon d bearin g,

-

p rovi nces are composed an d a satisfactory sequen ce has

,

been established .

T h e mode of occurren ce of D iamonds at D iam an tin a ,

( formerly cal led T e j uco ) i n the provin

,
ce of M in as G e r ae s -

m ay fairly be taken as typical of th e workin gs throughout

the cou n tr y I t was here that D iamon ds were origin al l y
.

d iscovered i n B razil an d it was to this d istrict that th e

,

workin gs were for a lon g ti m e restricted D iam an tin a .

it s e l f is si tuated alon g the crest an d on b oth flan ks of the ,

great i nterior mou ntai n ran ge o f B razil wh ich at a gen eral , ,

height of abou t feet a b ove the level of the sea

‘

d ivides th e waters of the 5 5 0 Francisco on th e west fro m ,

those of the D oce J e q u e t in h o n h a an d other rivers on the

east T h e n orthward p rol ongation o f t he ra n ge in cl ud es
.

the D iamon d region s of G r ao M ogol i n the provin ce o f ,

M in as G eraes an d that of th e s o ca l led C hapad a D ia

-
,
-

m an tin a i n B ahi a .

A ver y i mportan t group of rocks stretches fro m the

fo rm er to the latter o f these rivers T his group has b een .

cal led the I tacol u m ite s er i es fro m the Occurren c e o f ,

10 8 B ra z il ia n D ia m o n d s .

I t a co l u m it e ,
a rock which was n am ed by Eschwege fro m ,

the S erra d o I t ac o l u m i T h e true I tacolu mite of petro

.

l o gis t s is a san dston e , re markabl e for p ossessin g flex ibi lity ,

s o that a thi n slab ad m its of bein g read ily ben t to a n d fro .

T his p e c u la r rock i s however only a ra re variety o f the

, ,

I tacol u m ite most of which is a gran ular schistose quartzite

, ,

o r metamorphic san d ston e destitute of flex ibility , .

T h e B razilian I tacolu m ite lon g fi gured i n works on

m in eralog y as the origin al m atrix the true parent rock — -

of the D iamon d ; an d the occurren ce of a som e wh at

s i milar rock with D iamon ds i n I n d ia a nd i n North C arolin a
led to prem ature gen eralization s as t o th e o rigin of the
gem .

I n the geol ogical section un d er d escription the I taco ,

l u m it e s are associated with a group of hyd ro m ica sch ists -

an d I t a be rit e s or schists contain i n g spec ul ar iron ore

,
-
.

T raversin g these rocks are certain m ore or less defi n ed

vein s of cl ayey m atter con tain in g D iamon d s T h e m in eral .

is here supposed to occu r in its pri m itive position the ,

c la y ey m aterial bein g p robably it s dec a in g m atrix D ia

y .

mon ds are also fo un d i n the qu artz ites of an overlyin g

series but here they are to b e regarded as pebbles washed
,

out of their origin al hom e in the lower group of rocks .

T he y are l ikewise d istributed throu gh the gravel s o f t he

B razi li an H ighl an ds where the y fi n d a restin g place after
,
-

h avin g been set free fro m their en closin g m atrix I t i s .

p ossi b le the n that a D ia mon d born origin al ly i n th e ,

l ower m etamorphic series m a y have been tran sported ,

a mon g the materials which en ter in to the con stitution of

the u pper series an d then on the wearing down of th ese
,

upper rocks m ay have been on ce more d isturbed an d

, ”
,

fi nally d eposited i n the gravels of the presen t river valleys .

S uch appears to be the geological h istory of m an y a

B razilian D iamon d .
 B ra z ilia n D ia m on ds .

but good D iamon ds were foun d in the hollow stem O n .

p ursu in g this i nvestigation further m ost of t he work men s ,

’

huts i n the i m mediate n eighbourhood were foun d to h ave

s ome such ston es hidden within them b ut the gem s were
a s a rule s m all hardly ever exceedi ng on e cara t i n weight
, , .

A ccord in g to Prof O A D erby who exam in ed the . . .

,

T ibag y D iamon d workin gs geological ly the gem s appear

-
,

t o b e d erived fro m the D evon ian san dston e through which ,

the river flows ; b ut the materials of the san dston e are them
selves d erived fro m the metam orphic rocks G ol d is w idely .

d istributed through the T ibag y district an d the D i a mon d s , ,

though usu ally sm all are o f go o d colour an d great brillian cy

, .

T h e author som e y ears ago j oi ned a s y n d icate to work the

, ,

s a nd s in the bed of the T i b agy but thou gh both G ol d ,

a n d D iam on ds were fou n d the y d id n ot occu r i n su fficien t

quantities to ren d er the workin g rem un erative an d the ,

T i bagy D iamon d fie l d s were consequently aban d on ed

-
.

The most i mportant districts of the d eposits of

D i am on d b earin g gravel i n B razil lie between 1 2 d egs
-
.

an d 2 6 degs south l atitud e i ncl udin g the provin ces of

.
,

M in as G er aes B ahi a G oyaz M ato G rosso Paran a an d

-
, , , ,

S Paulo
. .

The supply of D i amon ds was greatly i n creased i n the

early part of th is cen tury by the d iscovery of n ew an d ,

ri cher m i n es in the p rovi n ce of B ahia the ston es of which ,

a re called i n com merc e B a nia s T h e yield from thes e .

m i n es although considerable in qu antity is however

, , ,

d efective in size , an d i n ferior in average qual ity T h e .

proportion of p ure ston es i s less an d of the off coloured ,

“
-

v arieties greater than i n the p rod uce of other m ines ;

,

n evertheless the exceptionally fi n e ston es are as beautifu l

,

as any hitherto d iscovered elsewhere .

 B ra z ilia n D ia m o n ds . 111

Wi th the D iam onds of B ahia is foun d an i mp ure blac k ,

grey or brown crystal li n e carbon kn own i n com merc e

, ,

as Ca rbo n a d o an d highly valued for mou n tin g i n the steel

,

d ril l heads used for D iamon d borin g a pu rpose for w hich

- - —

n either c r y stal lin e D iamon d n or bort is applicable T his .

w il l be referred to at len gth i n a su b sequent chapter .

I n 1 7 7 2 the G overn men t of B r azi l fi rst work ed th e

D iamon d m in es on its own accou nt R ich as the fi elds were .
,

the cost was e n orm ous an d every carat weight of D iamon d s

,

cost the G overn m en t fro m fift e e n to eighteen shill i ngs-

,

again st six shill in gs an d seven pen ce i n S outh A frica .

T h e profit m ad e i n M in as G er aes was formerly very -

con s iderabl e I n the fi rst twen ty years

. carats
o f D iamon ds were foun d an n ual ly Up to 1 8 50 this .

P rovin ce had yiel ded a b out c a rats of D iamon d s

val ued at £9 0 0 0 0 0 0 fi I f i n additio n to this we con sider
, , , ,

th e con traban d trad e at the begin n in g of this cen tury ,

esti mated at the worth of the D iamon d s fou n d

i n M i n as G er aes woul d be about ,5
-
T h e D ia
m on ds fro m these m in es d iffer fro m those of the B ahi a
m in es i n shap e an d colour T h e form of the ston es is more
.

regul ar wh ile the colou r i s more u n iform in its green ish

,

t ints an d less , i f at all vitiated by any yel low reflection

, , .

T h e P araguay an d i ts many tributaries carry down -

gold an d D iam ond s D urin g the d ry season from A p ri l

.
,

to the m idd le of O ctober when the depth of the ri ver is

,

m uch d i m in ished the water i s d rawn off i nto a can al a n d

, ,

the m ud of the river bed is dug out to a depth of si x to

ten feet an d car ried to a place where it can b e washed by
,

the n egroes d urin g t he wet season I n diggin g out th e .

m ud large holes are often foun d contain i ng many

,

D iamond s a n d ‘ m u c h gold When the wet season stops

.

”
the d iggin g the scen e of act ion i s t h e washi n g huts
,
“
.
 B r a z il ia n D ia m o n ds .

Vt ashin g troughs (can oes ) are placed sid e b y sid e an d the ,

overseer has a raised seat s o as to be abl e to observe al l

,

th e n egroes at work Every trough has its l ittle strea m o f

.

w ater an d a n egro keeps the con tents i n con stan t motion

,

u n til the m ud has been wash ed away an d the water i s ,

qu ite clear T he n the san d an d fi n e gravel are taken i n

.

the han d an d searched for D iamond s I f on e i s foun d .

,

the n egro stan d s upright an d k n ocks as a signal for th e

overseer who takes the D iam on d from hi m an d l ay s i t i n
, ,

a vessel fi lled with water wh ich han gs i n the m iddle of

,

the shed When the d ay s work is over the conten ts o f

.
’
,

th is vessel are taken by the overseer and thei r weight ,

en tered i n a book .

Large D iamon ds are very rarely fou n d I t has been .

esti mated that in t e n t /zo n s a n d speci m en s rarely more than

one weighin g t w e n ty carats is m et with while possibly ,

eight thousan d of on e carat or less m ay be d iscovered , , .

A t the works o f the J e q u e t in h o n h a R iver d u rin g a year s

’

l a b our on l y two or three ston es h ave been foun d vary in g

,

fro m seventeen to twenty carats an d at the whol e of the ,

works in B razil for the space of two years n ot more than

, ,

on e o f thirt y carats was foun d I n 1 8 5 1 a D iamon d .

2 0 3
weighin g 1 87 carats was d iscovered at th e sou rce of the
P a t ro c in h o R iver i n the provi n ce of M in as G er aes
,
-
.

S omewhat l ater on the R io das Velhas the labourers

,
- -
,

fo un d a ston e of 1 0 7 carats weight an d i n C hapada on e ,

o f 8 7 % carats T h e l argest , however w h ich has been

.
,

”
d iscovered in B razil is that called the S tar o f the S outh ,

which was fou n d i n 1 8 5 3 at B o ga ge m i n the Provin ce o f

, ,

M i n as G er aes an d weighed 2 54 % carats before it was cut

-
, .

T here are many l aw s an d regulation s in B razil to

p reven t the n egroes con cealing an d sm ugglin g D iamon ds .

A s a m ean s of encouraging hon est y i f a n egro fi n d s al arge ,

 B ra z il ia n D ia m o n d s .

W h en D iamon ds were fi rst d iscovered in B ahia the ,

old cap ital of B razil which was at the ti m e a den sel y

,

pop ulated an d fruitfu l provin ce the observan t an d in t e l li

,

gen t Portugues e m in ister the M arquis d e Pombal forbad e

, ,

furthe r search as he feared that agriculture which he

, ,

j ustly regarded as a source o f blessin g an d health to the

land would suffer
,
.

A very stran ge history is con n ected with the discovery

of D iamon d s i n B ahia A n in tell igen t slave from M in as
.

G er aes keepin g his m aster s flocks i n that provi nce though t

' ’

, ,

he observed a si m i larity between the soil of his n ative pl ace

an d that of B ahia .H e sought therefore i n the san d an d ,

soon fou n d 7 0 0 c arats of D iamon ds Fleein g from his .

m aster h e carried these with hi m an d offered the m fo r

,

sal e i n a d istan t cit y S uch wealth i n the han ds of a sl ave

.

c aused hi m to be arrested but he woul d n ot betray hi m self

, .

T h e m aster to whom h e was given up tried to get at his

secret by cun n in g but without avail u ntil he thought of
, ,

restorin g to hi m his form er occupation i n B ahia an d ,

watchin g hi m A s soon as the secret was kn own n u mbers

.

flocked from M inas G er aes an d other p arts of B razi l to

-

B ahia so that the followin g year as many as

,

peopl e were occup ied in seekin g D iamon ds there an d ,

the amou n t d aily secured for som e ti me rose to about

or carats .

T h e n u mber of D iamon d seekers however grad ual ly

-
,

dwin dled to b etween five an d six thousan d but up to the

en d of the y ear 1 8 4 9 there had been as many as
c arats of D iamon ds obtain ed from the C hapad a of B ahi a .

T his fiel d is about eighty m iles long an d forty m iles broad .

T h e total prod uce from the en tire B razil D iamon d

d istricts was calcul ated up to the year 1 8 50 to e x ceed
carats I n the y ear 1 8 5 1 the produce appeared
.
 B ra z ilia n D ia m o n ds . 1 1 5

t o be in creasin g ; but i n 1 8 5 2 it was evidently on the

wan e T h e esti m ated v a lu e of B razilian D iamond s fro m
.

1 86 1 to 1 8 6 7 the d ate o f the d iscove ry o f the S outh

,

A frican D iam on d s was about

,

S om e very i ntere s tin g i n formation was given by the

G erm a n traveller H err von T s c h u d i who visited the city
, ,

of D i am antin a i n February 1 8 5 8
,
H e observe s :
,
. Th e “

p i v ot on which D iam antin a tu rn s is D iam on ds I was .

pr esen t d urin g the u n exam pled com mercial crisi s which

e xte n ded from town to tow n , an d coun tr to coun try with
y ,

such d isastrous con sequences an d which fel l with th e ,

weight of an aval a nche on the i nh a b itants of D iamantin a .

A l l busin ess was stopped an d D iamon d s fel l to on e hal f

,
-

”
t h e price they reached only the year before .

T h e pan ic described by Von T s c h u d i was sever e but ,

i t is very doubtful whether any p an ic was ever equal i n

exten t an d i mportan ce to th at caused b y the d iscovery of
the riches i n S outh A frica which prod uced a revol ution in
,

t h e D iamon d m arket .

N 0 co untry was m ore in cred ulous about the prodigious

y ield s of the S outh A frican m ines than B razil an d this ,

perversity m ad e the loss d isastrou s to the B razil ian

merchan ts as they refused to receive the warn in gs which
,

were sent them i n perfect good faith Th e favou r b estowed

‘

o n the C ape D iamon d s an d the great margin o f profi t

,

which they yielded resu lte d i n the B razilian D iamon d s

,

bei n g more an d more n egl ected an d as the d i fficult ies were

a ugmented by the pred ilect ion of A msterda m workmen

for the n ew ston es a d epreciation followed greater than

,

t hat which the prices obtain ed for C ape ston es j ustified .

T h e C ape yiel d of l arge ston es led to the gen eral

rejection of the s mall such as were furn ished b y the B razil
,

m erchant s in e very p arcel which they suppl ied to th e

1 16 B ra z il ia n D ia m o n d s .

mark e t Th e altern ative of sen d in g on ly fi n er spe c im en s

.

to t h e practi c al excl usion o f s mall ston es if they in tend ed

,

seriously to enter in to competition with C ape gems was ,

a m atter of an x i ous con cern to them n ot beca use t h e

,

B ra zilian D iam on ds had deteri orated i n beauty or i n

“

qual ity b u t because the exorbitan t prices at which they

,

h a d been o ffered for sale coul d n o l on ger be m aintain ed .

I t is a well k n o w n fact that owing to the i n creasin g scarc ity

,

of ston es the work in g of the B razilian m in es grad ual ly

,

became barely rem unerative ; an d at the presen t ti me

hardly pays to work for D iamon ds in B razil .
 CHA PT ER V I I .

I ND I A N D I A MO N DS .

the D iamon d fi elds of I n dia h a v e

LT H O U G H
be en celebrat ed fro m rem ote ant iqu ity it i s ,

on ly of l ate years that our k n owl edge o f

,

I n d ian geology has been su ffi ciently advan ced

to en able the m in eralogist to speak with even ap p ro x i
mate accuracy as to the n ature of the D iamon d bearin g -

rocks of that cou n try T h e m ateri als acc u mul ated by the
.

G eological S urvey h ave been ren dered acces sible to the

”
p ublic by the issue of an ad m irable M anual of which
,
“
,

the third vol u me is devoted to Econo mic G eolo gy a —

s ubj ect which the late Prof V B all treated with grea t
. .
,

abi lity A fou rth vol u m e by M r F R M allet forms a

.
, . . .
,

k i n d of s uppl e m en t to this work T h e geological con d it ion s

.

u nd er which the D iamo n d occu rs in I n d ia are fully deal t

wi th i n this o fficial M an ual .

T h e D iam on d s of I n di a a re generally foun d i n super

fic ial deposits d erived fro m the d isi nteg r ation of the sol id
rocks W here the D ia mon d apparen tly occurs in s i t u it
.
,

i s i n c ertain rocks b elongi n g to the great Vin dny a n

f o r m a t io n a form
,
at ion which derives its n ame from the
Vi n dhyan hills of the old geogra p hers an d which is of ,

v e ry great but u nk n own geological an tiquity A t t he .

P an n a m ines D iamon ds have b een foun d e mbedded i n a

,

c o n gl om erate belon gin g to a m i n or d ivision o f the Upper

 I n d ia n D i a m o n d s . 1 19

V in d h y a n s k nown as the R e w a r g r o up ; but this c o n gl o m

,

e ra t e is apparently form ed of m aterials derived from th e

older or lower Vin dh y an series I n S ou thern I nd ia t h e .

Lower V in d h y an s are represen ted by the K a r n n l g ro up

an d at the very base of this form ation the D iam on d i s
fou n d S uch is its position for exam ple at the B an agan
.
, ,

pill y m in es B u t here again the D iam on d rock is a

.

con gl omerate that i s to s ay a d etrital rock m ade up o f

—
,

pebbles d erived fro m som e y e t old er rock A ssociated .

w i th these pebbles are the D ia mon d s ; but when ce th e

D i amon ds cam e from w hat rock th e y may have been

,

b roken or out of what m atrix the y m ay have been washed

, ,

n o on e can say O ld workings for D iamon d s have b een

.

d iscovered i n the D na rw a r Co ng l o m e ra t e of still highe r ,

antiqu it y than the B an a ga n p il ly b ut whether these workin gs ,

y ield ed D iamon ds or n ot is un kn own ,

I f D iamon,
ds were .

work ed i n this con glomerate thei r origin is thro wn back t o

an excessively re mote period of geological tim e .

I n 1 8 8 2 M C haper a Fren ch m in in g eng i n eer e n

, .
, ,

gaged i n exploration for D iam on ds i n M ad ras an n ou n ced ,

that he had d iscovered the D ia mon d i n its verit a bl e matri x

n ear W ajra Karu r n ot far fro m B el lar y A ccordin g to
, .

his reports , su b mitted to the Fren ch A cadem y of S cien ces ,

an d to the G eological S ociet y of Paris the rock which h e ,

regarded as the paren t o f the D iamon d was a rose coloured ,

-

Pegmatite but it has been shewn that his concl us ion s were
,

b ased on erron eou s observation s .

A ttention w a s cal led som e y ears ago to the occurren ce

n ear W ajra Karu r of a certain rock closely rese mblin g th e ,

famous b l u e earth o f the S outh A frican D iamon d fi eld s

“
.

” ”
T his bl ue form s a n eck in a gran itoid rock contai n ing
“ “
,

epidote an d assoc iated with horn blen d e gn eiss an d i t

,

was assu med that it represented an old an d altered volcan ic

1 20 I n d ia n D ia m o n d s .

m a terial whic h had brought u p the I n dian D ia mond s in a

,

si mil ar m an n er to that i n which the C ap e D iamond s hav e

b e e n carried u p the vol can ic d ucts of K imb erley W orkin gs .

at this locality were however u n s uc c e s s fu l a n d resulte d i n

, ,
'

a con siderable l os s .

T here are three exten sive d istrict s in I n d ia; which h ave

yielded D ia m o nd s on a l arge scal e O f thes e the m ost .

famous i s the southern most i mproperly termed th e G o l

con da region the old fort o f G olcon d a i n H yderabad
, , ,

bei n g far d istan t I t i nclu des v ari ous m in es on the Kist n a

.

an d G o d av iri rivers an d other local ities i n the M ad ras

,

Presid en cy whi ch wil l be n oticed i n d etail i n the followin g

,

pages T h e seco n d gr e at tract lies i n the C en tral Provin ces

.
,

an d in cl udes the m in es of S u m bu l p u r T h e th ird i s i n .

B u n d e lkh u n d where are s it uated the Pan n a m i n es

,
.

I n add ition to these pri nc ipal areas a few other ,

lo c al ities have yielded D iamon d s T hey have bee n fou n d .

,

for example i n B on ai i n the provi nce of C hutia Nagpur

,

an d , it is said n ear S i ml a ,
.

A n accoun t of the Precious S ton es of I nd ia was giv e n

i n a work en titled M a n i M a la by R aj ah S o u rin d ro Mohun
’ ’

T agore publ ished at C alc utta i n 1 8 7 9

, A lthough som e ,
.

o f the description s given are h ard ly s c re n t ific y e t the book ,

con tain s m uch t h at is interestin g with r e spect n ot o n ly

to the history of P reci o us S ton es b ut also as t o their ,

localities T h e followin g list gives the n ames of the I ndian

.

l ocal ities i n which the D iamon d i s said to occur with the ,

s upposed m odern equ ivalen ts of those n ames z

I .H ai m a ( H imal ayas ) .

2 .M atan ga ( Kistn a an d G o d av iri or G olcon da ) .

3 .S au r ashtra ( S urat )
4
. P aun
.
da ( probably in cl uded the C hutia N ag pu r

localities ) .
1 22 I n d ia n D ia m o n d s .

Pe n n a r, are on ly a few hours j ou rn ey west of C udd apah ’

.

T h e D iamon d bed here see ms to follow the cou rse of th e

rive r an d is of varyi n g width H ere the D iamon ds al w ays
,
.

occ u r i n m ore roun d ed crystals T hose fou n d still fu rther .

west are the best .

T h e vil lagers arou n d the old V a n n ia p e n t a work in g s

s tate that at a d istan t period which the y vaguely describe ,

about a h un dred years a go som e great p eople cam e ,

“

to the pl ace an d d ug in to a fi ssure i n the bl ue li meston e ,

when ce t h ey extracted a large quantity of D i am on d s .

O ther pits were then d ug in the n eighbou rhood b ut n on e ,

of them proved prod uctive .

I n th e B ra h at S an hita which d ates fro m about th e ,

S i xth C en tury of the C hristian era it is said that D iam ond s ,

were d ivided i nto fou r cl asses accordi ng to their castes ,

.

”
I st B ra nm a n s clear an d o f pure water white as the “
, , ,

‘
flower o f the lotus or as c ry stal 2 n d K s na i riy a s clear
, , , ,

an d o f the col ou r of hon ey or red l i ke the e y e of the hare ,

.

3 rd ,V ay s ia s c re a m colou,
red or green l ike
-
the fresh pl antain
lea f 4 t h S u d ra s gre y ish white or l ike pol ished steel
.
, ,
-
,
.

T h e S ud ra is said to b e worth on e fourt h the Vaysia on e -

,

hal f an d the Kshatri y a three fourths of th e val ue of

,
-

t h e B rah man D iam on d T h e S udras are the D iamon d

.

seekers who carry on their work without i nspection an d ,

pride themselves on th e ir hon esty T h e pits wh ich they .

d ig are square excavation s n ot m ore than sixteen feet ,

deep .

A mon g the D iamond bearin g local ities i n t h e d istrict -

rou nd B ellary m ay be m ention ed W ajra Karur G u n je e ,

o o n t a an d G uti or G u t id ru
g , g .

T h e n ative village o f Waj ra Karu r ( D iamon d T own “

is situ ated about n in e m iles fro m G o o n d ac a l o n the Mad ras ,

R ailway in the G oot y T al uk

, T h e D iam on ds are fou nd .
 I n d ia n D i a m o n d s . 12
3

i n the d etritu s covering the lo w county an d probably ,

d erived from the s an dston es an d breccias overlying th e

gn e iss of the n eighbourin g hills D iamo nd s have been .

foun d in the d istric t from ti me i m m emorial an d T ip p o o ,

S ultan when in power clai med al l l arge ston es whilst he

, ,

l evied a royalty u p on sm al l on es A t the presen t t i me

‘
.
,

the villagers t urn ou t after heavy rain s an d search for ,

D ia mon ds .

I n 1 8 8 1 a D iamon d of very fi n e qual ity though of ,

i rregu l ar shape weighing i n the rough 6 7 g carats was

, ,

foun d n ear W ajra Kurar p robably a littl e to the n orth west ,

-

o f the village T his ston e was purchased by M e s srs P

. . .

O rr an d S on s of M adras an d yield ed a fi n e brill ian t called

, ,

”
the G o r d o Norr M r G ordon O rr b e i n g the sen ior
“
- -
, .

p artn er w hilst the n ame spelt th u s chi med well with

, , ,

”
Koh i n ur
- -
.

I t is said that the E u gé n ie D iamon d was fou n d by

a poor peasant at W ajra Karu r H e offered the ston e .

to the village black sm ith in return for repairin g his p lough , ,

but the s m ith thought so l ittle of its value that he flun g

the sto n e away A fterward s however he picked it out
.
, ,

of a heap of rubb ish to which he had con sign ed it an d , ,

sold it for rupees to M r A ra t h o o n a merchan t in .

,

M adras by whom it was d isposed of for a large s u m t o

, , ,

the E mperor N apoleon I I I .

I n the P /z il o s opnie a l Tra n s a c t io n s for 1 6 7 7 , there i s

an in teresti n g paper presen ted b y the E arl M arshal of
Englan d t o the R o y al S ociety i n which it is stated that ,

at the com men cemen t of the seventeen th cen tur y a

Portuguese gen tl eman wen t to C u rru re (W ajra Karu r ) an d ,

after m uch cost a nd l abou r obt ain ed a large D iamon d

believed Et o have weighed a b out 4 3 4 carats wh ich h e sold ,

at G o a T h e l ate Pro f B al l suggested that this ston e m a y

. .
1 24 I n d ia n D ia m o n d s .

h a ve been the P itt D ia mon d though the d iscov e ry go e s ,

back n early a cen tury before the famous D iamon d figur e s

i n h is t o ry a n d is con trary to the gen eral bel ief, which
‘

refers the d iscovery of t h e P itt to the m in es at Part e al .

I n like m an n er B all sugge s ted that the great M og u l s

'

,
’

D iamon d may ha v e co m e fro m W ajra Karur an d this I ,

t hin k l ikely n otwiths t an din g T avern ier s state men t that it

’
,

was foun d at Kol lu r .

A t t h e n orth en d of the table l an d extendin g on the -

,

west sid e of the Nal la M al la hills as far as the tow n of -

,

R a mdial (6 7 2 feet above t h e level of the sea l ies an other

) ,

group of m i nes T h e D i amon d beds here are on ly about

.

a foot thick an d both the o v er an d u n d erlyin g bed s are

,

more pebbly than i n the fi rst group .

M ost of the D iamon d s of this d istrict l ie loose i n

t h e d ebr is T here i s an erron eo u s i mpression among the
.

poor m in ers that the D iamon d s grow i n an d about the

h uge fragm en ts of the crust of the earth which has been
,

he aved an d broken up A m on g the n atives of t he M adras

.

P residen cy there exists a curious b elief that the rock

,

c rystal which occu rs i n the d ia manti ferou s groun d wil l

, ,

become D iamon d when i mpregn ated with electricity by the

a ction of l ightn in g V o y s e y fou n d about these m in es at
.

l east a dozen parties each con sistin g of seven or eight

m e n w orkin g i n their own lot or particular heap
,
He .

d escribes the m as mostly of t h e lowest class poor miser —

,

a ble creatu res with l ittle govern ment an d with n o s uper

, ,

in t e n d e n t to d irec t or regu l ate their l a b ou r I n the rainy .

s eason the mi n ers work i n the D iamon d pits on the heights ,

a n d when the flood s are over in the low lyin g m i nes by

,
-

Ki s tn a M ost o f th e I n d ian D iam ond m iners bel on g to

.

t h e abo rigin al tribes th e ir trad e bein g hereditary

, The .

P an n a m in es were worked formerly by G ond s or Kol s ,

 1 28 I n d i a n D ia m o n d s .

Th e
chan ge from a grey to a red soil con sisting o f ,

weat h er worn gran itic gravel is here d istin ctly seen Th e

-
,
.

”
upper layer con sis t s of the bl ack C otton soil brought “

d own fro m the higher grou n ds by flood s B en e ath thi s .

l ayer l ies a m ass of fragm en ts of san dston e qu artz j asper , ,

fli nt an d gran ite with great amorphou s m asses of calca

, ,

re o u s conglom erate but d es t itute o f any in dication of their

,

havin g been rol led there by water I t is i n this stratu m .

that the D iam o n d is fou n d ; but n on e of t he m ines abou t

Malliv u l ly or G o l ap a lly are n ow worked .

T h e local ity k nown as Part e al or G an i Pa rt e a l on the -

,

n orth ban k of the K istn a has been regard ed by so me ,

authorities as the origin al ho m e of the historical Pit t

”
or R egent D iamond Th e H yderabad ( D eccan ) C o m
“
.

pan y has fo r so me years past been washin g for D iamon d s

at Part e a l or P arti al S o i mportan t were the D iam on d .

work in gs i n this d istrict that by the T reaty of 1 7 66 mad e ,

between the N i zam an d the East I n dia C ompan y they ,

were reserved to H is H ighn ess T h e D iam on d fields o f .

H yd erabad h ave been vis ited an d reported upon i n recen t

years by several experts as by M r Lowin sky i n 1 8 8 6 ,
.
,

M r T heodore H ughes i n 1 8 8 7 an d M r Willia m M organs

.
, .

in 1 8 89 .

T h e D iamon d
d istrict of th e S u m bu l p u r or S a m balp a r
gr o up i n the C en tral Pro v i nces e x ten ds to the i m mediat e
, ,

vic in ity of S u m bu l p u r a city built on a fru itfu l al l uvial

,

table l an d 3 8 5 feet abo v e t h e level of the sea an d situated

-
, ,

b e tween the rivers M ahanadi an d B rah m in i

.
.

T h e Precious S ton es whic h are fou n d at the mouths of

the l itt l e tributaries of the M au n d flowin g fro m the n orth ,

east are of variou s s iz e s an d gen erally of th e purest quality

,

A lthough D ia m onds are rarely if ever n ow foun d i n , ,

S u m bu l p u r it is intere s tin g t o preserve the d escriptio n o f

,
.. .

t h e ol d D iamon d washers in the d ays of the R aj ahs

-
. .
 I n d ia n D ia m o n d s . 1 29

I n S u m bu lp u r the D iamon d seekers were of two

cas tes T he y rese mbled N egroes rath e r than H in doos an d
.
,

re c eived the n am es of I hara an d T ora S ixteen villages of .

the poorest k in d were given up to the m as free J agh irs ;

ten bein g occupied b y the I h a ras and fou r by the T or as ,

t h e remain in g two bei n g d ed icated to thei r god s

'

T hes e peopl e were n atural ly s upersti tious N icol o .

C on ti wh o travel led i n I n dia i n t h e earl y part of th e 1 5 th

,

cen tury gi ves som e v ery ques tion abl e stories as t o a

,

D i am on d p rod ucin g m ou ntain an d th e m eans by which

-
,

t hey w e re prod uced I t is al so bel ieved that s acrifices

.

were m ad e upon the open in g of a n ew D iam on d m in e an d ,

cred ulou s travel lers i n those earl y d ays m ight possibly ,

h ave supposed that these sacrifi cial rites were essential to

t he s uccess ful search for D iamon d s .

T h e D ia mon d seekers with th e ir fam ilies n u mberin g ,

fro m 4 0 0 0 to 50 0 0 persons m igrated yearly ; an d from ,

November to the co m men cement of the rain y season

searched the bed of the M ahan ad i R i v er fro m C hu nd er
pu r to S on ep u r a d istan ce of twen ty four m iles s cruti
,
-
,

n iz in g every cleft a nd corn er for the Precious S ton es ,

T hey carried with the m on ly three tool s : a pickax e a ,

board five feet l on g hollowed i n the m iddl e an d provi ded

,

wi t h a raised border three in ches h igh an d a secon d ,

bo ard about hal f th e S i ze o f the other .

With the pickaxe they scraped the earth out of the

clefts and holes an d piled it i n heaps on the ban k T h eir
, .

women l aid t h e earth on the l arger board sli ghtly i n clin ed , ,

wa s hed it with w ater and removed al l the rougher sa n d

,

a n d pebb l es w h ich were subsequen tly placed o n the s maller

,

board spre a d out an d search e d for preciou s ston es an d

, ,

gold dust T h e D iam o n d was foun d for the m ost p art

.

i n a mass o f toug h r e ddish clay pebbles san d an d

.
'
, , , ,

K
1 30 I n d ia n D ia m o n d s .

some iron oxid e T his seem s to be the debr is of t h e s am e

.

”
ston e bre c cia as that which V o y s e y sup p osed to be
D ia mon d rock i n the Pe n n ar an d the Kistn a groups
-
.

T h e washers of S u m bu l p u r n ow rarely if e v er fi nd , ,

D iam on d s with t he a ll uvial gold .

A n other m ethod of obtain i ng the D iam on d was to

form a flat surface i n the neighbourhood of the pl ace where
the preciou s stones were to be sought an d bu ild rou n d it a ,

wall two feet h igh , l eavin g here an d there open in gs fo r t h e

water to run o ff T h e earth which had been worked out
.

by m ean s of the picka x e was thrown i n to this extem p orized

,

w e l l an d after two or three washin gs the large ston es were

,

rem oved the resid ue dried an d the D iamon d s sought for

, , .

Fro m ti me i m m emorial the D iamon d s fou n d in this d istrict

had been claim ed by the ruler as his right T h e fi n d er of .

l arge D iamon ds was reward ed by the royal gran t of on e or

mor e s mal l villages Fo r s mal ler D iamon ds there were
.

other reward s but for th e con ceal men t of preciou s ston es

the n atives w e re p u n ished by havin g their vill ages taken
fro m them an d were s ubj ect al so to corporal pun ishm en t
, .

I n spite of this an d threaten i ngs of severer pen alties

, ,

s muggl in g an d con ceal m en t con tin ued .

S ince the year 1 8 1 8 S u m bu lp u r h as been un der ,

B ritish r ule I n that year a D ia mon d was fou n d w h ich

.

weighed 2 1 c a rats an d although of on ly the third quality

,

was sol d for 50 0 0 rupees .

I t is n ecessary to distin guish S a m ba lpa r in the C en tral

Provin ces from T a v ern ier s S o n m e lp o n r a locality i den tifi ed
’
,

by the l ate Pro f B al l with S emah or S e m u lpu r, o n t h e

.

R iver Koel i n C hutia Nagpu r

,
D iamon d s ha v e also been .

worked a l ittle further south at a locality on the S outh ,

R iver on e of the tributaries to the B rahm an i

, .

I n the C han d a d istrict to th e south east of Nagpur , ,

a re the old D iamon d m in es of W a ria ga rh .

 CHA PTER IX .

’
U NI T ED S TA T E S D I A M O ND S .

it has lon g been k now n that

LT H O U G H
D iamon d s are occasion al ly fou n d i n the Un ited
S tates , yet the qua n tity an d the character o f
the ston es h itherto d iscovered ha v e n ot bee n
s uch as to warran t any attempts at systematic work ing .

Th e D iamon ds occur m ostly i n the au ri ferou s san d s an d

gravels an d have been accid en tally brought to light i n
,

washin g the detritus for its gold .

I n the Eastern S tates D i amon d s h ave been fou n d

,

very sp arsely d istributed through a belt of metamorphi c

rocks alon g the east of th e A ppal achian s stretchin g
, ,

through the S tates of Virgin ia the C arolin as an d G eorgia , ,

whilst i n the West they occu r i n C aliforn i a an d hav e al so ,

been d isco v ered i n Wiscon sin O rego n an d I daho A ,

.

com p rehen sive revie w of the gen eral subj ect has bee n
p ublished by M r G F Ku n z of N ew York i n his work on
. . .
, ,

T h e G em s and P reciou s S ton es of the Un ited S tates .

P erhaps the most n oteworthy D iamon d h ithert o

yi el ded by the U n ited S tates was on e d iscovered i n 1 8 5 5 ,

at Manc hester opposite R ich mon d i n the S tate of Vi r

, ,

gin ia I t was fou n d by a l abourer at work i n on e of

.

t h e streets an d was s ub m itted by hi m to M r j H T yl er

, . . .
,

se n.
,
o f R ich mon d who at on ce pronoun ced it to be a
,

v al uable ston e I t presen ted the form of an octahed ron

.
,

with on ly a s mal l sin gl e black spot i n on e of the sol id

an gle s bu t it was o ff coloured I n the rough it w e ighe d
,
-
.
 U n it e d S t a t e s D i a m o n d s
’
. 1 35

23
2 carats
, and after cutti n g weighed u pward s of I I
%%
carats T his ston e has been called after some of its own ers
.
, ,

”
the D ewey D ia mon d an d the M orrissey D iamon d
“ “
.

Th e occurren ce of itacol u m ite , or flexible sand ston e ,

in North C a r olin a le d at on e t i me t o the con cl usion that

,
.

D iamon ds m ight be fou n d plen tifully i n that S tate s inc e ,

it was bel i e v ed by m an y m in eralogists that a si m ilar ro c k

form ed the m atri x of the D i amon d i n B razil .

O n e o f the m ost prol ifi c local it ies i n th e West has

been the C herokee D istrict i n B utte C oun ty C al iforn ia
, , ,

where the gol d m in ers on clean in g u p the sluices occa

s io n a l l
y fi n d D iamond s .T h e ston es are associated as ,

poin ted out by the l ate P rofessor S illi m an with several ,

rare m in erals i n cl udin g plati nu m

, .

A bout the year 1 8 7 0 large d iscoveries of D iamond s

,

were reported fro m A rizona but it was even tually fou n d

,

that a gigan ti c fraud had been perpetrated th e grou n d ,

”
havin g been l iberal l y salted with rough D iamon ds an d
“

other p recious ston es such as R ubies an d S apphires

, ,

purchased i n En glan d for th at p urpose .

T h e i n terestin g d iscovery of D iamon ds i n the great

masses of meteoric iron fro m the C anyon D iablo in A rizon a , ,

has been described on p 7 3 in con n exion with the d iscu ssion

.
,

of the probabl e origi n of D iamon ds .

 CHA PTER X .

C O LO U RE D D IA MO ND S .

I A M O N D S are foun d of al most e v er y h u e T h e .

followi n g is the order i n which coloured

D iamon d s m ay be ra n ked ha vi ng regard t o
,

th eir rarity an d v al u e 1 R e d ; 2 G r e en ;
—
, ,

3, B l ue 4 , P i n
,
k 5
,
M auve T.here are u n doubtedly
fi n e speci men s n ot i n cl uded i n this classification their ,

t i nts an d shad es bein g so pec ul iar an d v aried that they

m ay better be described i n d ivi d ually than in grou p s .

RE D DIA MONDS .

A l most the on ly sp eci m e n of R e d D iamon d k n own to

j ewel lers is a ge m of a carat weight bought by the author
, ,

an d sol d to th e l ate M r G eorge S amu el for £ 8 0 0

. I t is .

”
k now n as the H alphen R e d D iamon d .

T here are m an y R ose colou r -

ed D iamon ds but the ,

B lood or R u b y R e d speci men j ust descri b ed a ge m on —

fire as it were — is bel ieved to be u n iqu e i n al l modern

e xperience . I u nderst a n d howe v er that a fin e R e d D ia
, , .

m on d was foun d i n B orn eo an d sold , for a l arge su m i n

, ,

P aris but thi s was n ot of so deep a red as the H alphen

, .

GRE E N DIA MONDS .

Th e history of the fi n es t speci me n o f a D iamon d of

thi s colour may n ot be u n int erestin g Fi fty years ago . ,

this ston e was thrown out o f a parcel of E m erald s in

 ha v in g W in

s m
u m erm

k n o wn 75

thi s co le ar . m ay
R OU GH B UE
L D I A M ND
O .
3 . THE B R U N S W IC K B UE
L D IA M O N D (Ro s e C u t ) .

D I A M O N D (B ril l ian t C u t) .
4 . THE PI R I E ”
B UE L DI MA O N D ( B rill ia nt Cu t ) .

3, 4 , Cu t fro m Fr e n c h Bl u B
e ril lian t .
1 3 8 Co l o u re d D ia m o n ds .

app e ar to ha v e been som ewhat flat an d i l l form e d T h e -

.
~

figure giv e n i n our plate probably repre s ents faithfully this

ston e i n its con d ition at the ti me an d is a copy from an ,

old French en gra v in g A fter its p urchase by Le G ran d

.
“

”
M on arqu e it was apparen tly cut I t figured i n a gran d
,
.

historic scen e on the l gt h Febru ary 1 7 1 5 when the Persian , ,

A mbassador app eared b efore Lou is X I V twelve d ays .

,

after h is p ublic en try in to P aris L e G ran d M on arqu e .

-
,

n otwithst an d in g his great age an d in firm it ie s exerted his ,

remain in g en ergy of wil l to a p pear before the illustriou s

stran ger to the best advan tage H e was dressed in a black.

suit orn am en ted with gold , an d e m bro id e d with D ia

,

mon ds stated to cost the al most incred ible esti m a

—
te of
S uspen d ed fro m a l ight bl ue ribbon rou n d
h is n eck he wore a dark B lu e D iamon d as a pen dan t
,
.

A n d we fi n d in the Fren ch regalia, a cen tury l ater a ,

facetted D iamon d trian gu lar i n shape an d of an iden tical

, ,

colou r weighin g 6 7 % carats which woul d be about the

, ,

weight of T avern ier s celebrated pu rchase after it had

’
,

been cut .

T his ston e was with the rest of the Fren ch regalia

, ,

seized i n A ugust 1 7 9 2 an d deposited i n the G arde

, ,

M euble From this i nsecure pl ace i t was s u rrept itiously

.

abstracted i n S eptember of the sam e year W hat ulti .

m ately became of it rem ain s a mystery T hat it should .

have really been lost i s i n cred ible ; an d from the sudden

appearan ce of a ston e of si m ilar character the e x tra ,

ordin ary rarity of which is ack n owledged the b e lief m ay ,

be fairl y en tertain ed that the n ew ston e was on ly T avern ier s ’

ge m re cut an d so altered i n form as to ren der its id e n t ifi

-
,

cation ver y d iffic u l t T his hypothesis receives add ition al

.
 C o l o u r e d D ia m o n d s . I 39

c a m e to l ight without a history wi thout any accoun t bei ng ,

ren dered as to when ce i t cam e an d what had been its ,

travels an d fortun es S ubsequ ently it is traced as th e pro

.

”
perty of the late M r H op e u n der the n ame of the H ope
.
,

D iamon d T h e d i fferen ce i n weight between the origin al

.

ston e of 6 7 g carats an d this act ual ston e of 44 % carats

1 »
, ,

n aturally s ugges ts the question Was the weight lost ,

“

si mply i n the cutter s han d s or w e re on e or more pieces

’
,

”
removed by sim ple c leavage an d p reserved ? T h e l atter ,

supp osition viz that the D iam on d abstracted i n 1 7 9 2

,
.
,

was reduced by cleavage an d formed i n to three B ril l ian ts ,

i s no t i mprob able T his d ed uction is i n deed the more

.

pl ausibl e as T avern ier s D iamon d evidently had on e of the

,
’

cry stallographic faces l a rg e ly p ro du ce d on the on e s id e ,

w hich gave the ston e a drop form a formation frequen tly

“
,

seen i n rough D iamon ds esp ec ially i n coloured ston es ,

( excepti ng always the yel low varieties ) an d lead in g to the ,

in feren ce that the cl eavage plan e must have l ain as i n

the d iagra m b etween A an d B I n .

the fi rs t c uttin g of th e ston e th is

origin al shap e was to som e e x ten t
preserved which left a n il l formed ,
-
,

triangul ar shaped B rill ian t somewhat -

th in on on e s i de Fro m this it would .

h ave been easy for an expert to c leave

g l m d p lm l a trian gular p iece o f about 1 0 or 1 1
S
a o o f B o “,

carats thus l eavin g the s ton e weighing

,

about 56 carats , t h e re cuttin g of which as a perfect -

,

B ril lian t wel l proportioned would red uce it to its p resen t

, ,

weight of 44 k carats I t i s obs ervabl e that the H ope

.
“

D iamon d is even n o w straighter on on e side than the other ,

an d this stren gthen s the presu m ption of the ston e havi n g

been clea v ed as su ggested .
 . Co l o u re d D ia m o n ds .

Th e co rrec tn ess of this hy p ot h esi s wo uld recei v e

c onfi rm atio n if th e p ieces
‘

o r the p i ec e assu m e d to be
, ,

split o ff could be d is c o v ered an d identi fied b ut the ,

di fficulty i n the way of this e v iden ce l ies i n the stron g

p resu mpt i o n of re m a n e ts h a vi n g been also subjected to
re cuttin g an d re pol ishin g
- -
T h e cleft o ff p iece m ust have
.
-

been tria n gul ar at first with a straight sid e correspon din g

,

”
with the si d e of the H ope D iam on d , a s shewn i n the
“

d iagram A fter bein g re c u t it woul d mak e a B l ue

.
-

D i amon d of ”
d rop shape, the base of which w oul d
“

c o rrespon d with the straight sid e of the latter gem ,

proportion ate i n substan ce id en ti c al i n colour (in al l p rob

,

abili ty ) an d weighin g fro m 6 to 7 carats .

A ston e an swe rin g to s uch a d escription woul d sup p ly

stron g presu mptive eviden ce i n support of the theory that ,

the two ston es wou ld be part of the on e origin ally separated

by the cleaver s art an d s uch a ston e did actu ally
’

com e i n to t h e m arket in A pril 1 8 7 4 an d fel l i n to the

'

, ,

han ds of so me com peten t j udges who ex am in ed i t i n ,

j u xtaposition with the H op e D iamon d to which i n colour , ,

an d qu alit y i t bore a re m ark abl e resembl an ce I t was

, .

purchased i n G en eva at the sal e of the l ate D uke of B run s

wick s j ewels T h e con cl usion that the D uke of B run swick s
’
.
’

”
B lue D rop D iamon d once form ed th e proj ectin g sid e
which appears to have characterized the origin al shape of
”
the H ope B rillian t was i n evitabl e a n J I bought th e ,

third p iece in Paris fo r £ 3 0 0 it weighed 1 carat an d was ,

of iden tically the sa m e colou r thus quite accou n ting for ,

the B lue D iamon d stolen i n 1 7 9 2 T his w il l be u n d erstood .

by referen ce to th e figure on the l ast page N o other .

D iamon d of this d ark S ap p hire steely bl u e c o l o u r has to -

m y k nowled ge ever been discovered .

 CHA PTER X I .

B OR T .

E R T A IN D i a mon d s
are fou nd o f i n ferior
qu al ity an d so i mperfectly crystal lized that
, ,

they are usel ess as orn am en tal ston es .

T hese are called B ort or B oort an d are

, ,

e ither crushed to form D iam on d d ust or are u sed for ,

e n gra v in g . B y m i neralogists the n am e B o r t is restri cted

to a form of D iam ond which gen eral ly presen ts the
,

a p pearan ce of s m al l n odules or spherical m asses rough on ,

the outsid e an d d esti tute o f cleavage b ut d isplayin g on

, ,

fra c tu re a radiated i n tern al structu re I t is usu ally greyish

.

white o r of a d ark or e v en black colour an d has a den sity

, ,

a tri fle l ess , b ut a hardn ess d ecid edly high er than that ,

o f ord in ary D iam on d U n d er the m icros c op e it shows a

.

c on fused ly crystall in e structu re .

T h e best k in d of B ort the rou n d is n ow used as an

, ,

a brasive i n rock borin g an d wh en suitabl e fetches even a

-
,

h igher price than the e n tab le D ia mon d the supply n ot ,

bein g equal to the de man d M uch B ort too is c rushed

.
, ,

i n steel mortars an d used i n the for m of powder T his .

powder as w el l as that which i s the prod uce of the

,

op e ration s of cuttin g an d cleavin g rough ston es is aft e r ,

m i x t u re w ith oil employed for pol ish in g D iamond s R ubies

, , ,

S apphires an d other gems

,
.
 CH A PTER XII .

C A R B O NA D O .

s u bstan ce also kn own as Ca roo n a t e o r

H IS ,

”
Ca r bo n“
was d iscovered i n B razi l i n 1 8 4 5
, ,

an d occurs i n s mal l irregu lar m asses of a d ark

grey or even bl ack colou r B oth the n ames
,
.
,

C arbon ad o an d C arbon ate are clearly m isno mers , as ,

c he mically the body referred to is l ike D iamon d G raphite

, , , ,

an d C h a rc o a lf a form of the ele ment C arbon I t appears .

to con sist of an irregu lar aggregate of sm al l crystals an d ,

presen ts on fracture a g ran u lar or crypto crystal l in e -

structure I t is fou n d i n B razil mostly at C hapada in

.
, ,

the provi nce o f B ahia ; an d i n the i slan d of B orn eo ; but

has n ot been fou n d either i n I n dia or at the C ape C a r .

bo n a d o though of sl ightly less den sity than the ord in ary

D iamon d is i m men sely superior to it i n hard n ess
,
I t is .
,

i n truth the hardest k nown substan ce i n n ature , surpass i n g

,

e ven B ort which , i n its best varieties is a t rifle harder than

, ,

the D i amon d .

C arbon ado was at fi rst in trod uced for the purpose of

c uttin g D iamon ds after the sa m e fashion as B ort
,
D urin g .

the last 2 5 years however a n ew a n d most i mpo rtan t

, ,

appl ic ation of this m aterial has been mad e I t i s n o w very .

e x ten sively e mployed for the p urpose of d rilling holes

i n rocks either to recei v e explosives for s u b sequen t
,

b l asti n g, or for prospecti n g in order to discover thei r ,

u n derlyin g strata T h e dem an d that has thus sprun g u p fo r

.
1 44 Ca rbo n a d o .

C arbon ado ,i n operation s fo r gol d m i n in g an d other pur -

p oses has caused it to ris e i n pr ice fro m 2 s 6 d to ,g8 or

, . .

even to £ 1 0 p e r carat .

THE DIA MOND DRILL .

I f steel is used to cut rock s a percussive an d n ot a ,

rubbi n g or cuttin g motio n m ust be give n to it otherwi s e ,

owin g to its d e ficien t h ard n ess the steel itsel f would be worn
,

away rather than the rock as p opularly exe m plified i n t h e

,

ord i n ary grin d s ton e Where deep borings for explori n g

.

purposes ha v e to be m ade it beco mes a di ffi cult m echan ical

,

probl e m to c on struct a m achi n e which shal l satisfactorily ,

i mpart a strikin g motion t o a hea v y steel tool M oreo v er .

,

t h e d i ffi cul ties an d chan ces o f failu re in creas e very rapid l y

w ith the d istan ce fro m the s urface whereas with a , ,

con tin uous rotatory motion it is comparatively easy to bor e

,

t o any depth B orin gs have been e ffected to a dept h o f

~

se v eral thou san d feet with the aid of carbo n n ot m uc h ,

greater d ifficu lty bein g experien ced at the en d than at

the com mence men t of the operation s .

S elected pieces of c arbon are firm ly e m b edd ed in a

r in g o f steel call e d a crown
,
of the size correspon d in g to
,

t hat of the perforation which it i s d esired to bore T his .

rin g i s screwed to a series of lon g hol lo w t ubes whic h are ,

l engthen ed as the wo rk proceed s ; these tubes or rods are

ke pt rot atin g b y steam po w er a n d thei r weight i s s o ,

adju sted that a pressure of h al f a ton c a n be b rought to

,

be a r on the crown when it i s bori ng a 4 l n hole i n n ative

,
-
.

or l ivin g rock T h e crow n rotates so m e 2 50 ti m e s a

.

m in ute an d water i s cont in ual ly p u mping through t h e

,

holl ow rods pass in g un de r t h e cuttin g face of the c ro w n

, ,

to k eep the D iamon d s cool an d to wash o ff an d upward ,

 C H A PT E R XIII .

D I A MO NDS
'

VA L U E OF R OU G H .

val u in g of rough D iamon d s requires m uch

HE
techn ical e x perience an d is qu ite a bus iness
,

of itself .

A lthough the D ia mon ds of a l l parts of t h e

w o rld possess certain characteristics i n co m mon yet the ,

ston es fro m d i fferen t plac es have s pecial pec ul iarities by

wh ich good j udges general ly fi n d themselves at on ce in a
p o sition to decl are the l ocality w hen ce they have been
obtain ed al though they can n ot always de fi n e the grou nds
,

of their j ud gment .

I n val u in g rough D iamon ds it is n ecessary to cons ider

the fo llo w m g poin ts : fi rstly the form an d proportion s of
,

the crystal w hether it can b e cleaved to advan tage ; an d

,

then the loss of weight l ikely to be in cu rred i n c uttin g as ,

a n irregul ar or broken piece obviously requ ires a greate r

sacri fice of weight to form it in to a perfect B rillian t than a

well p roportion ed crystal T h e best form s to choose are
-
.

the octahed ron an d the rhombic dodecahedron C hips or .

spl in ts are ofte n fashioned by the cutter w ith very l ittle

l oss o f weight S econ dly heed m ust be taken to d is
.
,

t in gu is h the degrees of colou r an d purity of the speci m en

, .

I t m ust n ot be forgotten i n esti matin g large R ough

,

D iamon d s es p ecial ly those from the C ape that certai n

, ,

tin ts of colou r m ay be brought ou t i n the c uttin g which ,

d o n o t appear i n the ston e i n its rough state ; thus perfect ,

polish a n d the power of reflection ch aracteristic of the

, ,
 Va l u e of R ang /c D ia m o n ds .

B rill iant , inten sify any tin t of yel low exi stin g i n the st o n e .

T hi s observation does n ot apply to river ston es bu t rather ,

to those fro m the d ry d iggings I n man y speci m en s a .

spot is d eveloped after cuttin g which was n ot visibl e i n

‘
,

the rough T h i s spot m ay appear e v en i n the fi n est

.

D iamon ds an d i s especi a
,
l ly n oticeabl e i n I n d ian ston es .

I t is i mposs ible to quote a stan dard price fo r R o ugh

D iamon d s sin ce the p rice is subj ect to much fluctuation .

Th e re mark un iversally appl icable is that the val u e varies

greatly accord ing to the size the shape the colour o f the
, , ,

s ton e an d its freedo m from flaws

,
.

CA PE ROU GH DIA MONDS .

To those who are not conversan t with the vari o u s

c lasses an d d etail s of the s u b d i v ision of R ough D ia mo n d s
-
,

the fol lowin g class i fication m ay be of service

White C lear C rystals . B right B rown .

B right B lack C leavage . D eep B rown .

C ape White B ort .

Light B ywater . Yellows .

Large W hite C leavage . Large Yellows an d Large

Picked M el ee . B y waters .

C omm on an d O rd in ary Fin e Qual ity R iver S to n es .

M el ee . J agersfon tein S ton es .

B ultfon tein Mel ee . S pl ints .

Large W hite C hips . E m den .

S mal l White C hips . Fin e Fan cy S ton e s ;

M ackel or M acl e ( flat for
roses ) .
 S E C T IO N III .

C O LO U R E D PR EC IOUS STON ES .

CHA P T ER I .

TH E RU B Y .

HE R uby n ot on ly stan d s i n the very foremost

cl ass of coloured gems , but it occupies amon g
Pre cious S ton es in gen eral a position which is
u n question ably supre me B y the A n cients it
.

was regarded as the very type of al l that was m ost prec ious
i n the n atural world an d its value is am ly attested by t h e
p
n u merou s al l usion s to it i n the O ld T estament someti me s ,

u n der the n ame of J asper .

T h e p rice pai d for this ston e by the A n ci en ts was very

high A ccord in g to B enven uto C elli n i in h is ti me a perfec t
.
,

R uby of a carat weight cost 8 0 0 ecus d o r w h ils t a D iamond

’
,
.
,

o f l i ke weight cost on ly 1 0 0 . Even at the pres en t day a

fi n e R uby of 5 or 6 carats m ay be worth ten ti m es the v al u e
of an ordin ary white D iam on d of equal weight for t h e
fo rmer is very diffic u lt to obtain whilst the latter m ay be
,

read ily p rocured .

A l though it is not always easy to d istin gu ish i n

a n cien t writings between the descri p tion of the R uby an d
1 50 Th e R u by .

I n d i a C orun du m occurs i n a great v ariety o f con d itions

.
,

so m e bein g coarse an d o p aque while others are tran sl ucen t ,

or t ran sparent but it is on ly the latter wh ich take r a n k

,

as ge m stones an d c an be u sed for j ewellery

-
, .

A l l form s of C orun d u m are fou n d by the che m ists

to c o n tai n m ore than h al f their weight of the m etal A l u m in ,

iu m T h e oxide of this m etal is c alled A l u m i n a an d i t is this

.
,

s ubstan ce wh ich in its n atu ral state forms the m in eral

, ,

C oru nd u m A s a sil icate A lu m in a forms the basis o f a ll

.
,
'

clay s an d a m ul titud e of other com m o n m in erals an d rocks

,

w h il e as a sul phate i t en ters i n to the c om position of A l u m

”
when ce i n d eed the w ord A lu mi n a i s d erived .

T h e coarse v arieties of C orun d u m are m or e or les s

i m p u re but the tran sparen t crystals e x hibit the A l u m in a
,

i n a s tate of app ro x i m ate p urity bein g u n c on tam in ated —

wi t h an y other substan ce save perhaps a trace of certain ,

m e t a llic o x id e s o n w hich the exqu isite tin ts o f the coloured

,

C or u n du m s d epen d but which are p resen t i n such m in ute

,

qu a n tity a s wel l n igh t o elud e the v igilan ce of the chem ist

-
.

T h o s e C orun d u m s which present a red or redd ish

col o u r a re the tr u e R uby— this ston e bein g someti mes
de sc rib e d in works on m ineral ogy as the Or ie n t a l R u by ,

in o rd e r to distin guish it from s uch ston es as the S pi n el

a n d o thers Th e m ai n fact to be b o rn e i n m in d with
.

r e s p e c t t o t h e d istin cti ve ch a racter of the R uby fro m a ,

'
m in e ralogist s poi nt of v iew i s that it is really a v a r ie ty ,

of c r ys t a ll iz e d A l u m i na I t will be she w n in a s ubseq u en t

.

p art o f this work th at th e S apphire h as practi c ally the

sa m e c h e m ic al co mposition an d the s a m e p h ys ic al char
a c t e rs t h e d i ffe renc e between thes e st o n e s bein g m a in ly
,

o ne o f c olo u r I t is bel ie v ed that t h e fin e c olo u r of the

.

B u rm a R u by is d u e t o t h e presen c e of o x id e o f c h ro m i u m ,

a s so c i at e d in v e ry s m a l l pro p o rtion with t h e a l u m i n a .

 T/ze R u by . 151

When T avern ier i n his fa mous T rave l s d escribes “

"
the R u b y of Pegu he sa y s : A ll other coloured ston es
, ,

i n this c ou n try are cal led by the n am e R u by , an d a re on ly

d istingu ished by colou r ; thus i n the l an guage o f Pegu
, ,

”
the S apphire is a B l u e R ub y With re feren ce to this
.

”
p a ssage the l ate Prof B al l i n his ed ition of the T ravels
,
.
, ,

remarks i n a n ote ; A very l egiti mate syste m of ,

nom enclature as they are al l of th e same chem ical com

,

position viz al u mi n a or corund u m

,
.

C orund u m , in al l its v arieties crystal lizes i n the ,

he x agon al system usually i n d ouble six sided pyramids

,
-
,

but often also i n he x agon al pris ms an d someti m es i n ,

S i x sid ed
-
pl ates or tab ul ar crystals T h e c rystal lin e .

c haracter of the R uby furn ishes e v en in a cut ston e a

, ,

ready m ean s of d istin guishin g i t fro m G arn et o r from

S p in el since the crystall in e struct ure i s closely correlated
with certai n optical properties T h e use of the i n stru men t
.

c a lled the d ic/i ro is cop e ren ders the d isti nction a matter o f
c e rtain ty T his in stru men t enables u s to s ee whether th e
.

g e m possesses the p roperty of d ichrois m that is o f —

,

e x hibitin g two d istin ct colou rs or ti nts when viewed in , ,

d i fferen t d irection s G e m s belon gin g to the C ubic syste m

.

of c rystallization d o n o t e x hibit this p roperty while i n ,

those belon gi ng to an y of the other system s th is d iversity

m ay often be d etected when properly e x a min ed by the
,

d ichrois c o p e be the stone e v er so u n i form i n colou r to the

,

u n assisted e y e S in c e both the S pi n el an d the G arn et

.

bel o n g to t h e C ubic or T esseral syste m they d is p l ay n o ,

d ichroism wherea s the R uby which belon gs to the H e x

, ,

ago n al system is i nvariably d ichroic T h e typ ical B urm a

, .

R u by wh e n e x a m in ed by the d ichroiscop e exhibits on e ,

i m a g e of cr i mson while the other is an auro ra re d colou r

,
-
.
1 5 2 me R u by .

T he colours of the S iam R uby are di fferen t bein g cri mson ,

an d brown ish red -

.

Th e crystals of C orun du m i n cludin g those of R uby an d ,

S apphire are often ill shaped an d rough an d usual ly v ery

,
-
,

m uch rolled T h e cl eavage is accompan ied by conchoidal

.

an d u n even fractu re an d by brittlen ess T h e lustre of

, .

C orun du m i s vitreous but so meti mes pearly on the basal ,

pl an es an d the cry stals when properl y c u t occasion al ly

, , ,

e xhibit a b right opalescen t star of si x rays in the d irection

of the prin cipal axis S uch cr y stal s form the S t a r S t o n e s
.
,

to be n ot iced i n a s ubsequen t chapter .

T h e refractive i nd ex of C orun du m i s 1 7 7 an d there ,

fore higher than that of gl ass ; hen ce the great bri l lian cy o f
the C orun d u m ge m st o n es when properly cut an d pol ished
-
, .

S ir W C rookes has show n that the R uby when exposed

.
,

to electric d ischarge i n high vacuo phosphoresces with a ,

bri ll ian t red glow .

varieties of C oru n d u m can be scratched by the

A ll
D iam on d but by n o other m in eral Th e e x treme hard n ess
,
.

of C oru n du m has suggested its m in eralogical n am e of

A d a m a n t in e Sp a r ; an d it seem s l ikely that the A d a m as
of early G reek writers was not the true D iam on d b ut ,

m erel y a form of C orun du m .

lthough C oru nd u m i s a m in eral which i n its variou s

A ,

form s en j oys a fairly wide geographical d istribution i t is

, ,

rem arkable that the fi n e red varieties are e x tge m e ly rare

an d restricted i n their occu rren ce T h e lo cal iti es yield in g .

the R ub ies o f co m merce are in deed practic al ly li mited to

B urma S iam an d C eylon
,
Even of these local ities i t is .
,

on ly B urm a that has acqu ired celebrity for the fa v ourite

’
ti n t the tru e p igeon s blood colour which always obtain s
,
-
,

the highest price i n the m arket T h e R u bies o f S iam are .

gen erally too d ark an d those of C eylon too p al e

, .
C o ru n d u m is v i

e xhibit a b right
of t h e p rin ci p al
t o be n
.

s ph e re sc e s w it h
brill i an t red glo w .

A ll v ar i eti e s of C o s c rat c h e d by t h
“

Di am on d but by no
,
h a rde n;

t h e A da na
lam on d, b i

blo o d e nli s s , a
t
m al ways o bt ai
m ea n
s
. Th e B e ams o f S i am a
t he se fi fiw t e e p a le .
 B U R MA RU BY .

We igh t , 3 1 84 C a r at s }
.
 Tbe R u by .

of c rystal lin e an d sac c haroi dal l imeston e T h e structure .

o f t h e cou n try has been d escribed by M r C B arrin gton . .

B rown whi ls t the petrology of the R uby rock s has been

,

carefully worked out by Pro f J W J u d d G B The . . .

, .

m atri x or paren t rock o f the R uby seems to be the l i me

,

ston e which in some cases is bol d ly c rystallin e an d in

,

others fi n ely gran ul ar With this li meston e are associated

.

c e rtai n basic rocks such as those k n own techn ically as

,

pyroxen ites an d am phibol ites I t is suggested by Prof . .

J l i dd that the l imeston e h as p robably been p rod uced by

,

the m etamorphis m of the l i me bear i n g felspars i n the basic-

c rystal an d fol iated rocks T h e felspar m ay be fi rst

.

a ltered scapol ite ; an d from th is rathe r u n stable m in eral ,

carbon ate o f l i me m ay even tually be formed at the s am e

ti m e the alu m i n iu m s il icates of the felspars bein g d e c o m ,

p o s ed by n atu ral acid s have su ffered de

,
c ompositi on with ,

fi n al prod uctio n of al u m in a T his al u min a u nder certain

.
,

cond ition s of tem perat ure an d press ure the latter bein g —

apparen tly v ery great has crystall ized out as corun d u m

—
,

which takes e x ception ally the con d ition of R uby T h e .

R uby is thus foun d w ith other m in erals e mbed ded i n the

, ,

l i m eston e a s a matr i x .

B y the d isi n tegration of t h e matri x t h e R ubies an d ,

S pin e l s have been set free an d are n ow largely found as ,

r o l l e d cry s tal s and d erivati v e fragments a mon g the d etrital ,

m atter w hich i s abu ndan tly d istribute d o v er the val leys ,

al o n g t h e h ill sides an d on t h e floor o f the l i mestone

-
,

c a v ern s A brow n or y e l lowish c lay k n own locally as

.
,

By o n seems to be t h e typical R uby bearin g earth

,
- .

I n 1 8 8 7 when work in g the m in e s an d be fore t h e C o m

, ,

p any w as formed th e au
, thor obtain ed fro m B urm a a

c u riou s ro u gh R uby weighin g 49 carats an d c ons isting

, ,

of a flatten ed aggre gate of i ll d e fin e d cryst a ls B etween -

.
 Tbe R u by .
55

som e of the compon en t crystals there was a wan t of

conti n uit y givin g rise to an aperture which looked l ike
,

an artificial perforation through t h e ston e .

T h e occas ion al d iscovery of a very fi n e R uby is re

“

cord ed i n the an n als of B urm a m in in g G n a ga B o h .

“
,

or T h e D ragon Lord is the n ame give n to a R uby foun d

,

at B a w ba d a n weighin g i n the rough 4 4 carats an d when

, ,

cut 2 0 carats T h is ston e which is said to be the fi n est

.
,

o f its si ze ever seen was given by the fi n d er to Kin g

,

T h a ra w a d is .

A n other very fi n e ston e weighin g i n the rough 1 0 0 ,

carats was foun d on Pin gu d o u n g H ill soon aft r T hee

,
e
baw ascen ded the thron e an d was presen ted to hi m by ,

O o dwa gee at that t i me Woon of the R uby M in in g

- -
,

d istrict A s several ro y al rubies have at various t i mes

.
“

been foun d o n this hil l the C o mpany establ ished work ,

i n gs there wh ich ga v e at fi rst m uch prom ise of s uccess

, ,

but afterward s t urn ed out v ery d isappoin tin g .

T h e two most i mportan t R ub ies ever kn own i n Europe ,

were brought t o this cou ntry d urin g the year 1 8 7 5 O n e .

was a rich coloured ston e, cus h ion shaped weighin g 3 7 -

,

c a rats ; the other, a bl un t d rop shape o f 4 7 carats , , .

I t was deemed advisable to h a v e these ston es re cut ; -

a n d th e work was en trusted to the late M r J N Forst e r . . .

,

of London who re cut the ston e of 3 7 carats to 3 2 156 and

,
-
,

t h e on e of 47 carats to 3 1 5 8 9 T hey were m uch i m p roved .

t h ereby an d com p e tent j ud ges p ronoun c e d them t h e

,

fi n est ston es of their si z e yet seen the colou r bein g truly ,

m agn ificen t T h e s mal ler ston e o f the t w o w as sold

.

abroad for the l arger on e fou nd a purchaser o n

the C on tinen t for T h e fact of two suc h fi n e
ge m s appearin g n t e m o rane o u s ly is u np arall eled i n the
p
hi s t ory of Precio S ton e s i n E uro pe I t is questi o n able .
,
1 56 Th e R u by .

h o we v er if the Lon don m arket would ever h ave seen these

,

t ruly royal ge m s but for the necessities of t h e l ate B urmese

G overn ment I n B u rma the sale of these two R ubies
.

cau sed i n ten se exci tem en t a m il itary guard bein g con

,

s id e re d n ecessary to escort the person s conveyi n g the

package to the vessel T w o s uch R ubies are n ot to be
.

fou n d i n any E uropean regal ia .

T here are ho w ever som e very celebrated an d histori cal

, ,

R ub i es stil l on record Fo r example on e of the size o f

“

a pigeon s egg i n the R u ssian R egalia was presen ted to the

’

E mpress C atheri n e b y G ustavu s I I I of S weden when on .

,

a vi sit t o S t P etersburg i n 1 7 7 7 C hard in speaks with

.
, .

ad m iration of a R uby cut on c a bo cbo n of great beau ty an d , ,

of the size an d form o f h alf an egg havin g the n am e of ,

Tbe lt L epay en graved on the en d .

I t is kn own that the great historical ge m i n th e

I mperi al S tat e C rown i n the T ower of Lon don kn own as ,

T h e B lack Pri nce R uby is n ot a R u by but a m a gn ifi

, ,

cen t S p l n e l I t is cu t e n c a bo cbo n an d has a hole d rilled

.
,

through it n ow fil led u p by a plug of sim il ar ston e T his

,
.

ge m was presen ted to the B lac k Prin ce by D o n Ped ro the ,

cru el Kin g of C astile an d w as worn in the hel met of King

,

H en ry V at the b attle of A g in cou rt

. .

T h e fi n ds of really re markabl e R ubies i n B urm a have

n ot been n u m erous i n the past few y ears either by the ,

C o mpany or by n ative l icen sees

, T h e C ompan y have o f .

cou rse foun d m any val uabl e an d fi ne s ton es but on ly on e

, ,

of truly s urpassin g excellen ce ; thi s was a R uby fou n d i n

the T a go u n gn a n d a in g m in e i n J anuary 1 8 9 5 an d weighed , ,

i n the rough 1 8 11s carats ; the few B urm an s to whom it

was shown said it was the fi n est ston e t hey had ever seen ,

an d the experts in Lon don were equal ly del ighte d with i t .

I n the su m mer of 1 8 9 5 a R uby weighin g 9 7 3 carats

,

was foun d by a B urman m in er i n the I n go u k valley close

 1 58 Th e R u by

are of d ark c olo u r but con siders that ma n y ind i v id ual

,
“

”
ston es m ay be said to riv a l the best B u rm a R ubies I n this .

opin ion the author after much experien c e i n d ealin g with

, ,

R ubies both fro m B urm a an d S iam fu l ly c o n cu rs

, , .

T h e R ub y m in es of S iam are ch iefly s ituated i n the

Provin ces of Ch an t abo o n an d Krat an d can be reached ,

by steamer fro m B angkok i n less than twen ty hou rs .

R ubies are also foun d i n the S apphire m in es of B a t t a m bo n g .

I t appears that the higher parts of th e moun tain s i n these

d istricts con sist o f greyi sh gran ite a n d th at the rest of ,

the coun try i s largely com p osed of li meston e Th e precious .

ston es o ccu r i n d etrital matter an d h ave been worked

,

in a pri m iti v e m an n er by m ean s o f pits n on e of which ,

e x ceed 2 4 feet i n depth T h e work in gs i n the Provin ce of

.

Krat have been visited and reported on by M r D i metri .

,

from whose report some of the fol lowing d etails are taken
T h e R uby m ines i n that p rovince con sist o f a l arge
nu mber of workin gs i n two prin cipal groups about 3 0 ,

miles fro m each other kn ow n as the m in es of B 0

,

Nav o n g an d B o C han n a T h e B o Na v o n g m in es cover

.
,

ing an area o f about 2 square m iles i n cl ud e thousan ds ,

of hol es two to four feet i n d epth n ear the village of B a n

, ,

Nav o n g A coarse yello w or brown s an d form in g the

.
,

surface of the cou n try rest s o n a bed of cl a y an d at the

, ,

j u nction is the R uby bearin g gravel formin g a stratu m from

-
,

si x to ten in ches t hick T h e B o N av o n g m in es have been

.

worked for the l ast fiv e an d twen ty years an d the R ubies

- -
,

whi ch the y have yielded are of a fi n er qual ity though u sually ,

s m aller than those of the other work in gs T h e group of

,
.

B 0 C han n a m in es is situ ated about thirty m iles in a north

easterly d irectio n fro m B o Nav o n g .

A n excellen t descript ion of the R uby m in es has -

recently been publ ished by M r H Wari ngton S myth who

. .
,
 Tbe R u by . 1 59

was for some years D irector of the D epartmen t of M in es

i n S iam H e con sid ers that the R ub ies have probab ly
.

been derived from t h e d isin tegration of certain basalt ic

rocks which formed their m atrix T h e prin cipal R uby
, .

wo r ki ngs are n ow at B o W e n an d T aphan H in i n

”
,

C h a n t a bo o n a n d at B 0 Yan N a v o n g an d Klon g Kwan g

, ,

in Krat R ubies are al so worked at H o Klon g Klon g Yai

.
,

an d el sewhere on the east s ide of the Kao P atat

,
.

Prof H Louis has also desc ribed the R uby d epos i ts

. .

o f M oun g K lun g between C h a n t a bo o n a n d K rat H e

,
.

con s iders that the ge m s ton es have been d erived fro m

the decompos ition of the trap rocks which occu r so largely ,

i n the d istrict .

T h e S apphi res which are of far more i mportance i n

,

S iam than the R u b ies wil l be ful ly described i n a s u b

,

s e qu en t chapter .

CE YLON R U BI E S .

Fro m t i me i m m em orial the isl an d of C eylon or ,

T a p roban e as it was termed by th e cl assical writers o f

a n tiqu ity has bee n famou s for precious ston es T hese are
, .

foun d i n th e form o f rolled crystals an d rou nd ed fragmen ts

in detrital d eposits i n th e v all eys s p read over the lowlan ds
, ,

an d i n the san d s of rivers S hal low p its are d ug by the

.

n atives i n these dep osits an d the gem ston es separated,

fro mthe associated earth by si mply washin g T h e prin cipal .

local ities for the s ton es are i n the n eighbourhood of R atn a

pura or the “ C ity of G ems an d R a k w e n a T h e ge m
, ,
.

ston es in c lud e various k in ds of coloured C orun du m but ,

S apphires are m uch more com mon th an R ubies M oreover .

,

the C ey lon R ubies a re usually of pale colou r be i n g rose ,

coloured rather than decided ly red are of only s m al l value , ,

a n d are in fact g e n eral ly spoken of as fanc y co l oured

,

S app h ires .
 T/z e R u by .

RU BIE S FROM OTHE R LOCA LI TI E S .

A lthough B urma S iam an d C eylon are the on ly

,

cou n tries which have h itherto yield ed R ubies i n qu antit y

,

o f any co m mercial i mportan ce it m ust be remembered that ,

red or redd ish C orun d u m has been foun d i n m an y othe r

local ities an d it seem s l ik el y that the R u b y en j oys a wider
,

geographical d istributio n than i s gen erall y ad m itted .

A t J agdalak , 3 2 m iles east of Ka b ul R ubies were ,

systematicall y worked by the A m ir of A fghan istan I n .

1 8 7 9 the m in es were visited by M ajor G S tewart ; and .

from speci men s suppl ied by hi m it app e a rs accord in g t o , ,

M r F R M allet that the R uby occu rs there i n a whit e

. . .
,

crystallin e m icaceous l i meston e .

M aj or M oriarty on his retu rn fro m C abu l brought t o

, ,

this coun try a R uby weighin g 1 0 } carats from the m i nes

, 7 ,

of G a n d a m a k i n A fghan istan which are situated about

, ,

3 0 degs N .l at an.d 7 0 degs . E ,

lon g . . .

From T h i b et the a u thor on on e occasion receive d a

l arge p iece of rough R u b y weighin g 2 0 0 0 carats form in g
, ,

a fla t t is h slab , measu rin g on on e face 3 in ches by 2 5 in ches .

I t was however opaqu e an d silky an d when cut y ielded

, , ,

on ly S tar S ton es R ubi es have al so been foun d i n th e

.

Mysore d istrict an d some c ut by the author s d irections

,
’

have tu rn ed out bright ston es b ut of s m al l size an d of n o , ,

value the prin cipal part bein g only C oru n du m .

R ubies of s mal l size an d of very l ittl e valu e have

occasion ally b e en fou n d i n so m e o f the ti n an d gold bear i n g -

gravel s of A ust ralia I n N ew S outh Wales they are

.

recorded from th e C udgegon g an d so me of its tributaries ,

an d fro m M udgee an d a few other localities I n Victoria .

the R uby occurs in the d rifts of the B eechwo rth gol d fie ld s -

,

at P aken ham an d elsewhere A m agenta coloured C o r

,
.
-

u n d u m m ore or less opaque

,
is kn own i n Victori a u n der
,
 CHA PTE R II .

TH E RU B Y MI N E S O F B U R MA .

LL attem pts to l i ft the veil of mystery which

had en shrouded the fam ous R uby M in es of
B urma sin ce the ti m e when they were first
,

brought to the kn owledge of Eu ropean s in the

fi fteen th cen tu ry had been utterl y fruitless un til after ou r
,

formal an nexation of Upper B urma i n the begin n in g of ,

18 86
. Up to that ti m e we were profou n dly ign o ran t o f the
c on d itions un der which the ge m ston es occurre d i n this -

i n accessibl e cou n tr y ; the m in es havin g been jealously

g uard ed fro m Eu ropean s an d rarely ,
i f ever visited by ,

a nyon e p o s s e s s in g a com peten t kn o w led ge of mi n eral ogy .

S oo n afte r the an n exat ion of Upper B urm a the author ,

o f this work ,
u n der circu mstan ces which wi ll b e fully
e xplain ed s ubsequently applied to the I n d ian G overn men t
,

fo r a concession of m in in g rights i n the n ewly acquired

territory D uri n g the n egotiation s his s on M r G eorge
.
, , .

S kelton S treeter, M r C B il l . an d M r B eech were

.
, .
,

perm itted to accompany the fi rst m il itary expedition to

the R uby m in es I n M u rray s M ag a z in e for Ma y 1 8 8 7
.
’

, ,

an article was publ ished on the subj ect which had pecul iar ,

i nterest since it was written at the m in es an d was the fi rst

, ,

d escription which had ever appeared from the pen of any

E uropean expert i n gems person al ly acquai nted with the
,

ston es a n d with the di strict .

M uch of the followin g d escription o f the m in es i s ,

fro m the pen of M r W S L o o kh a rt C E who resided at

. . .
, . .
,
 Tbe R u by M i n es of B u r m a . 16 3

the m in es for n earl y two years as E n gineer l n C hie f to t h e - -

B urma Min in g C ompan y Ltd an d thu s obtained a ver y,

.
,

i n tim ate kn owledge o f the n ative methods of workin g .

The R u b y min es D istrict of Upper B urma is a

-

l arge political division b ord erin g on the l eft or eastern

,

b an k of the I rrawaddy but the S ton e tract proper i n ,

-
,

which m in in g for R ubies is carried on as a recogn ized

i n d ustry exten ds over an area of about 4 0 0 square m iles
, ,

havin g as its trade cen tre the n ative town of M ogok with
-

the n eighbourin g town ship s of Kyat pyin an d Kathe -

.

Th e S ton e tract is moun tainous throughout bu t between

-
,

it an d the I rrawad dy there is a stretch of low j un g l e

c ountry or terai som e 3 0 m iles wide in the flat portion o f
, , ,

”
which although n ot i ncluded i n the S ton e tract som e
,
“
-
,

m in in g on a s mal l scale is carried on by the n atives .

Mogok itsel f lies a b out 1 0 0 m iles n orth of Man dala y

an d 6 1 m iles by road east of the I rrawaddy I t is sit
,
.

"
u at e d i n the more easterl y portion of the S ton e tract -
,

but i t is the chief cen tre of the min in g in dustry -

.

T h e cou ntry m a y b e descri b ed as a den se mass o f

forest j ungle risin g range after range above the ter a i
-
, ,

an d broken on l y here an d there by al l uvial patches at

the botto m of the valle y s cultivated for rice T h e el e , .

vation o f M ogok itself i s n early 4 0 0 fe e t above sea

l evel an d the mou n tain peaks about it run up to n early
,
-

d ouble this .

T h e M i nes may be divid ed i nto three classes

T h e Tw in l o n e or pit H my a w d w i n or hillsid e wo rkin g
-

,
-

a n d the L o o d w in the c avern or cave m in e

-
, T h e fi rst -
.

s y stem i s practised i n the val ley b otto m i n the d ry -

weather T h e b ottoms are p erfectly flat and below an upper

.
,

s tratu m o f all uvial soil at a d epth varyin g from 1 5 to 2 0

,

feet is fou n d t h e bed of by on or R uby bearin g earth

,
“
-
.
 1 64 Tbe R u by M in e s of B u rm a .

I t s th ickn es s is gen eral ly 4 or 5 feet th ough a t ti mes it ,

t h in s out to only a few i n c hes , an d it is al most invariably

w e t an d soft T h e m i ner com m en ces o p eration s by d rivin g
.

p iles down into th e u n derlyin g so ft earth to for m the

” ”
sides of his p it or twin T h e twin s are either 9 hole
.
“ “

or
“
4 hol e twin s accord i ng t
,
o thei r size an d th e con
s equ ent n u mber of cross struts requ ired to S up p ort th e
-

s ides T h e piles havin g been d riven as far as p ossibl e

.
,

t h e ea rth in side is d u g out an d the p iles themselves caulked

with grass an d leaves t o keep out water T h e struts are .

p u t in eve ry 3 feet an d work i s carried

, on between them ,

a secon d set of piles bein g d riven as requ ired in sid e the

fi rst an d the work d escen d in g i n this man n er u ntil t h e
,

byon has been extracted an d t h e A bna n or s ubstratu m “

u n m istak ably reached .

Fo r hoistin g the B urman uses the old fashion ed balan ce

,

c r a n e k n ow n al l the worl d over but con structs it cleverly

, ,

o u t of bamboos an d it certain ly an sw e rs its p urpose most

,

ad m irably Wi t h t hese cran es water is baled out i n st i ff

.

c lose m e shed baskets about I O i n s

-
square a n d the byon .
,

in l ittle rou n d pl iabl e on es s o m e 6 o r 8 in ches i n diameter .

H a v in g e x tracted the byon i n thi s way it i s p iled i n a ,

h eap and , o n a con ven ien t d ay is eit h er washed on t h e

, ,
“

spot o r carried to a n eighbourin g stream a c cordi n g t o the ,

su p ply of water a v ailabl e Th e a p p aratu s for washin g .

con sists merely of a wooden troug h about 5 feet lon g an d

large enough fo r a man to stan d i n : T h is is set i n the
groun d an d a stream of water led t h rough it T h e lower .

en d is roughly closed with a fe w l arge s ton es to retard the

o v erflo w an d the byon is then fed i n an d kept al ive by
,

being con stan tly thrown to the head of the trough by a

man with a broad tool like a hoe I n this way the water .
-

an d l igh t stu ff are c arried away an d the washed san d is

‘
1 66 Tbe R u by M i ne s of Bu r m a .

l ess v alue T his bed havin g been fou nd a space is c leared

.
, ,

an d the water supply so arranged by the clever u se o f

ba mboos that i t falls i n a spray fro m a con sid erable height
,

on to the cleared space or washi n g floor which is occasion

al l y p a v ed but n ot usual ly O n to this floor an d u n d er
,
.

the fall in g spray the sti ff byon is thrown as it is c ut an d

,

fi n ds its way down in to the tail water by which the clay -

,

an d a good deal of the l ighter m in eral s are carried away

an d the washed san d deposited the process being exped ited ,

an d assisted by m en with hoes station ed at i n tervals alon g

the chan n el A t con v en ien t s p o ts deeper p ools are formed
.

out o f which the san d is l ifted i n the flat baskets already

referred t o washed a t the su rface of the water an d han ded
, ,

up to a picker who i s u sual ly the head m in er or h is w i fe -

.

T h e rej ected san d is thrown i n heaps an d i t is the privilege ,

of the women an d girls of the vil lage to p ick t h ese heaps

o v er an d to wash for what they can fi n d in th e tail water
,
-

after it h as l eft the m in e proper .

T h e third class of m in es the L o o d w in s or Loos , ,

are ca v e workin gs a n d are e x ceedin gly i nterestin g an d

, ,

general ly v ery p rofitable to the m in ers A l most al l the .

mountain ran ges ha v e a base of l i meston e co v ered with

-
,

the red marly c lay or v egetable soil I n the outcro p s of .

the l i meston e the entran ces to the ca v es are general ly

,

foun d T h e ram i fication s of these caves are end l ess

.
,

e x tend in g i n s o me i n stan ces for m iles an d wher e as at ,

so m e p oin ts t h ey are so con tracted that i t i s on ly with the

ut most d i ffi c u lty a m in er can work his way through in ch ,

by i n c h lyin g at ful l l ength an d d rawin g a s m all basket o f

,
-

byo n t ied to on e toe beh in d him a t others they open out

, ,

i nt o i m men se v au lt ed chambers i n which the e ffect of th e ,

l ight fallin g on t h e brillian t white wal ls an d glisten i n g

o v er ar c hin g roof is very striking
-
.
 Tbe R u by M i n es of B u rm a . 1 67

Amay be supposed work i n thes e cavern s is atten ded

s

with con siderabl e d an ger an d it i s on ly attempted by men

,

thorou gh ly accusto med to it Frequen tly the 10 0 takes the

.

form of a vertical s h aft p e rh ap s a couple of hun d red feet d eep ;

,

someti mes it 15 a d ee p undergrou n d chas m at the botto m ,

o f which subterran ean waters m ay be heard dashin g an d

b oilin g i n the darkn ess T h e air too is at ti m es so foul as
.
, ,

to m ake it i mpossibl e either to work or to keep l ights bu rn

i n g while on the other han d e v en i n the deepest places it is
,

someti m es fresh an d clear often with a curren t stron g

,

en ough to blow a l ight out T h e byon is of a far m ore

.

san dy n ature than i n either the twin s or h m y aw s an d ,

though there are gen erally fewer stones, they are better as
to size and qu al ity .

When the B urma R uby M in es Ltd started work in ,

.
,

18 89 great resu lts were e x p ected fro m the appl ication

,

o f E uropean sk il l an d capital to an an cien t i n d ustry which ,

had been con ducted pre v iously i n on l y a pri m itive fashion .

T hes e e x pectation s were n ot howe v er i m mediately real

, ,

iz e d . S everal p l ans of work in g were tried on e after ,

an other but wer e n ot successful Even tually a real ly e ffi

,
.

cient though extremely si m p l e p lan of workin g the

al l uvial d eposit in t he v al ley was i n trod uced Powerfu l .

pu m p s remo v e the water from the pit s an d the top soi l ,

-

ha v in g been discard e d the stratu m o f R uby e art h or byon

,
-
, ,

is ru n away i n t ru cks to rotary p an s an d a p ulsator a s ,

i n the D iamon d m in es of Ki mberley T h is plan wa s .

fi rst practised i n a smal l v alley n ear Kyat pyin called -

,

T ago u n gn an d a ig .

I n a dd ition to the C ompany s own operations the ’

,

”
R uby S ton e tract is v e ry largely m in ed by th e origin al
-

in habitan ts who pay a royalty to the C ompany T hese

, .

m in ers seem to p ro s p e r a n d it is satis factory t o n ote that

,
1 68 Tbe R u by M in e s of B u r m a .

the rel ation s between the m an d the C ompany s o ffi cers are ’

of the most friendly character S in ce the C ompany com .

m e n c e d work i ng the town s of M ogok an d the villages of

,

K athe an d Kyat pyin have in creased an d prospered i n a

-
,

most remarkabl e man n er .

T w o or three years ago there was a d iscov e ry of R uby

bearin g grou n d n ear M ogoun g the old penal settlemen t ,

i n the n orth of B u rma n ow reached by a rail w ay T h e

, .

cen tre of the n ew workin gs is th e v illage of N a nyaseik ,

54 m iles from Mogoun g I n A pril

. 1 8 6 there were about
9 , ,

”
1 0 0 0 m en at work i n the n ew S ton e tract d iggin g o n
“ -
,

the T w in lo n e an d Lo o d w in system s i n the m idst of a d e n se

,
.

j ungl e T h e con dition s u n der wh ich the R ub ies occur are

.

described by D r Warth as sim il ar to those of Mogok ; but

.

th e ston es are said to be mostly flat an d to e x hibit a ,

peculiar frosted appearan ce R ubies ha v e also been re

.

ported from other local ities n ear M ogoun g .

I n add ition to t h e workin gs n ear M ogok an d

~

Mogoun g there are also R uby m i n es which hav e lon g

,
—

been worked on a s mal l scale a t S agyin about 1 5 m iles

—
,

to the n orth of M an dala y w h ere a beautifu l white m a rble

,

1 5 also foun d an d worked especially for sacred i m age s .

17 0 Tbe R u bV M in e s of B u r m a .

W h ilst in Paris on e morn in g i n D ecember 1 8 8 5 I was , ,

takin g bre akfast i n the saloon o f the G ra n d H otel when ,

t w o gen tle men sittin g at the sam e t able happ en ed to b e

talki n g abou t the R uby m in es of B urma T hey referred .

to a lease which was to ha v e been gran ted by Kin g

,

T h e e ba w t o certai n Fren ch men con ced in g the right o f ,

work in g the m in es but which i n con sequen ce of the B ritish

, ,

o c cupation o f the cou ntry h a d n ever been sign ed N atu r

, .

ally feel in g d eep i nterest i n such a subject I joi ned i n the ,

con versation with the result that I was afterward s in tro

,

d u c e d to t h e p arties i n treaty for the con cession It .

a pp eared that M essrs B o u v e ille in C o had petition ed

. .

the king to gran t the m the sole right of m in ing for R ubies ,

i n con sideration of an an n ual paymen t of three l a k hs o f

rupees T hey further agreed to pay four years ren t i n
.
’

ad v anc e an d to make a p resen t of on e l akh to the kin g

,
.

T h e B urmese A mbassadors in Paris had gran ted a p ro

V15 1o n a l concession an d this I ultim ately obtained together
, ,

wi th a l l the docu men ts relatin g ther e to but bein g of n o ,

v al ue they were return ed to P aris .

On my return to En gl an d I i m med iately placed ,

mys e l f i n c om m u n ication with the I nd i a O ffi ce with the ,

vie w o f obtai n in g a con cession o f the R u by m in es i n

Upper B ur ma O n D ecember 2 4 I was o fficial ly i n formed
.
,

by Lord H arris that i t was for the G o v ern men t of I n dia t o

decid e upon my a p plication an d i t was s uggested i n the ,

sam e letter that I should com mun icate directly with the
,

S ecretary o f the Foreign D epartmen t at C alcutta A fter .

som e further correspon d en ce it was agreed that I should

,

s e n d a n accred ited agen t to the I n d ian G o v ern men t with

the View of p erson ally e ffectin g t h e n e go c ia t io n s

. .

A ssociatin g m ysel f with thr e e frie n d s we formed a ,

 Tbe R u by M in es of B u rm a . 17 1

syn dicate to carry out ou r en terprise an d en gaged the ,

se rvices of C aptain A ubrey Pat t on ( n ow M aj or P atton

B eth un e ) as ou r represen tative I n J an u ary 1 8 8 6 C aptain .
, ,

Patton started for I nd ia on ou r behal f furn ished with a letter ,

-

of in trod uction from Lord H arris to Lord D u fferin who was .

then Viceroy O n arrivin g at R an goon ou r agen t foun d

.
,

that M ess rs G illa n d e rs A rbuthn ot

. C o of C alcutta an d
,
.
,

R an goon i n conj un ct ion with an em in en t j ewel broker of

,

Lon don had already m a de an o fle r to the G overn m en t for

,

a lease of the R uby m in es at the an n ual ren t of two lakhs

of rupees T his offer the G overn men t was d isposed to
.

accept ; but our represen tative who had fu ll d iscret ion ary ,

powers made an o ffer of three l akhs whereupon th e

, ,

Viceroy telegraphed hom e for en quiry as to the bo n d fid e s

of my syn d icate T h e I n d ia O ffice sen t i n reply a favour
.

a b le tel egram ; b ut n otwithstan d in g th is assuran ce the ,

I n d ian G o v ern men t after some fu rther n egotiation s de

, ,

cided to i nvite p ubl ic ten d ers .

H a v ingreason to bel ie v e that se v eral competitors

might appear we deemed it exped ien t to in crease ou r
,

offer an d fi n al ly ou r ten d er was m ad e for fou r l akhs of

,

rupees O n A pri l 1 5 1 8 8 6 a telegra m from the Foreign

.
, ,

S ecretary i n I n d ia i n formed ou r rep resen tative that his

ten der on our behal f had been con d ition ally accepted by
, ,

the G overn or i n C ou n cil .

It was decided i n J u ly 1 8 8 6 to despatch a , , ,

military expedition to the m in es an d the G overn men t ,

of I n d ia wrote to ou r agen t suggestin g that a re ,

presen tative of the syn d icate shoul d accom p any the

force A ccord in gly my son M r G eorge S kelton S treeter
.
, ,
.
,

with Co lo n e l C h a rl e s B ill M R an d M r R egin ald B eech

’

, , .
,

the three me mbers of my syn dicate started at on ce , .

 T/z e R u by M in e s of B u rm a .

of the agree m ent by the S ecretary of S tate for I n di a

he obtain ed the C hief C om m ission er s sanction to hol d an ’

ordin ary m in in g l icen se H e l ikewise obtain ed the m o .

n o p o ly of p urchasin g ston es i n the R uby t ract o n paym en t

o f an a d v a lo re m d uty of 3 0 per cent; to the I nd ian
G overn men t S hortly afterwards he ret urn ed to M an d a
.

l ay e u r o u t e to England leavin g M r A t lay at M ogok

, ,
.

to carry on m i n i n g work at the m in es an d to purchase

R u b ies on behal f of our syn d icate M r A t l a y thus l eft to . .
,

himsel f soon fou n d th at he was exp osed to m uch treachery

,

an d that he was powerless to preven t s mu ggl in g by the

m in ers .

M ean wh ile d i fficu lties had aris en at home as to gran tin g

the con cession N otwithstan din g the l ar ge su m of mon ey
.

which we had expen ded s in ce we had been the accepted ,

con cession aires of the G overn men t of I n d i a the S ecretar y ,

of S tate i n C oun ci l d eclin ed to rati fy the p rovision al agree

men t u n ti l he had obtain ed defi n ite in formation as t o
,

the val ue of the m in es an d as to the protection of n ativ e

rights With the V iew of ascertain in g th e valu e it was d e
.
,

cided to sen d fro m E n gl an d a M in in g G eologist to repor

upon the m i nes an d their proba b le yield A ccordi n gl y .

M r C B arrin gton B ro w n was com m ission ed to proce ed

. .
,

t o B urm a an d he re ached the R uby min es on J an uary

,

10 ,
18 88 .

T hose
who were acquai nted with the workin g of the
machin ery behin d the scen es were n ot altogether without
'

a n expl anation of the remarka b le change of attitud e

toward s ou r S y nd icate A n en terprise of so roman tic a
.

n at ure as the exploratio n of the fam ous R u b y m in es o f

B urm a could n ot fai l to attract much public attention an d
b oth i n P arl iam en t an d i n the Press at home an d in I n d ia , ,
 17 6 Tbe R u by M in e s of B u rm a .

for the con cession were laid before the H ouse o f C o m

mons H e m ad e n o appl ication un ti l M arch 1 8 8 6 and
.
, ,

t hen p resen ted h i msel f t o t h e C hief C om m ission er o f

Bu rm a as the agen t of a S yn dicate i n Pari s an d as t h e ,

”
mouthp iece of certai n u n n a med Eu ropean ca p ital ists .

T hese words are quo t ed fro m a telegram fro m th e Viceroy

to Lord C ross dated J u n e 5 1 8 8 7 and this same telegram
, , , ,

referring to the con dition al agree ment with our S yn d icate ,

concluded with th e n o t ewo rthy expression We s e e n o j ust

grou n ds for ca n cellin g th is agr eemen t B u t st rangely .

en ough Lord C ros s the S e c retary of S tate th ereu po n

, , ,

tel egraphed to the Viceroy : M ake n o arran gem en t w ith

”
anyon e withou t s ancti on fro m hom e I t i s d i fficu l t
.

to recon cile such in stru ction s fro m Lord C ross wi th t h e

state men t i n Lord H arris s l etter to m e t hat t h e c o n
’

ces s io n was a m att er for the G o v ern m en t of I n d i a

to d ecid e
I t w as n atural ly w i th m uch su rp rise an d disa p poin t
men t t hat we foun d the I n dia O ffi ce s u dden ly adoptin g
a n ew policy an d p racti cally can cell in g t h e a ct ion of t h e
,

V iceroy Lord D u fferi n T h e fact s eem ed to be ign ored

, .

th at we had obtai n ed the con d ition al con cession s impl y

be ca use we had ma de the highest ten der T h e suspicion .

”
of a job havin g be en pe rpet rated was u tt erly groun d less .

A fter ou r ten der had bee n accepted i n I n dia we h ad ,

i n c u rred extrem ely heavy fi n an ci a l r es po n s ibi lit ies whilst ,

our representatives who h ad gon e as p ion eers to th e

,

m in es wen t u n der con d ition s of great d i fficu lty an d

,

d anger to t h e i nj u ry o f their h ealth an d at the i m m in en t

, ,

p e ri l of t h e ir l ives Yet all ou

. r cl ai m s l ega l an d m oral , ,

were sudden ly i gn ored by the G overn men t at home !

I t is pleasin g to record that on t h e o ffi ci al publi
cati on o f th e corres po n den ce in the B l ue B oo ks p ublic “
,
 Tbe R u by M in e s of B u r ma . 17 7

opi n ion v eered rou n d i n ou r fa v ou r an d Tire Ti m e s ,

of A ugust 1 7 th 1 8 8 7 an d most other papers publ ished

, , ,

articles upon the u n fair treatmen t which we had recei v ed

fro m the E nglish G overn men t wh ilst s peeches favourable ,

to our in terests were d eli v ered i n the H ou s e of C o m mon s .

T h e lease fro m the G o v ern ment was signed on

February 2 2 , 1 8 8 9 ; an d shortly afterwards T h e B urm a “

”
Ruby M in es Lim ited — a C o mpany to whi c h t h e lease
, ,

h ad by permission be e n assigned
, was brought out by
, ,
—

Messrs N M R othschild and S on s Fo r an a c cou n t of

. . . .

the issue the reader may be referred to Tbe Ti m es of 2 7

, ,

February 1 8 8 9 , .

W ith the formation of thi s the m an age C o m p any ,

men t of a ffairs passed out of my h an ds and my d ire c t ,

c on nection with the R uby M in es of B urm a c eased I am .

con sequ ently i n n o way respon sible for t h e d isappointi n g

resu lts whic h ha v e hitherto atten ded the C ompany s ’

operation s A t the same ti me I do n ot h esitate to

.

reiterate my belief that t h e B urm a R uby M in es i f skil ,

fu lly d irected an d well m anaged will yet be a highly ,

re mun erative en t e rprise B u t i n ord er to secu re s uccess

.

it is of fi rst i mportan ce that the managemen t shoul d be

in the han ds of those who ha v e had e x perien c e i n the
spec ial manipul ation an d cu tting of ge m ston es Not on ly -
.

should the C o m pany prosecute its own m in in g operation s

with vigour but it should have at th e m in es an d also i n
,

M andal ay e x p erts e mpowered to p urchase rough ston es

,

fro m the n ati v e m iners and d ealers ; an d I feel assured that

if these were purchased with d iscretion and j ud iciously cut ,

i n this coun try a n ew an d i mportan t source o f pro fit

,

wou l d be opened u p su ffi c ien t to p lac e the C om p any at

,

once on a fi rm d ividend paying basis -

.
17 8 Tbe R u by M i n e s of B u rm a .

Themore i mportan t fi gures of the l ast five years

workin g which are given belo w will sho w the p osition an d
, ,

progress of th e C ompan y .

Lo a s d c d u
G ro ss o st p e r E x p e n it re R e n t p ai t o d R o y al t i es c
B al an e o n
w ash e d l o ad ( e x c l u s iv e cu
( e x l siv e G o v e rn m e n t c d u
re e i v e fro m R by Tra in g d
cc u
. .

o f re n t ) . o f re n t ) . Nat iv e s. A o nt .

5 . d .
,5
29 2} 5
8 10

3 9%
3 1

I a t

In c lu d e s £
J 23 , 8 2 4 d e p r e c i a t io n o f Ma c h in e ry , 85 0 .

I t is satisfactory to note that with i mproved m ethod s ,

of workin g a l arge in crease i n the yield of R ub ies has

,

recen tly been obtain ed M oreover several i mprovements .

,

are in course of d evelopmen t n otably the i mportation o f ,

electrical machinery which wil l ten d to ren der the workin g

,

more e fficien t an d econ om ical T hus the water o f t h e .

Mogok river is to b e uti li zed for p ro v id l n g electrical powe r

to pu mp the mi nes an d also to work gen eral ly al l the
,

machin ery ; an d it has been said that after a ll p u mpin g , ,

i s the real cru x of R uby m in in g .

T h e di fficul t n ature of the coun try may be i m agin ed

when it is stated that i t took se v en teen d ays fo r t h e
ele c trical pl an t t o traverse seven teen m iles .
 1 80 Tbe S app/z i re .

som e assu m e a redd ish or p urp le colo ur an d occas ion al ly

“

have the hu e of the A methyst ; the latter bein g v ery rare

”
are very val uable and are k nown as O riental A methyst
, .

While the typical colour of S apphire is bl ue it should ,

be expl ain ed that the term S apphire is e x ten ded by m i ner

a l o gis t s an d j ewel lers to C orund u ms of other colours .

T hus we may have g re e n S apphires a variety which was

, ,

at on e time regarded as a mongst the rarest of precious

ston es ; other S apph ires m ay presen t various shades o f
y e l l o w an d g y
re whilst ,
others a gai n m ay be entirely d esti
tute of colou r thes e pure w bi t e S apphires bein g sometim es
m istaken , when skilfully cut, for D ia mo n ds I n fact t ran s .
,

paren t C orun du m s fi t for j ewel l e ry m ay be ran ged i n t w o

grou ps those of red or reddish colours be in g cal led R u by ,

an d t hose of any other tin t passin g u n d er the design ation

of S app /z ire . T h e colours an d shades of S apphire a re
very n u merous .

A lthough S apphires enj oy a fairly wide geographica l

d istribution thos e which presen t the stan dard colou r o r
, ,

the true corn flo w e r bl ue are by n o m ean s co m mon Th e

-
, .

prin cipal S apphire yield ing localities n ow worked are i n

-

S iam B urma C ash mere C eylon A ustral i a and the U n ite d

, , , ,

S tates . Each of these local ities will b e separately d escribed

i n the course of this chapter Th e S apphires o f S ia m are
.

the fi n est at presen t i n the market ; those of B urm a are too

dark or black ish ; C ashmere has yielded so m e very fi n e
ston es but others are on ly greyish bl ue ; while those o f
,
-

C eylon are usually too pal e i n colour to be of great valu e ,

though occasion al ly very fi n e S apphires are foun d there .

Large deposits of S apphire occur i n M on tan a but the ,

ston es are mostly of gree n an d other fan cy ti nts though ,

sometimes peacock blue T h e S apphires of A ustral i a are

-
.

generally too dark an d fu l l o f i ron an d n ot at presen t o f ,

much co m mercial sign i ficance .

 T/z e S afe /t i re . I 81

most i mportan t S apphires kn own i n Eu rope are

Th e
two magn i ficen t ston es which were e x hibited i n the Lon don
Exhibition of 1 8 6 2 an d i n the Paris E x hibiti o n of 1 8 6 7 , .

T h e l arger is a ston e of a somewhat oval form of a dark , ,

slightly in ky colou r, free from d e fects I t w eighs about

, .

2 5 2 carats an d was c ut fro m the rough by M r Loop in

, .

1 8 40 .T h e other though a s mal ler i s a richer coloured

, ,

ston e I t was brought to this coun try from I nd i a ( I nd ian

.

c ut ) i n the year 1 8 56 I n its origi nal form it was a badly .

shaped s ton e weighin g 2 2 5 c arats with a large yel low flaw

, ,

at the back which marred the ston e by castin g a green

,

reflection i n to i t I t was placed i n the han d s of the l ate

.

M r 1 N Forster successor to Loop who re cu t it re

. . .
, ,
-
,

moved the defects an d made it a spl end id ge m of 1 6 5 ,

carats T his which is by far the fi nest S apphire of the

.
,

size i n Europe was sol d i n P aris , an d is esti mated to be

,

worth fro m to
I n the jard in d c s Pl an tes i n Paris is a S ap p hire , ,

weighing I 3 3 T € carats an d without spot or fault T hi s

1
,
.

ston e is said to have been origin al ly foun d i n B en gal by a

poor m an ; it subsequently came i nto the possession of the
H ouse o f R aspoli i n R ome who i n their turn left it to a
, , , ,

G erm an prin ce who sol d it to the Fren c h j ewel merchan t

, ,

Perret for J5 6 8 0 0
, ,
.

I n the la t e H ope C ollectio n there was a large S apphire

of a rich colou r which retain ed its beauty as wel l by
,

cand le as by d aylight A nother in the O rlean s C ol le e .

,

tion was cal led in M ad am e d e G en l i s tal e e S aphi r

’
.
,
.

M er v eilleu x .

N otwithstan din g the e x trem e h ard ness of the S apphire ,

ther e are some beauti fu lly engraved speci men s of this gem
stil l i n existen ce I n the C abi net of S trozzi i n R om e is a
.
, ,

S apphire a masterp iece of art , with the profile of H ercules

,
 '

I 82 T/ze S app /z z r e .

‘‘
e ngraven on it by C u e i u s A very rem arkable an d famous
,
.

S apphire belon gin g to the M archese R in u c c in i weighin g

, ,

fift y three carats has a representation of a h un tin g scen e

-
,
”
engraven u pon it with the in scription C on stantius A u g
,
.

A m ong a n u mber of old fam ily j ewels there w a s foun d

by the author a few years ago a S apphire beautifully ’
,

engraved with the crest an d arm s of C ardin al Wolsey .

T h e val ue of S apphires is very m uch determ in ed

by s p ecial circu mstan ces ; colour p urity an d s i z e m ust be, ,

taken in to con sideration when fi xin g the s u m to be paid .

T hose i mperfection s which appear at t im es i n the

S apphire ; an d which lessen its val ue are cloud s m il ky , ,

half opaqu e spots white gla s sy stripes ren ts k n ots a con

-
, , , ,

g g
r e a t i n
g of colou rs at on e spot an d silky lookin g flakes
,
-

on the t able of the ston e Whenever a S apphire o b tain s

.

a pu rple tin t it is an un failin g in d ication of the presence of

the silk y defect som ewhere i n the ston e I f a green ish tint .

”
b e observable then a m ilky flaw wil l probably be de
,

t e c t e d on careful examin ation .

S I A M S A PPHI RE S .

S om e
of the fin est S apphires are obtain ed at the
presen t d ay from certain m in es i n S iam T he y occu r .

principal ly i n the Pro v in ce of B at t a m bo n g where they ,

have been system atical ly w orked on ly withi n the l ast

few years an d the y are also foun d associated with R ubies , ,

i n C h a n t a bo o n an d Krat M any of the ston es yield ed

.

b y these m in es presen t an un rivalled velvety bl ue colour ,

an d it fortun ately happen s that the S apphires of over on e

carat i n weight are b etter i n colour an d i n gen eral qu ality
t han s maller ston es A lthough the min es h ave on ly been
.

regularly work ed for about th irty y ears the occurren ce of ,

S apphires there was p ro ba bl v kn own to the n at ives lon g

previously .
1 84 Tbe S apph ire .

also t h ose of C hion g Kawn g i n the Lao S tates n ear , ,

B urm a. T hese S apphire depos i t s were d iscovered by s c m e

-

B urm ese S han diggers in 1 8 9 0 T h e ge m gra v el is here .

-

fro m s to 1 8 i nches thick an d is associated with basalt

, ,

from w hich the S apphires were n o d oubt d eri v ed U n .

fortun ately the S apphires were m ostly either too d ark or

t oo p al e i n colour an d i t is belie v ed that the workin gs are
,

now n early d eserted .

B U RMA S A PPHI RE S .

I t is well kn own that S apphires are fou n d asso c iated ,

with R ubies in Upper B urm a b ut they are n ot very

, ,

com mon an d are usually of a d ark colou r When Mr .

A t l ay worked the R uby m in es for the author before the ,

formation o f the C o mpany he frequen tly obtain ed S a p ,

p h ire s in association with the R ubies M r G S S treeter . . . .

on on e occasion visited a fa mou s m in e which h ad yielded

S apphires but fou nd it in a very d an gerous con dition the
, ,

surrou n din g rock at the top bein g so rotten that he had to

be secured by mean s of rop es .

A lthough the B urmese S apphires are n ot gen erally

of very fi n e qual ity th ey occur of larger size than the
,

associated R ubies an d occ as ion ally presen t exception al

,

di men sion s A bout 2 0 years ago a S apphire of 8 2 0 carats

.
,

was foun d at Py o u n g G oun g ( B ern ard myo ) an d w a s e x ,

h ibit e d for some ti me as a curiosity at Kyat Pyin I t was -

.

purchased by G n a Myo then S o T h u gy i of Kyat Pyin

,
-
,

for rupees an d was accepted by Kin g T h e e baw in

.
,

lieu of a paymen t of monopoly ren t of rupees .

A S ap p hire weighi n g n early 4 0 0 c a rats fou n d a t ,

B a w bad a n was purchased by O o dwa gyi the Woon of

,
- -
,

the R uby tract for , rupees an d after passin g into ,

T h e e baw s po s session was sold to M oun g B a a dealer in

’

, ,
co m m o n an d are usu ally of

form at io n o f the C o mp any ,

h i e s i n asso c iatio n w it h
p r

on on e o cc asion v isited a

he had to

th an the

u gy i of K y at Pyin ,

K in g Thre w» , m

by M w w i, t he W o on of
'

fin“
ru pe e s, an d aft
p asser
i n g i nto
p o s se ss m n , was so ld to Mou ng B a a d e al er t
, ,
 '

T/ze S app iz z re . I85

Man dalay for ,

rupees I t wa s then cut si m i lar to .

a b rill iant and red uced i n weight to 1 2 0 carats an d was

, ,

ulti mately d isposed of i n C alcutta .

T h e fi n est S a p phire ever seen i n B urm a was du g u p

in Kin g M in d o o n M in s reign at V e t l o o village betwee n
V ’

, ,

Kyat Pyi n an d K h abine I n the rough it w eighed 2 5 3

-
.

c arats an d when I n dian cu t 1 6 1 carats I t was pur

, , ,
.

chased for the kin g for rupees an d p assed ulti mately ,

in to the han d s of T h e e ba w .

CASHME RE S A PPHIRE S .

A rem arka b l e d iscovery of S apphires was m ad e

about 2 0 years ago i n the C hinab val ley of the H i ma
,

l ayas of C ashmere ( Kashm ir ) A ccord ing to the R e v . .

A W H eyde a Moravi an m ission ary w h o was for m any

. .
, ,

years residen t in Lahu l t h e y were first d iscovered by a

, .
j

' '

s /z z k a rz about the v ear 1 8 8 0 I t a pp ears that a lan ds lip .

had l aid bare th e rock an d exposed the S apphires T h e

,
.

p recise locality was lon g kept secret but fro m in formation ,

received by the au thor there is n o doubt that it i s s ituated

b etween the t w o vi ll ages of S o o nja m an d M achel , i n the
n eighbourhood of Padam or Padar T h e exact spot seems ,
.

to be d i ffic ult of access an d t o be s ituated at a gre a t,

ele v ation n ea r the l i mit of perpetual s now

,
T h e sur .

round in g rock s con sist of gn eiss with i ntercalated crystal ,

lin e l i meston es d ippin g to the east at an an gle of about

,

4 0 degrees Th e gn eiss con tai n s G arnets and is in tersected

.
,

b y vein s of granite i n wh ich th e C orun d u m occu rs ,

associated with m uch T ourmal in e T h e S apphire s were .

fou n d loose amon g the gran ite detritus i n the s id e of a ,

val ley high up on the mou ntain s

, .

By far the greater n u m b er of the S apph i res were

‘

fragments of crystals more or less roll ed A description of .

186 T/ze S app h i re .

the crystals was published soon after the d iscovery by Mr , , ,

F R Mal let i n the R ecord s of the G eological S urvey o f

. .
,

I n d i a H e poin ted out that the crystal s were mostl y

.

double hexagon al pyramids often i rregular i n shape m uch , ,

flatten ed a n d deeply furrowed with horizon tal striation s

, .

A l arge n u mber were m ilk y an d of pale bl uish grey colour ,

-
,

”
while m an y were rend ered i mperfect by silkiness Th e .

S apphires were i n man y cases pen et rated by d ark b rown

and green T ourm alin e S pecim en s preserved i n the author s
.
’

collection o f rough Precious S ton es exhibit these characters .

S om e of the C ash mere S apphi res are of ver y fi n e

colou r b ut m any are depreciated i n val u e by a slight
,

opa c ity an d are streaky i n a stron g light

, .

T h e d iscovery of S apphires i n C ash mere is said to

have t aken place in this w ise Near the spot where the .

”
ston es are foun d l ived a B h ot Lamba or m on k wh o “
, ,

fi rst observed a pal e bl ue vein in the rock H e broke o ff .

.

pieces an d exchan ged the m with traders for sugar an d

tobacco carefully con cealin g from when ce he obtain ed
,

his treasures S ubs e quen t ly he disposed of a quantity

.

to som e Lahul m en who took the m to S i mla O n e piece

,
.

said to have been a b ou t a foot lon g an d three or fou r i nches

i n C i rcu m feren ce he was persuaded to give to on e of h is
,

brotherhood i n order to have a S hib or i d ol m ade o f it

,
.

A l apidary w h o was to m ake i t i nto an idol fi ndin g i t ,

extremely hard cam e to the con cl usion it m ust b e of

,

val ue ; an d showed it to an offi cial who decided to ,

sen d it to the M aharaj ah of C ashmere at ju m m o o O n ,

.

en quiry being mad e a messenger was d es p atched to b rin g

,

the La mba who foun d the ston e a n d he was forced to ,

disclose the locality where he obtained it T h e Maharaj ah .

i m med iately sen t a respon sible o fli c ia l an d a stron g gu ard

to protect the place u ntil the actual v al u e of the d iscovery
,

should b e k nown .
 Th e S app h i r e .

A ccordin gto the Cey l o n Obs e r ve r of M ay 4 1 8 8 9 , ,

,

there had been recen tly fou n d a mon ster blue S apphir e ,

the shape of a p iece of j aggery weighin g d own in the ,

scales 1 7 rupees .

MONTA NA S A PPHI RE S .

A lthough i t is on l y rec en tly tha t the i mportan ce of

th e S apphire m in es of M on tan a has b een recogn ized the ,

existen ce of the ge m stones at this local ity has l on g been

-

kn own I n working the gol d beari n g d rifts of the M issouri

.
-

r iver n ear H elen a M on tan a there were foun d n u mbers of

, , ,

c uriously shaped stones which attracted the atten tion o f

-

the gold min in g pion eers ; but after casual en qu iry it was
-

stated by jewellers th at the y were n othin g m ore than

quartz an d con sequen tly of n o val ue T h e restless gold
, .

seeker d id n ot therefore troubl e to col l ect them an d after

, ,

the failu re of the s upply of water he moved on to what ,

he thought more pro mising fi eld s , an d t h e cu rious crystal s “

were forgotten A few of them h owever were carried awa y

.
, ,

by the wan derin g m in ers an d ulti m ately foun d their way to

,

the j ewe l lers of Ne w York where they were recogn ized as ,

S ap p hires an d the fi n e ge m stones after cu ttin g fou nd a

,
-
, ,

sale at good prices .

I t is stated by M r G eorge B Foote on e of the . .

,

pion eers of H elen a that the fi rst d iscovery of the s e

,

gems was m ade at E ldorado B a r i n D ecember 1 8 6 5 , ,

.

T h e earliest scien tifi c referen ce to the ston es was from

the pen of the l ate D r J Lawren ce S m ith the em in en t
. .
,

m in eralogist who in a paper con tributed to the A m e ric a n

,

y e a rn a l of S c ie n ce for S eptember 1 8 7 3 c alled atten tion to , ,

the existen ce of the S apphire i n N orth C arolin a an d

M on tan a T erritory .

T h e Mon tan a S apphires usual ly presen t the form of

hexagon al tabular cry stals more or less roll ed many bein g , ,
 Th e S app h ire . I 89

fractured an d spl intered a n d di fferin g somewhat from the

,

ord in ary S apphir e crystal s of other w el l kn own l ocalities -

w here the prevailin g form is that of the doubl e hexagon a l

pyram id T h e M on tan a ston es presen t al most all colou rs

.

an d shades i n clud ing green s viol ets yellows bl ues an d

, , , ,

pin k s T h e variety of delicate t in ts is extraordin ary ; an d

.

when wel l cut the brillian cy of the ston es is re markable

, ,

b ein g i n ferior on ly to that of D iamond s M any of t h e ,

s ton es h ave trian gu l ar m arkin gs som ewhat si m ilar to those ,

o n the D iam onds of S outh A frica I t is n otable that som e .

of the S apphires of gree n an d light bl ue shades becom e

pu rp le or red by artificial l ight T h e lapidaries who have .

cut them pron ou nc e the ston es to be un usu ally tough an d ,

their extreme hard ness will en a b le them t o s ustain wea r

without loss of lustre T heir brillian cy an d beaut y shou ld
.

brin g the m in to favour with al l lovers of true gems T h e .

d i fferent forms o f crystal an d their colours are repr e sen ted

, ,

i n the accompanyin g pl ate .

Th e author o n visitin g the property min ed se v eral

, ,

thousan d carats of ge m ston es A m on g them he foun d a

-
.

very curiou s crystal of S ap phire with a red ston e e mbedd ed

i n the centre (see plate ) T h e S apphires are most p le n t i
. .

ful at or n ear the bed rock of the old river terrace s or bars
- -
,

many of which are fro m 1 0 0 feet to 2 0 0 feet above the _

presen t chan n el T hese d ry river terraces are for th e most

.
-

part covered with al luvial d eposits of s an d an d gravel ,

a few in ches to 2 0 feet in t h ick n ess A l l this .

tus carries gold i n payin g quan tity an d a ,

aul ic apparatu s is al l that is required to min e

a p id ly an d cheaply for both S apphires an d gold .

T h e rocks i n the vicin ity of the m i n es are l i meston e ,

quartzite an d dark argillaceou s slat e probabl y of Lower

, ,

S il u rian age T h e bed rock of the bars or river terraces

.
- -
,
 190 Th e S app h i re .

is a d ark friabl e sl ate broken through by eru p ti v e dykes

, , ,

i n some places hornblend ic and d ioritic i n other places ,

quartzos e A t on e p o m t n ear the ri ver the dykes ap p ear

.
,

to b e trachytic an d porphyritic with amygd ul es an d dark ,

mica A t other points the dykes are m ore l ike grey l ava
. .

P rof H A M iers has described on e of the dykes as a m ica

. . .
,

augite an desite T h e dykes contain S apphires G ar nets

-
.
, ,

and other m i n erals in wel l d e fin e d crystals an d in ro u n d e d

,
-
'

m asses I t is evid en t that the d en udation of these dykes

.

has set free the S apphires a n d other ston es n ow foun d , ,

loose i n the gravels with the gold .

S apphires have recen tly been d iscovered at Yogo

G ulch on the judith R iver an d elsewhere n ear U tica in
, , ,

Mon tan a S om e of the Yugo G ulch ston es are of d eep

.

colours i n cl ud ing c o rn flo w e r an d peacock bl u e

,
T hei r .

mod e of occurrence has been described by M r Ku n z .

,

whilst the character of the crystals has been studied by

M r P ratt
. T h e S apphires have been traced to certain
.

i gn eous dykes composed o f a rock recogn ized by M r Pirs s o n .

as a d ark basic la rn p ro p h y re an d he believes that the ,

S apphires were actually form ed i n this rock as a tr ue

m atrix .

A U STRA LIA N SA P PHI RE S .

T h e S apphire is foun d i n m an y p arts of A u stralia ,

b ut the ston es are usually of too dark a colou r to be o f

val u e for j ewellery I n the wide spread auriferous dri fts
.
-

of the go ld fie ld s of Victoria the S apphire is by n o m ean s ,

an u n com mon mi neral Probabl y it has here been d erived.

fro m the basaltic rocks which by their d isin tegration have ,

yielded most of th e con stituen ts of the gol d bearing -

gravels .

T h e S apphire is also wid ely d istributed i n N ew S outh

Wales especially i n the N e w En glan d d istrict where i t
, ,
 19 2 Th e S app h i re .

ha v e as yet yielded on ly very few ston es which are fi n e

en ough to be cu t for purposes of jewellery but it i s by n o ,

mean s i mprobable that when a l ower depth i s reached the y

may furn ish S apphires of better qual ity .

I n 1 8 9 6 M r W F Ferrier of the G eological S u rvey

, . . .
,

of C an ada called attention to the occu rrence of C orun d u m

,

in the town ship of C arl ow i n the n orthern parts of H ast

,

’
in g s C ou nt y T h e m ineral had previously been d etected
.
,

bu t was gen erally regard ed as apatite or as pyro x en e .

S ubsequent i nvestigation by M r B arlo w an d others proved .

”
t h e ex istence of a great C orun d u m belt stretchin g for a ,

length of abou t 3 0 m il es with an average wi dth of 2 m iles

,
.

Th e C orund u m is u sually foun d i n c rystal s an d irregul ar

masses someti mes of large size, e mbedd ed i n dykes of a
,

felspathic rock l ike p egmatite, ru n n in g through the

,

Lau ren tian gneis s an d it has al so been d iscovered i n

n ephelin e syen ite associated w ith the gneissose series
-
,
.

M ost o f the C an adian C oru n d u m i s of brown ish or

greyish colou r but occasion ally it is blu e an d i n the tow n ,

ship of B ru d e n e ll it p resents variet ies of green ish yellow ,

an d even rose red tints though the last is extremely rare

-
, .

T h e most S apphire l ik e varieties hitherto foun d have been

-

obtain ed fro m the town ship of M ethuen in Pe t e rbo ro u gh ,

.

C ounty .

S om e of the C an adian C orun d u m which I have had

c ut has yield ed s m al l cabochon S apphires of fair colour .

'

5 A P p H 1 R E:

Co mp o s it io n A l u min a .

4 ,
or thereabouts .

H a rd n e ss 9 .

Sy s t e m oC
f yr s t a l l iz a t io n H e x agon al .

six s ided py
D ouble -

ra m id s , o r
'

pri sms usu ally as rolled crystals .

 are fine

is rea ch e d th e y

th e G e o lo gi cal S u rve y
x m m ee of C o ru n d u m
a m en t a rt s of H e st .

length ofa bou t 3 0 m il e s

,

Th e C o ru n d u m is
m as s e s s o meti mes of larg e
,

g y
re s i
h
y e ll ow
and e ve n y rare .

u nd h av e be e n

sa t! w e wai :
f

M arin a .

4 .
!a t h e re a bou ts .

M is s in
g- s id ed py t
W ide ax:pri sm s
,
usually as ro ll e d c ry s t al s .
 CH A PTER V .

S TA R S T O N E S .

E R T A IN varieties o f C orun d u m especially the ,

greyish blue sem i tran sparen t S apphires when

- -

cut e n e a ho e h o n shew a star of l ight m ore or

, ,

less perfect reflected fro m the convex surface

, .

S uch stones are therefore com mon ly called S i a r S t o n e s ,

whil st by the A n cients the y were d esign ated A s t e r io s .

A ccordin g to Pl u tarch the R iver S a n ga ris prod uced a ge m

,

called A s t e r which was l u m i nous i n the d ark an d was

,

kn own to the Phrygian s as B a l le n or T h e K in g ,

A gem
“
.

called A s t e r i l e s fou n d inside a huge fi sh cal l e d P an from

,
“
,

its resemblan ce to that god i s als o described by Ptolem y

,

H e p h m s t io n
. T h e term A steria h a s been u sed by d i fferen t
authors i n various senses at various ti mes ; but there can
be n o d oubt that Pl iny u nderstood by it the sam e gem t hat
we d o n ow A purplish S t ar S apphire was kn own to P liny
.

”
as the Ce ra u n ia or Lightn ing ston e an d it was probabl y
,
“
-
,

the s a rrie ston e that was te rmed A s l rap ia .

T h e O ptical phen o men on presented by star st on es i s -

k n own as A s t e r is m an d its cause i s to be sought i n the

,

in tern a l structure of the crystal ; al l the S tar S tones ex -

h ibit in g a p ecul iar l am in ated texture an d gen eral l y p re ,

sentin g on the basal plan e a s y ste m of fi n e striation s

, ,

rel ated to the d irection of the lines of l ight which form by ,

their intersection the chatoyan t star I n the S tar S a p .

p h i re s there seem to be three sets of structural pl anes the ,

edges of w hich in tersect at an gles of an d when a

O
I 94 S lar S Z
o n es .

tran sverse section of a hexagon al pyram id i s mad e ,these

lin e s are seen as trian gular stri ae Fro m each set of paral lel
l ines a n arrow tran svers e l u m in ous ban d i s reflected an d ,

th e crossin g of these three ban ds of light produces a star

of s ix rays O ccas ionally a secon dary syste m of l in es is
.

apparen t thus givin g rise to a twel v e rayed star G reat

,
-
.

skil l is required o n the part of the lapid ary in d ealin g with

such ston es to prod uce the most effective result .

A lthough the m aj ority of A sterias are S apphire the ,

same optical phenomen on is occasionally exhibited b y

other ge m s T h e pu rpl e an d redd ish C orun d u ms when
.
,

j ud ic iously cut shew A steris m thus formin g S t a r R a bie s ;

, ,

an d in l ike m an n er we m ay have S t a r E m e ra ld s a n d S t a r
Ga rn e t s .

T h e O rien tals
have ever en tertained a pec uliar ven era
tion for S tar S ton es but on l y of l ate years have they been
,

of any val ue i n E n gl an d T h e fi n est S tar R uby lately

.

seen was valued at £ 2 0 0 T h e price of these gem s is

.

m ain ly determ i ned by qu al ity an d colour ; s mal l S t ar

‘

S apphires range fro m 2 upwards S tar R ubies obtain .

higher prices b ut S tar stones of a secon d ary ran k are of

-
, ,

little val ue .
196 Sp i n e l B a l as
’
ana .

from the tru e or O riental R uby with which it has be e n ,

someti mes con foun ded I t may als o be d istingu ished by .

its in ferior hardn ess an d specific gravity , .

A pecu l iarity of S pin el is that the l ight which is

reflected fro m the depth of the gem n o m atter what the ,

colou r of the ston e is always of a pal e yel low T h e l us tre

, .

is vitreous an d the gem d isplays every d egree of tran s

,

p a re n c y T h.e refraction is s i mple I t is rend ered electric .

by friction but n ot by heat d i fferin g i n the latter respec t

,

fro m T opaz which i s d istin ctly p y ro electric

,
-
.

I n the I n tern ation al Exh ibitio n of 1 8 6 2 there were

two very fi n e S pin el s ; on e fro m I nd i a was cu t e n ca bo ch o n
form in g an octago n shaped ston e of p erfect colou r an d free
-
, ,

from flaws I t weighed 1 9 7 carats T his was cu t to an

. .

8 I carat
-
perfection ston e
“
T h e other S p i n el was also .

”
an octagon shaped ston e of perfect colour very s pread
-
, , ,

an d free fro m flaws I t weighed 1 0 2; carats an d was .

,

re cut weigh in
-
, g after cuttin g 7 5
2 carats I t i s stran ge that -
.

both th ese s ton es arrived fro m I nd ia i n the sam e year ,

viz 1 8 6 1
.
,
.

I n the R uby m in es of Upper B urm a S pin el is a very ,

com mon m in e ral form in g i n m an y cases a con sp icuou s part

,

of the ge m bearin g d etritus Fi n e octahed ral crystal s have

-
.

been foun d embedded i n the calcspar in which the true ,

R ubies occur and it is al so foun d i n beauti ful ly sharp

,

octahed ra an d i n flat he mitrop e c ry stals of s mall size

, , ,

associated with R ubies i n the R u b y earth -

.

S pin el also occurs i n A fghan istan i n c rystal l in e

m icaceous l i meston e T here are famous min es of B alas .

R ubies at B adakshan i n Usbekistan a p art o f T artary ,

.

T h e m ines were k nown to the E mperors of D elhi T hey .

are n ear the O xus not far fro m S h igh n a n T here is a

,
.

b elief amon g the n at ives that two large R ubies always

l ie n ear each other thus it is that the fortunate fi n der o f
 S p in e l and B a las .

the on e hides it u n til he has fou nd a twi n ston e ; fail in g

this they are said to break the large on e i n order to
,

keep u p the superstition .

S pin els are foun d in A ustral ia especial ly in N ew ,

S outh Wales where they are by n o m ean s u n co m m on in

auriferou s d eposits as o n the C udgegon g, Peel M acqu arie
, , ,

S evern an d other rivers w h ere gem ston es are fou nd as

,
-

rolled pebbles in the gravel s or drifts ,

.

T h e B a la s or B a l a is R uby is a d ark variety of S pin el

, ,

with a tinge of blue appearin g at the an gles of the octahed ron ,

wh ich gives it a m ilky kin d o f shi m mer T h e col our is .

”
pro b a b ly d ue to chrom ic acid T h e n am e B al as or
.
“

B a l a k s h appl ied to t h is s t o n e , is said to be a corruption

of B ad akshan o ne of the localities which as stated above
, , ,

yields the S pin el .

P l e o n a s t e is an opaque black variety w h ich was called ,

Cey l o n it e by R om e d e l I s l e who an al yzed it with a n u mber

’

, , ,

of other crystals brought fro m C ey lon I t was H a il y who . ,

seein g its form resem b led that of the S pi n el desired to ,

give it a special position i n h is syste m of m in erals an d ,

n amed it P le o n a s t e which sign ifi es s u p e rflu it y

, Further .

i nvestigation showed that it was in reality a black S pinel ,

A bl ack iron spin e ! kn own as H e r cy n i t e occurs i n

-
, ,

the form of rolled crystal s as a frequen t co mpan ion to the

S apphires of S iam , an d is termed by the gem d iggers n in -
.

S P IN E L .

Co mp o s z t i o n — A l um in a
M agn esi a

Sp e c ific g ra o i ly
Varies from 3 59 i n an au rora red speci'
-

m e n to 3 7 1 i n on e of in d go bl ue colour -
.

( P ro f C hurch )
. .

H a rd n e s s b etween 7 an d 8
I sometric or C ubic .
 CHA PTER V I I .

TH E E ME RA LD .

HE E merald fro m a m in eralogist s poin t of ’

view belon gs to a class of stones altogether

,

d i fferen t from that which embraces the

p recious ston es al ready d escribed in as m uch ,

as it is essen tially a m in eral s il ic a t e con sistin g l argely of

,

the substan ce k no w n to chemists as S ilica T h e silica is .

itsel f an oxide of an elemen t termed S il ic o n I n the .

E merald the sil ica is comb in ed with the oxides of two

metals on e o f them bein g a l u m in iu m the basis of the
—
,

R uby an d S apphire ; while the other is an exceed in gly

rare metal kn o w n as g l u c in u m or be ry ll iu m Th e former
, .

nam e is derived from the sweet taste of some o f its co m

”
poun ds fro m the G reek word for sweet whilst it
“

receives the latter fro m its occurrence i n the B eryl .

just as it was shown that the R uby an d the S ap p hire

are i d entical save i n colou r so th e chem ist has foun d that
, ,

the E merald the B eryl an d the A quamari n e are practically

, ,

the same m in e ral the d istin ction s between the three varie
,

ties bein g d ue to d i ffere n c es of colour an d other character

is t ic s of on ly t rivial val ue to the chem ist though of i m men se
,

i m p ortan ce to the j eweller as a ffectin g their com mercial

val ue.

T hat the true Emerald was known to an d held i n ,

esti m a tion by the A n c ients m ay be i n ferred fro m the fact

, ,

that ornaments of E m eralds ha v e been excavated from

Pompei i an d H erculan eu m ; that s i milar orn amen ts have
20 0 Th e E m e ra ld .

as B as a lt Porphyr y A m eth y sts an d E m e ra ld s

, , T hey ,
.

fashioned these last w h ich were fou n d very l arge i nto

, ,

m an y c urious an d fan tastic forms E lsewhere (vol i ii . . .

,

p. in d escribin g certain spoils he m entions a large ,

E meral d c ut i n pyramidal shape of so extraord in ary a

“
,

”
s ize that the base was as broad as the pal m of th e han d
, .

A n d i n an other pl ace ( p 2 8 7 ) m en tion is m ad e of fi n e

.

E m eralds of a w o n d e rfu l size an d b rill i an cy which h ad ,

been cut by the A ztecs in to the shapes of flowers ,

fishes an d other fan tastical forms

,
.

I n the M an ka V a lley of Peru the n at ives appear to

h ave paid d ivin e hom age to a m agn ificen t Em eral d of the
size o f an ostrich egg wh ich the y n am ed the god dess
,

of E m erald s T h e priests en han ced the val u e by dis

.

pl ayin g it on high festival s on l y when it was al leged , , ,

Em erald s were peculiarly accepta b l e to the idol and thu s ,

the temple cam e i n to p osses ion of a vast n u mber of s

these costly gems which o n the d iscovery o f Peru by the

,

S pan iard s fel l in to the han d s of th e conquerors ; b ut

,

" ”
Pizarro an d his followers l ike bad lapid aries writes
,

P urchas broke many to fragm en ts suppos in g they would

, ,

possess th e ad aman tin e property of th e D iamon d .

A fter the d iscovery of Peru E meralds became l ess ,

rare i n E urope an d j ewellers an d lapid aries m uch pre

,

ferred the Peruvi an ston es ; hence the most beauti ful of

Emerald s are always called S pan ish E m eralds joseph .

D A c o s t a who himsel f visited th e E merald m in es of

’

N ew G ran ad a an d Peru , said that at fi rst these s ton es

cam e to E urope in such n u mbers that on the ship in w hich ,

he return ed fro m A merica to S pain i n 1 5 8 7 were two chests , ,

each contai n in g on e hundredweight of E meralds .

T h e E merald is foun d cry stallized i n si x sided prism s -

or col u m n s witho ut stri ation s an d therefore un l ike those

, , ,
20 0

A n d in s no t

have p a i d d i v in e ho
si ze o f a n ostric h egg ,

of Em eralds T h e prie.

play ing it on high festi

Emeralds were p e c u l
t h e te mple cam e 1

these c ostly g e m s ,

S p an ia rd s fe ll in
‘

P iza rro an d his

Pu rc h as broke
,

posses s t h e adam

E m e ra ld m in e s of
fi r s t t hese ston es
( m t h e s hip in w h ic h

8
5 7 , w e re t w o c h e st s
is im dred we ight o f E m e ra ld s .

te a ms c ry st a ll iz ed i n si x s ided pr i sms
-

t arsd t h e re fore un l ike th os e

'

,
 Th e E m e r a l d .
20 I

of B eryl which are usual l y striated vertically T h e colou r

,
.

varies from what is called emerald g reen to grass green - -

,

an d green ish white S ubjected to t he d ichroiscope its colour

-
.
,

is resolved i n to a y ellowish green an d a bluish green

- -
.

T h e variet y o f O pin ion as to the sou rce of the beauti

ful colo u r of the E merald i s very in terestin g A ccord in g .

to most authorities i t owes its beauty to the chrom iu m

which it contain s O n the other han d M Lewy who
.
,
.
,

an alysed with great care the E meralds fro m the M uzo

min es of C olombia foun d that they con tai n ed orga n ic
,

matter i n the form of som e h y dro carbon an d that the -

,

i n ten sity of the colour d epen ded upon the amoun t of

this organ ic matter contain ed in the E merald T h e green .

pigment of the E merald was supposed by hi m to be

si m ilar to the colourin g m atte r of l eaves cal led chloro ,

phyll T h e con cl usion s of M Lewy have n ot h owe v er

. .
, ,

b een veri fied by other chem ists ; an d the experi ments of

M r G reville William s an d others ten d to she w that the
.

colourin g m atter of the E merald is after all an oxide , ,

of chro m i u m .

T h e c l e a v ag e of the E meral d is i n four d irection s but ,

t he on l y perfect cl eavage is that parallel to the term inal

plan e . I ts f ra c t u re is con choidal an d u n even an d its ,

l u s t re vitreou s .

‘
T h e valu e of an E m erald depen d s greatly upon its
colou r an d freedo m fro m flaws ; a ver y fi n e d ark velvety
,

coloured ston e free fro m flaw is seldo m procurabl e Per

, ,
.

haps there i s n o st on e which su ffers m ore than the E merald

from in equal ity of structure colour an d tran sparen cy,
.

THE E ME RA LDS OF MU ZO .

The
most famous E merald m in es of the world are
”
those of M uzo s ituated i n 5 3 9 50 N latit u d e an d
,
° ’
.
,
 Th e E n ze ra l d .

'
74
°

25 W lon gitude on the ban k s of the river M in ero

.
, ,

about 8 0 m iles N N W of S an ta Fé d e B ogat a in the

. . .
,

R epublic of C olo mbia T hey were discovered by Lan chero

.

i n 1 5 5 5 but the S pan iard s d id n ot com m en ce workin g

,

u ntil 1 56 8 Th e m i n es are G overn men t propert y b ut are

.
,

l eased to a C olombian Fren ch syn d icate at a yearly ren tal

-
,

of 50 .

T h e E m erald m in es are situ ated i n a very wil d

country with rough roads i n som e p arts al most im p a s s
, ,

able traversin g d angerous passes i n the A n des

, Th e .

workin gs are i n a basi n l ike hollow i n the mountain s -

,

suggestin g the crater of a v ast v olcan o but the rocks are ,

n ot of ign eous character .

I t appears that the rocks are chiefly bl ack bitu min ou s

shales an d l i meston e traversed by ve i n s o f white calcite
,

an d iron pyrites I n thes e vei ns th e E meralds occur

-
.
,

someti m es e mbedd ed an d so meti mes loose in free cavities

but their occu rrence is very irregul ar an d the m in in g ,

con sequen tly beco mes highly p recariou s .

A bout 4 0 0 n ative work men are employed u n der five ,

or six overseers i n the great quarry l ike excavation s which

,
-

con stitute the E merald m in es Th e work in g is of qu ite a .

pri m itive character T o obtain the E meralds the work men

.

begin by cuttin g steps on t h e in cl i n ed walls o f the m in e ,

wh ich m ay be a thous an d feet h igh in order to m ake firm ,

resting places for thei r feet T h e overseer pl aces the men

-
.

at certain d istan ces fro m each other to cut out a wide step ,

with the hel p of p icka x es an d crowbars Th e loosened .

ston es fal l by their own wei ght to the bottom of th e

precipice When the rubbish has accu mu lated a sign is
.
,

given to let the waters loose fro m a reservoir above ; and

these rush down with great vehemen ce carryin g the ,

fragment s of rocks with them T his operati on is repeated .

 Th e E m e r a ld .

historian s S trabo D io d o ru s A gatharchid es and others n o

, , , .

d escription of the m appears t o have b ee n written from

a c t u a l exa min ation T h is p robably arose from the d iffi
.

cu lty of visitin g them O ly m p io d o ru s lamen ts his il l

.

success i n this direction and it is probable that a j ealous

,

watch was kept over the m in ers .

T h e E meralds O f Egypt are howe v er often men tion ed

, , ,

with high praise C leopatra gave as p resen ts to ambassa

.
,

dors portraits of hersel f en graved on E meralds an d the

, ,

ston es d uri n g her reign appear to h ave been con sidered as

strictly ro y al property .

M au n d e v ille 50 0 y ears ago described Egy pt as a

, ,

”
coun try of fair E merald s .

When an d un der w h at circu m stan ces the m in es were

aba n don ed m ust re mai n m atter of conjecture T hey pro .

bably sh ared the fate o f the n u merous gold m in es and

topaz work in gs which a re foun d i n their n eighbourhood .

A ll the m in es i n Egypt appear to have been fi rst

worked by som e u n sk il led peopl e possibly those negroid ,

tribes who n ow work the copper an d iron m in es i n the

,

S oudan . I t was to these people that H erodotus n ot kn ow ,

ing why they burrowed i n the earth gave the n ame of ,

T roglodytes or cave dwel lers -

.

T hese peop le were probably d riven so uth about

years ago b y the G reek m in ers em ployed u nd er Ptole my
after th e d eath o f A lexan der the G reat A t each m in in g .

town m ay stil l be seen the open air cuttings an d the rude -

ston e dwel lin gs of an an cien t m in in g peop l e A n d close .

b y these are fou n d i n al most every case the tem pl e the , ,

wel l bu il t recta n gular h ous es an d covered galleries of their

-

European supplan ters T here is hardly a quartz reef

.

which does n ot bear m arks of workin g .

Th e E m eral d m in es are in the cen tre of a g reat

 Th e E m e ra ld . 20 5

m in eral fiel d form ed by a depression i n the lon g ran ge of

moun tain s wh ich run s al on g the R e d S e a C oast .

T o the n orth in l atitu d e,

this range rises i n to the
great porphyry peaks whence M r B rin dley b rin gs the .

I mperial ston e which the R om a n s pri zed for p urposes

of decoration .

T h e ran ge is then hollow backed u n til i n l atitud e

-
,

the traveller climbs the lofty porphyry peak s of H u l l u s ,

an d seated on the e d ge of a wal l sheer

,
feet looks , ,

over a h un d red m iles of sea an d m ou n tain .

B etween these poin ts an d equal ly between H u ll u s

,

an d Elba to the south th e h ills are hon eyco mbed with

, ,

gold m in es an d s c a rifie d by topaz workings : th e l ast are

,

stil l i n p rogress .

B u t t h e m ost interestin g p art of th e ran ge i s that i n

which are foun d the E meral d min es o f S ikait an d of
J ebel Za bbara the latter wor d p o s s iblv a cor ru p tion of
,

S m aragd us .

T here are two m ain E meral d m in in g cen tr es T hat .

of S ikait approached fro m the sea by the Wad i jam al is

, ,

the l argest an d m ost exten s i ve H ere are very an cient

.

rock temples T h e priests of old reaped a rich h arvest

.

from the superstitio n of the m in ers .

O f a later d ate than the s e rock temples is a good ,

mason ry te mple ad mirably proportion ed roofed in part

, ,

with great slabs of shin in g schist an d im pos in g ly placed ,

on a spur of rock run n in g into the S ikait valley H ere .

are the ruin s of a well b u ilt tow n an d alon g the valley an d

-
,

in al l the hil ls are som e hun d red s of shafts of varyin g

depth T h e hill s som e 6 0 0 o r 7 0 0 feet i n relative height
.
, ,

are mainly formed of a soft talcose schist vein ed with

qu artz an d con so l id ated by con t orted bed s of a brown
brittle metamorphi c rock .
20 6 Th e E m e ra l d .

Th e hi l ls bear the appearan ce of a great ra b bit warren -

.

E verywhere are h oles each with its tal us of silver grey

,
-

powder stream i n g d own the hillside T h e t alc occurs in .

sol id white blocks coloured green an d other t in ts an d often

, , ,

bright yellow li k e gold When cl imbin g the hills the

.

feel in g u n derfoot i s that of w alkin g o n soft dead wood .

S quare towers m ark the mountain tops S ome were watch .

towers w h en ce the watch men guarded the m in ers an d

,

gazed over t h e blu e sea lookin g eagerly for the e x pect e d

,

ships of win e an d food O ther towers appear to have .

been magazin es .

S om e ten m iles n orth of S ikait are the jebel Za bba ra

m i n es H ere the prin cipal s h afts are i n l ow spu rs doub l ed
.
,

up i n s y n cl in e an d an ticlin e i n rap id repetition an d j utting ,

fro m a m ass of schist som e feet i n relative height .

H ere amo n g the r u i n s of the old houses are t h e ston e

, ,

houses an d oven s of the A l ban ian m iners who i n 1 8 1 9

were p laced by M u ham m ad A li un der the supervision of
C a ill ia u d a youn g Fren ch S ilvers m ith who earn ed l ater
, ,

on a great reputation as traveller a n d m in eralogist i n the

,

S ou dan with I brah am Pasha .

C a illia u d s accoun t o f his d iscovery of t hese min es

’

h a s b een published by the Fren ch A cadem y Why they .

were abandon ed i s n owhere stated but it was probably ,

owin g to C a ill ia u d bein g com m a n ded to accompany

the exped ition to the S oudan an d to the stoppage of
-

suppl ies to the m in ers the moment h is presen c e was

removed .

T hese A lban ian s did an i m men se am oun t of work i f

they d id al l that has bee n d on e I n on e valley the sil v ery .

talus can n ot amou n t to less than to ton s .

I b ey m ade good square section ed shafts A cros s them

'
-
.

are wed ged stout boughs of trees M r Floyer descen ded . .

 20 8 Th e E m e ra ld .

d iscovery led d irectly to the regul ated work in g of the bed »

which yielded i n the fi rst years som e fi n e specim en s one —

of the extr aord in ary weight of 1 0 1 1 carats but u n fo rt u ,

n at e ly the yield gradually decreased

, .

T h e E merald m ine s are situated on the right ban k o f

the R iver T o k o w o ia ab out 8 5 versts to the east of
,

E katerinburg on the A siatic slope of the Ural moun tain s

,
.

Th e E meralds occur in a matrix of mica schist an d are -

,

asso ciated with A lexan drite C hry so b eryl Phen acite etc , , , .

S om e of these E meralds are of very fi n e colou r but most ,

of them — especiall y the large crystals are of i n ferior —

quality bei n g m uch flawed an d i n som e cases con tain in g

,

en closures of m ica A t presen t but very few E meral ds are

.

yielded by R ussia .

A U S TRIA N E ME RA LDS .

C rystals of E meral d are fo u n d embedded i n a d ark

mica schis t i n t h e H a bac h t h a l ( or H e u bac h t h a l ) which is
-
,

situated i n a w ild part of the S alzburg A lps, an d at a great

elevation above sea l evel S om e o f the crystals d ispla y .

excellen t colou r b ut m ost of them are u n fortun ately s m al l

, ,

an d of n o i mportan c e com mercially T h e occurren ce .

,

however i s of scien tific i n terest inasm uch as the Em erald

, ,

is here fou n d i n mica schist exactly as it occurs i n the Urals

-
,

an d in Eg y pt T h e S alzburg E meral ds are said to have

.

been kn own to the an c ien t R oman s an d at the presen t ,

'

ti me the l o c a l it y is b ein g explored i n the h o p e o f d iscovering

a suppl y of ston es fi t for j ewellery .

E merald s are also fou n d n ear S n aru m in Norway but , ,

on ly as m in eral speci men s .

A U S TRA LIA N E ME RA LDS .

I n the year 1 8 9 0 attention was called to the d iscovery

,

of Emeralds in N ew S outh Wales T h e stones were fi rst

 The E m e ra l d . 09

observed amon g the material thrown out fro m certai n tin

workin gs an d i nvestigation soon traced them to their source
,

in an actual vein T h e local ity was situ ated about se v en

.

miles N orth East of E m mavil le better kn own as V egetable

-
,

C reek n ot far from th e Q ueen sl an d fron tier

, .

T h e E meralds occurred in a t ru e fi ssure l o d e formatio n ,

from 2 to 4 feet wide between well d e fin e d walls an d

,
-
,

were fou n d i n shoots or bun ches at i n tervals .

T h e cou n try is composed of gran ite or sl ate an d i t was ,

al most at the j un ction of the two formation s that the fi rst

deposit of E m e ral d s was d iscovered at a depth of 1 1 feet ,

fro m the surface .

T h e Em erald s were associated with quartz topaz fluor , ,

spar mispickel ( arsen ical pyrites ) tin ston e an d kaolin

, ,
-
.

T h e local it y was visited by Prof E D avid at that time . .

,

G overn m en t G eologist who reported favourably upon the

,

occ urren ce of the m in eral an d the prospects of the

,

expl oration .

Work ings were carried on for so me years by the

E m erald Proprietory C ompan y an d a large n u mber of ,

ston es were obtained on e weighin g as m uch as 2 3 carat s

, .

M ost of the m however were of pal e tint an d lacked the

, ,

rich colour of typical E m erald an d it is believed that the

,

workings w ere u lti mately aban don ed as un rem unerative .

E ME RA L DS OF THE U NI TE D S TA TE S .

A lthough rough beryls someti mes of large size are

, ,

k nown i n m any parts of the U n ited S tates the on ly S tate ,

which has yielded the chrome green variety form in g th e -

,

tru e E meral d is North C arol in a .

I n 1 8 8 0 M r W E H idden d iscove red E m erald s at

,
. . .

Warren farm i n A lexan d er C oun ty where they were ,

P
 Th e E m e ra l d .

associated w ith th e green spod u men e which wi ll be su bs e

quen tly described i n the cha p ter on H id den ite Th e .

locality was c on sidere d su ffi c ien tly prom isin g to j ustify the

form ation of a Co m p any to work the ston es cal led the ,

E m eral d an d H id den ite M in in g C om p any ; but the

work in gs have n ot proved successful .

E M E R A LD .

C om p os i t io n — S il ica
A lu m in a
G l ucin a & c
,
.

27

H a rd n e ss
'

7 5
H e x agon al .

F o rm H e x agon al
an d d i he x agon al -
p rism s ,

v ariously modi fi ed .
CHR YS O BE RYL ’
CAT S E YE ,
in t h e R o u gh ( Pa r t Po l is he d) .
 O R I E NT A L
’
on c ar s E YE .

It i s ti ll e r

brow n , a nd fro m

lm o s t

a m m T h e rm is m o st
fu ll s u n ligh t o r by
~
, gas l ig ht , whe n the l in es be c o m
d e fi n e d and v ivi d .
2 12 Th e Tru e or Or ie n t a l Ca t
’
s E ye .

T his gem is val ued pri ncipally accordin g to the per

fe c t io n an d brillian cy of the l u m in ous l in e which should be ,

sharp an d wel l d e fin e d n ot very broad an d should ru n

-
, ,

even ly fro m en d to en d across the m idd le of the ston e T h e .

c olour does n ot m uch in fluen ce the val u e some j ewellers ,

preferrin g on e tin t som e an other O n the whol e p erhaps

, .
, ,

the most pop ular tin ts are hon e y colou r clear apple green ,
-
,

an d dark ol ive : all of these form a splen did back ground -

,

an d con trast wel l with the l in e I t i s quite i mpossi bl e to

.
[

gi v e any satisfactory scale of val ues for this gem it s ,

estim ation depend in g m uch on person al appreciation an d

taste .

I n I n dia it has always been m uch prized ; it is hel d

i n pec uliar ven eration as a charm again st witchcraft an d ,

is the last j ewel a C i ngalese wi l l part with T h e speci m e n s .

most esteemed by the I n d ian s are those of a d ark ol ive

colour havin g the ray so bright on each edge as to app ea r
,

double I t is in deed won derfully beautiful with its soft

.
, ,

deep colour an d mysterious gleam in g streak ever shiftin g

, , ,

like a restless spirit fro m s id e to side as the ston e is

,

moved ; n ow glowin g at on e spot n ow at another N o ,

.

won der that an i m agin ative an d su p erstitious people regard

it w ith awe an d won der an d believin g it to be the abod e of
,

som e gen ii d ed icate it to their god s as a sacred ston e

, .

I t shoul d be pointed ou t th at m uch con fusion exist s

with referen ce to the C at s Eye since th is n am e i s als o
’
,

appl ied to certain fibrous varieties O f Q uartz T h e p res .

en ce of parallel fibres of asbestos in clu ded i n the Q uartz ,

gives rise to a more or l ess d efi n ite ban d of l ight with ,

a silky lustre ru n n in g across th e d i rection of the fibres

,

when the ston e is c ut with a convex surface (e n c a bo ch o n ) .

T his chatoyan t quartz i s fou n d l argely in C eylon an d on ,

t he west coast of I nd ia where it is kn own as C oast C at s

,
’
 Th e Tr u e Or ie n t a l Ca t E ye
’
or s . 213

E ye it occurs chiefly i n various shades of yellow or ,

brown A green ish variety is fou nd n ear H o f i n B a v aria

.
, ,

a n d is largely cut as an orn am ental ston e ; but n on e of the

Q uartz C at s Eye has m uch v al ue Even when most per
’
.

fe c t it can not be co mpared for beauty with the O rien t al

C a t 5 Eye for which s id e by sid e it ought n ot to b e m is
, , ,

taken even by the u n in itiated

, .

I t m ay be useful to con trast the characteristics of the

two m i n erals

D e s c rip t io n of t r u e D e s c r ip t io n f o Co m m o n

Ch ry s o be ry l Ca t s E y e Qu a r tz Ca t s E y e
’ ’
. .

C olour — Various shad es of C o l au r— Various shades of

y el low brown green , , ,
yellow greyish gre e n ,

an d black . an d brown o n l v .

R ay — I rid escen t . R ay D u ll
—
.

Lustre B ril lian t—

. L u stre D ull —
.

H ard n ess 8 5 H ardn ess 7 .

S pecific G ravity S pecific G ravity

I n fusibl e before the blow M elts with S od a to a c lear
pipe an d n ot affected by
,
glass S olubl e i n H ydr o
.

acid s . flu o ric A cid .

S ometi mes shewin g a beau N ever d ichroic .

tiful d ich roism .

4 8 S il icon ,
alu m in a
80 , 5 1 O xygen ,
A p p ro x i 2 0 glucin a with a s mal l
C hem C o m . ,

m ate colou ring m at amo u n t of

C hem C o m .
ter oxide of
— oxid e of iron ,

iron .
81 C .
 C H A PTER IX .

‘
A LE X A N D R I T E .

H IS
ston e was na med after the C z ar of R ussia ,

A lexan der I I havin g been d iscovered on his

.
,

birthd ay in 1 8 3 0 ,
I t owes its celebrity to its
.

prom in ent hue s of re d an d g re e n an d as these ,

are the m ilitary colou rs the stone becam e m uch sought

,

after in R u ssia T h e R ussian A lexan drite can rarely be

.

shown to the best advantage i n con sequen ce of defects o f

str u cture as it is usual ly flawed with crevices which m ake
,

su c cessful cuttin g an d polishi ng extrem ely d i fficult T h e .

v arie t y foun d i n C eylon is m ore easy of m an ip ulation .

A l exan d rite is especially remarkabl e for its strongly

m arked di fferen c e of colou r accord in g as it is viewed by,

n atural or by artificial light T h e fi n est ston es presen t a

.

bright green or d eep ol ive green col ou r by d aylight ;

, ,

whereas at n ight arti ficial l ight such as that of gas or

, , ,

a can dle brin gs out a soft col u mbin e red or raspberry tint
, ,

or purple I t has bee n s aid that the A l exan drite is an

.

emerald by d ay an d an amethyst at n ight .

T h e A lexan d rite is stron gly d ichroic while some ,

v arieties are even trichroic .

C hem ical an alysis shows that the A l exan drite i s a

variety of C hrysoberyl Th e author has seen i n the course
.
,

of his experien ce two or three stones with a perfect C at s

,
’

Eye lin e yet s ubj ect to the characteristic change of colou r

,

by artificial light : s uch ston es are called A l ex a n d r i t e Ca t s

’

E y es
.
I n order to d ispl ay the lin e of l ight it is of course , , ,

n ecessary to cut the ston e e n ca boch o n i n stead of facetting it .

 A l e x an d e r I I
birt h d ay ,
in 1

are the m i li t a ry l rs
co o u ,

aft e r in R u ss ia Th e R us sian
.

s h o w n t o the best ad v a n tage i n

st ru c ture as it is u s u ally flawed
,

s u c c e s s ful cuttin g a n d p o l
v ariety fo u n d i n C eylon 18 m
A le x and rite is es p e c ia l l
’

m arked di fferen c e of c ol our ,

n at u ral or by arti fic ial lig h t .

br igh t green or de e p O l i v e
,

si t e h as?»
em er a ld by

e is a
u rs e
co

th as i t sfe c t C at s
’

t e en a e o f c olou r
g

the line o r l igh t , it is of co urse

, ,

an caboc ho n i ns t e a d of fa c ettin g i t .
A L E XA ND R I I E
’ ‘
in th e Ro u gh .
 CH A PTER X .

TH E O PA L .

IC O L S
i n his cu rious ol d book en titled A “

Lapidary written two cen turies an d a half

,

ago gives a q u a in t d e s c rip t io n of this lovely

,

ston e H e says. Th e O p al is a precious

,

ston e which hath i n it the bright fi ery flam e of the

C arbu ncle the fi n e reful gen t purpl e of an A methyst and
, , ,

’
a whol e sea of the E merald s green glory an d every on e
of the m shin in g with a n i n cred ibl e m ixtu re an d v ery m uch
pl easure .
’
B oeti us described it as the fairest an d m ost “

”
pleasin g of al l other jewels by reason of its various colours
, .

“
C ardan u s says I bought on e for 1 5 crown s which gave
, ,

”
m e as m uch pleasure as a D iam on d of 50 0 a u re o s .

T h ere i s a stran ge history given by Pl iny o f an O pal

about the siz e of a hazel n ut which was possessed by the,

S en ator N on ius an d was valued at

, o f our mon ey .

Non ius who was proscribed by M arc A n thon y for the

,

sak e of this ge m m a d e his escape carrying off the rin g

, ,

with h i m , as the sol e rel ic of his fortun e H e preferred .

exile w ith his O pal to l ivin g i n R om e without i t .

T h e O pal is chemically a h y drous form of s ilica an d ,

a great d eal of th e m ineral is qu ite un like the beautiful

variety used for j ewellery .

S everal ki n ds of O p al are in d eed kn own to the m in

e ra l o gis t
.
M ost of it i s d estitute o f beauty an d i s ,

hence term ed Co m m o n Op a l O ther speci men s presen t .

tran sl ucency but n o colou r ; t h ese are d istin guished as

ston e w hich h at h in it t h e
Ca rb u nc le the fi n e refulgen t
, ,

a whol e s e a o f t h e E merald s gree n

’

of the m shin ing with an I n cred ibl e

”
p l e a sure . B o etiu s d e scribed it a s

pl easin g of all 0
C ardan us says ,

me as m
T here is
abo u t the S i ze of a
S en a to r N on ius a n ,

he d ug

e x rle w i th hi
at l ic a an d
si ,

th e be autifu l

d i st ingui s h ed as
 Th e Op a l . 17

S e m i Op a l
-
. C ertain O pal s
fro m Zi mapan i n M exico , ,

p ossess a b right oran ge red tin t an d are used

-
to a l im ited ,

e xten t as an orn amen tal ston e un der the n am e of Fi r e Opa l .

Bu t the rare an d beautifu l variet y which is fam iliar to ,

ever y on e by it s un ique colours , is d istin guished s c ie n

t ific a lly as P re c io u s or N o bl e Op a l though known to the ,

”
j ewelle r si mply as O pal .

T h e val u e of the O pal l ies i n the d epth an d variety of

t h e rain bow l ike tin ts which it exhibits
-
T his colou r i s .

n ot d u e to any pigmen t i n the ston e but is an optical ,

phen om en on p robably the result of a n u mber of fissures

,
l

which traverse it the l ight bein g decomposed by th e

,

del icate stri ation s on t he wal ls of t hese m icroscopic

”
c revices thu s givin g rise to d i ffraction T h e optical “
, .

p rop erties of the Precious O p al have frequen tly been mad e

the subj ect o f study by physicists i n this coun try n otably ,

by S ir D avid B rewster Sir William C rookes an d Lord, ,

R ayleigh .

I n som e varieties the colou rs are m o re or l ess e v en ly

d istributed an d on e set of shades w il l predom in ate i n on e
,

part of the ston e an d other colou rs i n an other part ; or

,

the d istin ct ti nts wil l ru n i n paral lel bands I n other .

s peci men s the colours are mad e up of s m al l regular angu

lar patches of every h u e a n d these polychrom atic ston es

‘

a re kn own as H a rl e q u in Op a l s R ecen tly I have foun d a.

piece w ith a l u m in ous ray ru n n in g d own th e m iddle as in ,

’
a cat s e y e an d I have therefore called this Ca t s E y e Op a l
,
’
-
.

Th e O pal is a n on crystallin e m in eral -

When fi rst .

t aken ou t of the earth it is n ot very har d but s u bs e ,

q uen tly b
, y exposu re to the air its hard ness is i n creased ,

nevertheless it always rem ain s a soft ston e compared with

,

o ther gems B efore the blow pipe the O pal is i nfusibl e

.
-
,

b u t the water d riven off by h e at ren d ers it op aque It .

2 1s Th e Opa l .

has the curious property of i mprovi n g by the warmth of

the han d which brin gs out the bril lian t tin ts for which this
,

ston e i s so fam ed .

H U NGA RI A N OPA LS .

Th e Precious O pal u sed i n j ewellery was formerly

, ,

obtain ed al most e x cl u s ively fro m H un gary I t was called .

Orie n t a l Op a l b y the G reek an d T urkish merchan ts w ho ,

obtain ed it fro m the celebrated m in es n ear C z e rw e n it z a ,

an d then carried it to the East for the p urpose of givin g

the title O riental to it w hich always conveyed a sense of
,

goodn ess an d val ue to ston es .

T h e H un garian O pal was fou n d i n the T okai E s p e rie s e r -

moun tai n s n ot far fro m C z e rw e n it z a the prin cipal m in es

, ,

bein g i n the L iban k a mou ntain west of D ubn ik I t is ,

.

bel ieved that it was fro m th is d istrict that the an cien t

R o man s obtain ed their O p al T h e m atrix of the ge m is
.

an ol d l a v a of brown or grey colour k now n as an des ite ,

.

I n the clefts an d c avities of this roc k especially i n the ,

decomposed part the O p al is irregu l arly d istributed as

,

vein s a n d n ests I t is probable that al kal in e thermal

.

waters fro m v ol can i c sources acted upon the rock d e c o m

, ,

posin g some of its silicates an d settin g free the sil ica which ,

was d eposited fro m th e sol ution in a gelati n ous con dition

an d sol id ified i n th e form of O pal .

T h e O pal m ountain s ha v e been extensively worked by

subterran ea n galleries of great exten t ; the rock bein g
brought down by blasting and the shattered fragmen ts then
,

carefully picked over by han d M ost of the H ungarian .

O pal is o f the com mon variety, an d s p ec i men s d isplaying

vivid colou rs fi t for jewellery are comparatively rare .

T here is i n the I mp e rial C abin et of Vien n a an O pal

, ,
2 20 Th e Op a l .

n otabl e too that the O p al forms curious p seudo morphs

,

an d so meti mes takes the form of shel ls bele mn ite s , ,

re p til ian bon es an d fossil wood -

.

A nother O pal locality i n New S outh Wales is a t ,

R ocky B ridge C reek where the m in eral occupies th e

,

c avities in a decom p osed vesicular l a v a of an desitic type ,

.

I t should b e n oted that A ustral ia occas ion al ly sen d s

u s B l a c h Op a l s which i n some cases are very beau tifu l
.
, ,

e xhibitin g variegated colours on a black grou nd .

O p al i s also recorded from New Zealan d but thi s ,

locality is of n o com mercial i mportan ce .

ME XICA N A ND H ONDU RA S OPA LS .

O pal
is foun d i n several local ities i n the S tate of
Queret aro , especially at Espera n za abou t 1 0 leagues n orth ,

west o f S a n J uan d el R io H ere the O pal has been .

ex t en sively worked i n porphyry and som e of the m aterial ,

fro m these m in es d isplays a good d eal of fire Th e .

M ex ican fi re O pal is obtain ed chiefly fro m the porphyr y

“

of Z i mapan .

O pal also occurs i n H on d u ras i n the D epartmen t o f ,

G racias an d in G uate mala

,
M ost of this C en tral A merica n
.

O pal i s more tran sparen t an d less fiery than that fro m

H un gar y but the con d ition s of its occurren ce seem to be
,

ver y si milar i n the two local ities I t occurs i n vein s run .

n in g through rocks of trachyte T h e H o n d uras O pal is apt to

.

l ose its colou r an d very l ittle of it comes into the market

, .

O pal is also record ed fro m C rooke C o .

, O regon .

L OPA .

Co mp o s i t io n S ilica with 1 0 to
,
12 p er cen t water . .

2 to 2 2 .

5 5 to°

6 .

Fo r m A morphous .
 CHA PT ER X I .

TH E T U RQ U OIS E .

N D E R the n am e o f Ca ll a is or Ca ll a in a ,

P liny describes a green ish gem ston e which -

,

has gen erally been regarded as our mod ern

T urquoise T h is i dentification , it is true i s
.
,

open to som e doubt but it is n evertheless the custom of

, , ,

m any m in eralogists to d esig n ate the T urquoise in scien tific

,

lan guage by the n am e of Ca lla i t e I n popular phraseology .

,

however the beautiful ston e is i nvari ably called T urquoise

, .

T hom as N icols i n his Lapidary say s T h e T u r“ “

, , ,

q u o is e is a hard gem of n o tran spar en cy yet ,

fu ll of beau ty ,

its col ou r is sky bl ue out of a green in w hich m ay be

-
, ,

i m agin ed a l ittle m ilk is h i nfu sion A clear sky free from .

,

all clouds wil l most excellen tly d iscover the beau ty of a

,

’
true T urquoise I ts exquisite colour which loses n othing
.
,

b y can dle l ight i s n o doubt owin g to the p resen ce of a

-
,

ce rtain quan tity o f phosphate of copper T hose speci .

men s of th e T urquoise wh ich retain thei r colour perpetuall y ,

”
are said to b elon g to the O l d R ock an d are very “
,

scarce ; whil e those that l ose their colour or become green ,

by exposu re are ascribed to the N ew R ock

, .

T h e T urquoise does n ot occu r crystal lised but is ,

foun d on ly i n a compact for m havin g n o cleavage bu t , ,

possessin g a con choid al fractu re I t is in fusi ble before .

the blo w pipe but i s read ily affected b y acids C hem ically
-
, .

it is a phosphate of alu min a in a hydrated con dition ; an d ,

its composition has been in vestigated with great care by

Pro f A H C hurch
. . . .
 I t is doubtfu l whether the tru e T urquoise was k n own
to the A n cien t s ; but i n th e M idd l e A ges i t was well kn own
an d highly val ued an d few ston es had such wond erfu l
,

gifts an d virtu es attributed to them as this h ad Yet to .

real ise these advan tages i t was a n ecessary con d ition that
the ston e should have been received as a gi ft Even to this .

d ay in R uss ia there i s a proverb T hat a T u rquoise given

, , ,
“

b y a lovin g han d carries with it happin ess an d good

”
fortu n e ; an d another T hat the colour of a T urquoise
,
“

”
pales when the wel l bein g of the giver is i n d an ger
-
.

T h e S hah of Persia h as lon g been credited with th e

possession of the fi n est T u rquoises i n e xisten ce for Nis ,

hap ur i n Khorassan the local ity fro m whence the m ost

, ,

precious of these ston es is o b tain ed is withi n his dom in ion s ;

,

an d it was said that the best T urquoise was i nvariably picked

o ut an d retai n ed b y h im w hilst t he poorer speci men s on l y
,

were permitted to go i n to the m arket .

T h e O riental s cu t texts fro m th e Koran on T u rquoise

an d fi ll i n the characters with gold T here are som e very .

good speci men s of en graved m in eral T u rquoise N ic o ls ,

speaks of on e possessed by the D uk e of Etruria which ,

was the size of a hazel n ut an d had the i m age of juli us

-
,

C aesar engraved o n it T here are two in the col lection of

.

the D uke of O rlean s o n on e of which is en graved an i m age

,

of D ian a and on the other that of the Empress Faustina

, .

A j eweller in Moscow at on e ti m e possessed a T urquoise

t wo inches lon g cut in the shap e o f a heart an d said to
, ,

have belon ged p reviously to S hah N adir who wore it as ,

a n am ulet A verse from the Koran is in scribed upon it

.

i n gold an d £ 7 8 0 was the p r i ce asked fo r it

,
.

D iscoveries i n the l an d of M id i an have shewn that

three T u rqu ois e m in es exist there ; the n orthern m ost at ,

A y n u n e h al ready worked the southern most n ear Ziba

, ,
2 24 Th e Tu rqu o is e .

i n deed it was relatively m ore val uable than gol d an ear

ring of it bein g d ee med a fair e x chan ge for a m ule .

O f l ate years atten tion has been d irected to the ancien t .

workin gs for T urquoise at Los C eri l los about 2 4 m ile s ,

south west of S an ta Fé in New M exico I t is there fou nd

-
, .

i n little v ein s or n u ggets covered on the exterior with a

,

white tu faceou s crust ; but ston es of m uch com m ercial

val ue are comparativel y rare though l ately som e fin e ston es
,
.

have come to han d M any ton s of the rock m ay be

.

c rushed without prod uc in g a s in gle speci m en .

S om e of the M exican T u rquoises are of a fi n e blue

colou r but are often d is fi gured by w hite S pots whic h
,

appear when the ston e is polished M ost of these T u i .

is e s however i n cl in e to green an d i n so m e speci m en s

q u o , , , ,

the green colou r predom in ates T h e chem ical compositio n .

of the min eral fro m Los C erillos has been m ade the s ubj ec t
of c areful investigat ion by Pro f F W C l arke the chem ist . . .
,

to the G eological S u rvey of the U n ited S tates .

T h e old e x cavation s at Los C erillos are of en orm ou s

extent pits havin g been d ug i n the sol id rock to a d epth
,

of 2 0 0 feet A bout two cen turies ago a su d den i n u nd atio n

.

broke i n upon the u n fortun ate I n d ian s w h o were workin g

i n the s ubterran ean galleries an d killed about on e hu n dred
,

of the work men S o great was the destruction gen erall y

.

that the en terprise was abandon ed B u t of late year s .

work i ngs have been resu m ed ; an d a fir m of N ew Yor k

j ewellers working so me of the m i nes has obtain ed som e
very fi n e ston es .

T urquoise of green colour is also foun d in C ochis e

C oun ty A rizon a ,at a localit y k n own as T urquoise M oun
,

tain which was worked on a con siderable scale by th e

, ,

an cien ts T h e m in eral i s l ikewise kn own to occu r in

.

M in eral P ark A rizon a ; an d at a few local ities in Nevada

, ,
ri n g of it be i n g

col o ur , often
bu t are

w hen the sto n e

u o is e s however i n cl in e
q , ,

the green colou r predom i n ates .

of careful investigation
to t h e G eol
f
-

Th e 0 1
e x t e n t p its h avin g
,

of 2 0 0 feet A bou .

bro ke in u pon the

of t he

l oca li t ie s in Nev ai h }
z
v alu e are c om p a
h a v e com e to w wf
’

col o u r , bu t are 0

ap p e ar w hen
the ston e
rse s however in cl i n e
q u o , ,

the green colou r pr e dom

of t h e m in eral fro m Los

to the G eol
Th e 0 1
e x t e n t pits h a v i n g
,

of 2 0 0 feet A bou .

broke in u pon the

Bu t of la t e
firm of N ew Yo rk
h as o bt ain e d m i n e

localit i e s i
 226 Tbe Tu rq u o is e .

rocks are broke n throu gh by porphyries an d green s t ones ,

an d are con sequen tly m uch m eta morphosed T h e T u r .

is e bearin g ridge which rises to a height of feet

q u o -
, ,

con sists of these eruptive an d metamorphosed rocks T h e .

T urquoises form vein s i n the strata .

‘
T h e in habitan ts of the M ad en vill age are en tirel y -

occup ied with the m i n in g cuttin g and sell in g of T urquoises ,

.

T h e gain has mad e the peopl e careless of an y thin g else ,

yet there are very few of the i nhabitants who possess m uc h .

'

A good T urquoise i s foun d an d the m on e y obtain ed by ,

its sal e is spen t at on ce ; on e can often see at the m ine s ,

!
men w h o yearly pay 6 0 to man s to the G o v ern men t an d ,

who gai n qu ite I 50 tom an s besides, havin g n othin g to eat .

T h e T u rquoise m in es are o f two ki n ds : (a ) the m in es ,

p roper with shafts an d gal leries i n the rock s an d (b) the

, ,

Kh ak i m i n es or d iggin gs i n the detritus of disintegrated

rock s washed down toward s the pl ain .

( )
a T h.e m in es proper T h e m ost easterly an d a c .
,

‘
cord in g to al l accou n ts the old est m in e is th e A bd u rre z z dg z
which was form erly called the A bu I s h agi and is w ith ,

that n am e m entioned in old books I ts mouth is at the .

absol ute height of feet ; it i s a very exten sive m i n e ,

an d has a depth of 1 6 0 feet v ertical from its mouth Fo r the .

last few years very fe w T urquoises have been obtain ed

,

from this m in e but its T urquoises are estee med more than
,

those of other m i n es C lose to this m in e an d i n the same

.
,

”
val ley are the S u rfer/z S lu ip e m rir an d A g /z d/z m i nes which
, ,
’
,

are at presen t n eglected .

A l ittle to the west of the A bd u rre z z agi valley is the ,

‘”
D e rre k i S afz d -
the White Val ley with the ol d m in es
-
,

‘ ‘ ‘
Mule k z the upper an d l ower Zzzé z an d the M frz d A bzu éd z
' A

, , .

T h e former three are i m m ense m in es bu t almost entire ly ,

filled u p with d é bris .

9“
Th e v al ue of the t o m a n w a s , in 1 88 4 , 63 . 8d .
 T/z e Tu rqu o is e .

T h e T urquoises of the W/z it e Va ll ey though very

"
good are n ot so fi n e as those of the A od u r r e z z dg z M any
,
.

T urquoises gen eral ly s mal l are fou n d i n the rubbish of

, ,

the old m ines an d are m uch prized for their colou r .

‘
I n the lower Zd/e z n ow a v erti cal shaft of 6 0 feet in
,

depth an d abou t 2 50 fee t i n circu m feren ce i t m ay be

, ,

pl ain ly seen how th e m in es have got to their presen t

ruin ed state Vertical shafts were form erly cut in to the
~

rock for l ighti n g an d ven tilat i n g the m in e wh ile the ,

en trance o f the m in e was by l ate ral galleries d riven i n on

the slopes o f the m o u n tai n s S chi n dler thin ks it very .

probable that the m in es were a s l at e as the fi rst quarter of

’

t h e last cen tury worked by the G overn m en t

,
Wh en the .

S e fav ie h dyn asty cam e to an end the m in es were n eglected ,

an d l eft to the people o f the V il lage or perhaps as n ow , , ,

farmed to them T h e farmers thought of on ly gettin g a

.

q u ick retu rn for their mon ey an d cut away the rock w h e r ,

ever t h ey saw a ny T urquoises ; e x actly as they d o at the

presen t d ay A s a result the supportin g pi llars an d t h e
.

rock between the d i fferen t sha fts were cut away an d the ,

roof s o to say of the old m i n e fell d own fi llin g it up

, , , , .

T h e three above men tioned m i nes h ave been fi lled up i n

-

a si m ilar man n er .

‘
T h e mouth of the M irz u A k m e a z m in e which was
’
,

p robably once a part of the Z ak i m in es l ies about 8 0 feet ,

l ower than that of the Z aki min e an d goes down about ,

8 0 feet vertical I t also has v ery good T urquoises but

.
,

workin g i n i t is v ery precarious on accou n t of the bad

state of the gal leries an d the am ou n t of loose rubbish
,

they con tain .

T h e n ext val ley is the D e rr e /z i D u r i K u/z I n it are - - - —

.

several i mportan t m i n es the K e r o/e di K e r i m i the D a r i

, ,
-

K an d others T h e D u r i K 221:mi n e is very deep goin

g
- -
.
,
 T/z e Tu r q u o is e .

d o w n about 1 5 0 feet vertical I t i s an old an d v ery ex .

ten sive m in e an d so me of i ts galleries con tin u e as far as

.

‘
Zcik z m i n e it is very d an gerou s on acco u n t of the rubbish
it contain s ; the rubbish is badly propped up by ston es
an d s m all sticks an d several labourers have been
,

bu ried i n it A l l t he m in es i n the D u r i K uk valley a re

.
- —

wo rked an d contai n good T urquoises

,
.

Further west is the D e r r e k 21 5 27 4211 the B lack Val le y

“
-
, ,

with the ol d A l i M i rz rii (a c ontraction of A l i M urtez a) ,

an d the R o is/z m in es .

Th e A l i M i rz rii p artic ularly the lower on e of that

,

nam e i s very d an gero us

,
Th e rock which is soft and
.

much d isin tegrated often fal ls an d fi l ls up the m in e A

, .

part of this m in e is cal led the B i rd/z the shaft “

-

”
without a road : to go d own i n to it i s very d i fficult .

T h e T urquoises of the A /i M irz ciz are n ot good as their ,

colou r soon fad es .

A little to the sou th of the A li M i rz eiz m 1n e s l ies t h e

K /z u r uj m in e very extensive b ut partly fi lled u p ; it h ad
, ,

so me sixty years ago , very good T urquoises an d is a t ,

present n ot worked .

O n the top of the R o is /z m in e i n the sam e valley a , ,

v ei n of T urquoises was d iscovered a few years ago an d a ,

n e w m ine was open ed th ere with the n ame of S ar i “

-

the head of the R e is h ) I n it are foun d T urquoises of fi

( . n e

colour and great s ize but the colou r soon fades and the
,

T urquoise beco m es a d irty green with white an d grey ,

spots A s lon g as these T urquo i ses are kept d amp the y

.

preserve their colour but i f on ce they get dry they a re

,

worth ver y l ittle A T urquoise as l arge as a wal n u t a nd

.

of a fi n e colour was foun d in this m in e i n 1 8 8 2 an d was ,

presented to the S hah ; but after it had been two day s ,

with H is M aj esty it becam e green an d wh itish an d w a s

, ,

foun d to b e worth n othin g .

2 30 T/ze Tu rq u o is e .

are u ni mportan t Work i n these m i n es is carried on by

.

m ean s of p icks , an d c rowbars an d gun powder B lasting , .

with gun powder has com e i n to vogu e on ly withi n th e l ast

thirt y years : formerl y all the work was don e by picks a nd ,

m uch better ; for the p icks extracted the T u rq u o is e s

en tire , while the gun powd er though it does more work ,

breaks the ston es in to s m al l p ieces .

T h e K /z o é i m i nes are d iggings in the detri t us an d

ru b bish col lected at th e foot of the above m entio ned m i n es -
,

an d in the all uvial soil con sistin g of the detritus of the

'

rocks an d exten d in g fro m the foot of the moun tain a m ile

,

or two d own to the pl ain T h e fi n est T urquoises are at

.

presen t foun d in the Kh ak i m in es i n f o o t g o o d s t o n e s fo r , ,

r in
g s a re a t p re s e n t o n ly o bt a i n e d f r o m Z
/z e Work
here is c arried on by p rom iscuous d iggin gs without an y ,

system whatever T h e earth is brought to th e su rface

.
,

si fted an d searched for T urquoises gen erally by child ren

, , .

T h e T urquois es are d ivided at the m in es i nto three

cl asses n am el y ,

‘
I . rin g ston es
A ug u s fiz u r i
( ) i nc l udin g all stones
-
of ,

good an d fast colou r an d of con ven ien t shape D eep s k y

,
.

bl u e i s the colou r m ost prized T h e best ston es of this .

class are foun d i n th e K hak i d iggings an d n th e A bd u rre z

'

z agi m in e .

2 . ston es , o f which four qu al ities are recog

B oir k rfu a /z .

n iz e d O n l y the best of these are sen t to E urop e the rest

. ,

bein g kept i n P ersia fo r en crustin g orn amental obj ects .

3 . A ra o i T urquoises ,
a n ame appl ied to bad ston es of ,
‘

pale colour or g reen ish o r s p o t t e d T h e w hitish T urquoises .

are cal led S /z ir ou m i or S iz irfd m Large fia t p ieces used .

for am ul ets are k nown as uuol .

'

A bout 20 0 men work i n the m in es an d d iggin gs at

 Tli e Tu rq u o is e
'

, 231

N ish ap ur an d 2 5 or 3 0 elders of the village (R is k i S afio s

,
- -
’

buy the ston es of the work m en an d sel l them to merchan ts

,

an d j ewellers either at M eshed or at N ish ap ur itsel f Th e .

ston es are n ow gen eral ly c u t o n e mery wheels an d ,

polished fi rst on slabs of fin e grain ed san dston e an d -

fi n al ly on soft leather with T urquoise d ust .

T h e output of the m in es an d d iggings for recen t years

has been about to man s ( worth of T u r
2

q u o is e s per an n u m as val ued at the m i nes T hese m in es

, .

were at on e ti me to be let ; b ut the author after carefully ,

enquirin g in to the matter foun d that b efore a n y p roper

,

m in in g work on a large scale could b e com men ced it wou ld ,

b e n ecessary to expen d or i n clearin g

away the accu m ul ated rub b ish T a k in g in t o con sideration
.

the fact that on l y a fe w really fin e T urquoises are foun d ,

an d that the d em an d for these ston es is n ot l arge he failed ,

to see how after p a y m en t of ren t an d i nterest on the i nvested

capital the en terprise could be u n dertaken with reason abl e
,

hope of p rofit .

FOSSIL OR B ONE TU RQUOISE , &o .

B es ide t h e i t r u e T urquoise d escribed in this chapter ,

t here are two ot her subs t an ces often sol d for th is ston e .

O n e of these is Od o n t o l it e or Fo ss il Tu rq u o is e
,
the former —

n am e havin g referen ce to its origin from tooth th e latter ,

to the fossil cond itio n i n wh ich the structure occurs T h e .

O don tolite or bon e T urquoise is i n fact , nothin g more

, , ,

than the tooth or ivory or bon e of the great extin ct

, ,

elephan t called the M a m m o t h whose remain s are brought

,

from S i b eria where they have been m ostl y preserved by

,

h aving b een frozen i n the ice T his fossil T urquoise de

.

ri ves its b lu e colou r from the phosphate of iron o r ,

2 32 Tbe Tu rqu o is e .

'

Viz/ z u u it e ,
with which it i s i mpregn ated I t is easily .

d istinguished fro m the m in eral or true T urquoise b y e m it ,

ting an odour when gen tly heated I t is also softer .

, ,

an d m ore opaque than tru e T urquoise I t d i ffers en tirel y .

'

fro m the m i n eral i n composition an d structure an d it ,

rarely i f ever loses its colour T h e b on y structure m ay

, ,
.

b e d etected un der the m icroscop e A broad the fossil .

T urquo i se I S more esteemed th an i n E n glan d i n c o n s e ,

u e c e of its freed om from outward change b ut it is not

q n ,

so val ua b l e as the R ock T urquoise .

Th e other m in eral ofte n m istaken for T u rquoise is

Co l/a iu i t e a substan ce which far m ore closel y resembles
—

the tru e gem than does the O dontol ite I t is however of .

, ,

a l ighter colour an d has n ot the pecul iar optical properties

,

o f the T urquoise T h e T urquoise has a tran slucen cy

.

peculiarly its own re fl ectin g l ight fro m u nd er its s urface ;

, ,

i t also easil y receives a brillian t p ol ish T h e C allain ite .

,

on the contrary is a d uller ston e n ot so vivi d n or so fi n e

, ,

i n colour .

B ead s an d other orn amental obj ects i n a green ish

m in eral m uch resemb lin g T urquoise have occasion all y
b een u n earthed from the an c i en t sepulchral m on u ments
with which the lan d of B rittany aboun d s A bout 3 0 years .

ago M D amou r the em in en t Fren ch che mist an alysed

.
, ,

some speci m e n s fro m n ear L o c k m a ria k e r i n the M or ,

b ihan an d fi n d in g them to be a phosphate of alu m in a

, ,

of green col ou r in d e n t ifie d them with Pl in y s Ca l io is and

,
’

suggested a revival of the old n ame D an a afterward s .

proposed for this substan ce the modified Pl in ian n am e

Ca ll a in i t e but m ore recen t researches have p roved its
,

iden t ity with the m ineral called by B reithaupt Va r is c i t e .

S o me i n terest in g d iscoveries of Variscite in the form ,

 S E C T ION IV

S E M I PR E C I O U S S T O N E S
-
.

co m m e rc ia l v a lu e t /z a n t /z o s e d e s c r ibe d in

g o
gp
zn ag e s , ou t / l
n e v e r t ze e s s m a ny of t /z e m v e ry oe a u t ifu l .

i s deemed advisabl e to arran ge this l arge

T
series of S ton es in al phabetical order withou t ,

expressin g any opin ion as to their relative

values M any of these S ton es were formerl y m uch wo rn
.
,

but at presen t there i s on l y a sl ight de man d for them .

I n my opin ion however som e of them especial l y the

, ,

A m eth y st wil l agai n beco m e fashion abl e

,
.

T h e coloured plates represen t several of these ston es ,

shewin g their crystall in e form which it i s hoped m ay serve

,

as a guide to those who are i nterested i n the study of

g i
e
 S E M I PR E C I OU S S T O N E S
-
.

T i s d ee m ed ad visab le ange t h is 1
order w it
,

new sex
in e fe sfm, wh ic h fit fa h o p e d may 5
-

w ho are i nte re s t e d in t h e s t u d
 CHA PT ER I .

TH E A GA TE .

the term A gate the m in eralogist u n derstan ds a

Y ,

composite s u b stance an association of certain sil

,

ic e o u s or quartz l ike m i n erals wh i ch i n textu re

-
, ,

colour and transparen c y are d iverse on e fro m an other

, .

T hese A gate form in g m in erals are chiefly C halcedony

-
,

C arn el ian J asper an d Q uartz

, T w o or more of thes e
.
,

form in g a variegated ston e an d usually p resen ting a ,

d ivers ity of spots an d stripes m ay b e d eno m in ated an ,

A g a te . T h e n am e is d erived fro m the river A chates in ,

S icily n ow k nown as the D ril lo i n the Val d e Noto

, , ,

wherein accord in g to T heophrastus the an cien t A gates

, ,

were foun d i n his ti me ,

.

T h e A gate is occasion ally fou n d i n vein s as in certain ,

localities in S axony an d B ohe mia but as a rul e it occu rs , , ,

i n the form o f n odu les embedded i n an a mygd aloidal rock ,

m ore o r less akin to basalt .

O n the decomposition of the a mygd aloid a l agate

b earin g rock the en closed A gates by reason of their
, ,

res ista n ce to th e d isintegratin g effects of weather remain ,

b ehi n d as n odul es ; hen ce A gates are frequen tly foun d

”
loose ih the beds of rivers T h e S cotch pebbles are
-
.
“

A gates whi ch have been l iberated by d ecom position o f

t h e ir m a t rix of porphyrite an d are foun d scattered over
“

the surface of the groun d .

236 Tli e A g a t e .

Various theories h ave been p ropou nd ed fro m ti m e to

t i m e for the pu rpose of expl ain in g the origin of the A gate
,

n od ul es i n the cavities of the rocks wherein they occur .

T h e cavities the mselves have u n questionably resulted from

the i mprison m en t of gas bu b bles whilst th e rock was i n a ,

m olten con d ition T h e agate bearin g rock is i n most

.
-
,

cases an an cien t l av a T h e n od ules of A gate are con

, .

s id e re d to result fro m the c rystal l ization o r n on crystal l in e ,

-

deposition o f sil ica fro m a sol ution with which the cavit y
, ,

of the n od ule or geod e becam e fi lled T h e sil ica n ow i n .

—

on e con d ition su ch as jasper n ow in an other such as

, , ,

C halcedon y an d then agai n i n the crystal lized for m of

,

Q uartz was d eposited over the irregul ar in n er su rface ,

—

givin g rise to those con cen tric m arkin gs which are seen on
the section s o f most A gates T his d eposition of sil ica .

wou ld conti n u e u nti l the geode becam e fil led so as to form a

sol id A gate or th e i n let s of i n fi ltration b eca m e stopped up
, ,

or the supply of siliceou s sol ution failed I n other cases .

the s ilica woul d be d eposited on the wal ls of the cavity i n

con cen tric l ayers wh ile after a tim e ow in g to som e change
, , ,

in the n atural con d ition s the silica m ight be deposited in

,

l ayers on the floor of the cavit y i n o b ed ien ce to gravita ,

tion an d the variou s c olou red ban d s wou ld the n ru n

,

parallel to each other i n horizon tal l ay ers .

A ccord in g to certain fan cied sim il itud es w hich the ,

A gate ston e d isplays to thin gs i n com mon us e it receives ,

d istin guish in g n ames T hus R ioa n d A g a t e exhibits strata

.

or layers of d ifferen t colours which play on e i n to the other .

If the s tripes of varied hues are arran ged roun d the centre ,

it receives the n am e of Circ u la r A g a te ; an d i f i n thi s

cen tre there are other coloured poin ts it i s called E y e A g a t e , .

When the variously coloured b and s are d isposed i n an

an gular pattern suggestive o f the plan of a polygon al
,
 2 38 T/z e A g a t e .

every val ley is dotted wi t h the homes of those who follow

th is b usin ess A gate polishin g has also been carried on of
.

late years at Waldk irch i n B aden .

I n 1 7 7 0 there were on ly 2 6 cuttin g an d pol ishin g m ill s

i n B irk e n fie ld whereas i n 1 8 7 0 there were 1 8 0
,
I n each .

m i l l there are fou r or five grin dston es T hese are o f red .

san dston e obtain ed from Zw e ibriic k e n an d two men

,

ord in arily work together at the same ston e T h e A ga t e is .

usually cleaved to the requisite form by mean s of the

ham mer a work which exacts m uch sk il l fro m the artisan :
,

for h e m ust be wel l a c quain ted with the n atural grain of.

the A gate sin ce there is n o tru e cleavage to guid e hi m

,
.

O n e o f the m ost i nterestin g bran ches of the A g a te

i n dustry is that o f colouri n g the ston es by arti ficial mean s .

T his s ubj ect has already been dealt with on pp 4 8 5 1 .

—
.

I n the a m y gdal o idal rocks o f Perthshire Forfarshire , ,

an d other parts of S cotlan d A gates of very p leasi n g

,

p attern s are fou n d T hese are cut an d pol ished u n der the
. .

”
n am e of S cotch Pebbl es an d are e mployed as orn amen ta l
“
,

sto n es in co m mon j ewel lery .

A GA TE .

Clt e m ic a l Co m p o s i t io n S ilica .

7 .

Sp e c ific G ra v i ty 26 .

Fo r m A morphous an d n od ular
, .
 C H A PT E R 11 .

A MA ZO N I T E .

U T I FU L green m in eral i s occasion ally

B EA
u sed as an orna men tal ston e u n der the n am e
of A m a z o n it e or A m az o n S t o n e Formerly it .

was n early al l d erived from S iberia b ut in ,

recen t years m agn ificen t exa mples h ave bee n fou n d at

.

Pike s Peak C olorad o while it has also been d isco v ered

’

in S cotlan d .

A m azon ston e is a b l uish green felspar

- -
form erly ,

‘
r egarded as a v ariety o f orthoclase but placed by the l ate
,

M D e s c lo iz e a u x o n acco u n t of its optical b ehavi o u r with

.
, ,

m ic ro cl in e I ts colou r h as been referred to the p resence o f

.

oxide o f copper but accord in g to K o n ig i t is d ire to an

, ,

organ ic compou n d of i ron .

A M A ZO N I T E .

C om p o s i t io n — S ilica
A l u m in a
Potash
S od a 81 C
, .

6 0 .

Sp e c ific G ra v ity 2
°

5 .

Cry s t a ll in e Sy s t e m T riclin ic .

Variou s prismatic combin ati o n s .

 C H A PTE R III .

A MB E R .

M B E R is a fossil resin an d its extern al con dition

, ,

as well as its che mical co mposition points to ,

its vegetable origi n T his view i s strengthened

.

by its frequen t occurren ce in con n ection w it h

brow n coal or l ign ite .

I f fu rt h e r p ro o f were wan ted of the vegetable origin

~

of A mber it ex ists in t he i n cl u s ion of in sects l eaves p ieces

, , ,

of wood m oss , seed s an d little ston es all of which may be

, , ,

seen in that which is foun d on the coast of the B altic or i n ,

B u rma . T h e con dition of these in cl usion s proves th e l iquid

character of th e resin ous m atter as it flowed forth an d
i nvolved the i n sects ; an d it she w s , also the s ubsequen t ,
l

slow progress o f the sol idi fication which en su ed Th e .

most del icate p arts of th e creature are often preserved in

their n atural position s p robably because t h e A mber whe n
—
,

it origi n ally exu ded from the tree was a l iqu id o f thin ,

con sisten cy .

T h e in n u merabl e o rga n ic r e m a in s which this resin has

'

preserved un in j ured for ages give u s a m arvellous in sight

,

in to the Vegetable li fe of that d ivision of the T er t i ary period

k n own to the geologists as th e O ligocen e age the age to —

w hich the A mber forests of n orthern Europe may be referred .

We here see plan ts qu ite u n k n own at th e presen t d ay in

the flora of the n orther nsea coast s b ut which have a re
-
,

lat io n s h ip to the existin g flora o f the shores of the

,

M edi t er ran ean T h e l ate Pro f G oeppert of B reslau

. .
, ,

christ ened the prin cip al A mber y l e ld in g tree the P i n it e s

-
2 42 A m be r .

Lar ge quantities of P russia n A m ber are sen t to

’

B resla u O dessa an d C on stan ti no p le

, , A mber for m s an .

i m p ortan t i n d ustry n ot o n ly i n D an t z ic K o n igsberg S tol p e , , ,

a nd L ubeck but i n Vien n a C on stan ti n ople an d Catan i a

'

, , , ,

i n S icily I t is n otable that the S icilian A mber possesses

.

a p eculiar opalescen ce or even flu o re sce n ce presen ti n g a

,
—

d i ffere n c e of ti n t accord in g as it i s viewed by tran s m itted

or by reflected l ight .

N ecklaces an d bracelets of A m b er are sen t to E gypt

an d I n d ia an d the m eanest T urk seeks a p iece of i t fo r
,

his pipe n ot o n ly becau se it is pleasan t to the l ip but

, ,

because he has a bel ief that it wil l preser v e hi m fro m

i nhal in g pestilen ce .

A mber is very fashion abl e for cigarette c ases m atch ,

an d stamp bo x es an d other obj ects set with gem s which

, ,

m ake extre mely beauti ful presents I t is alm ost i mpossible .

t o obtain p ieces of A mber l arge en ough for l ad ies c ard

’

’
cases or gen tlemen s cigar cases .

A m ber was m uch v al ued by the A n cien ts an d we ,

fi n d it men tion ed as early as the ti m e of E zekiel ( E z c i . . .

,

v . I t was partic ularly p rized by t h e R o mans Fro m .

the se c on d I m p erial epoch dow n to the m iddle o f t h e

fo u rteenth centu ry A mber was cut i nto kn ives an d on e
,

pron ged forks which the prin ces an d great church

,

d ign itaries used for cuttin g u p v arious kin ds of fruits an d

V egetabl e s esp ecial ly their esculen t fungoids
,
— mushroom s ,

an d th e like I t was an d stil l is more val uable than gold

.
, , .

T h e G reeks v ery earl y received fro m the Phoen icians chai n s

m ad e of A mber both for the n eck an d arms an d it is
, ,

men tioned i n con n ection with heathen mythology from

v e ry an cie n t ti mes .

A ccord in g to the legen d the sisters of t to n

, ,

‘
mou rn in g an d weep in g at his u n happy en d attra c ted the ,
 A m be r.
43

pity of the gods who mer c i fu l ly chan ged the m i n to trees

, ,

an d their tears stil l flowin g on be c am e A mber A yet

, .

stranger or i g i n IS g i ven to t h is fossi l , i n th e wel l kn o wn -

couplet of the fire worshi p per s-

A roun d thee sha l l glisten
t h e l o v el iest A mber, that ever the sorro win g sea bird h ath
”
w ept.

T h e great v al u e set upon A mber e v en i n pre h istoric

,
-

ti mes i s seen i n the c are w ith which objects of this m aterial

,

were interred with their possessors i n t u m ul i or buri a l

mou n ds of v ery early date T h e fi n est archaic speci men
.

in this co un try i s an A mber c up i n the B righton M useu m ,

origin ally fou n d with bron z e an d ston e weapon s in a

barrow at H o v e .

A M BE R .

Co mp os i t io n C arbon , H ydrogen , an d O x ygen

Sp e c ific Gr a v ity 10 8 .

H a rd n es s 2 5 .

A morphous ; occurrin g as nod ules .

 CHA PTER IV .

A ME T H YS T .

term is n ow applied to al l the v iolet

H IS
an d pur p le crystals of Q u artz which when , ,

fractured prese n t the pec ul iar rippled or u n

,

d u lat e d structure d escribed by S ir D a v id

B rewster T h e ston e called Or ie n t a l A m e t n
.
y s t is strictly ,

a v ariety of S apphire o f v iolet colou r bu t the term is

, ,

appl ied com mercially to any A m ethyst of e x ception al

‘

beauty .

A methyst is a variety of Q uartz said to con tain traces

of oxide of man gan ese to which the violet colou r is co m
,

'

mo u ly attributed Wh en h e ated however it becomes

’

.
, ,

yel low or white an d m ay acq uire o p ale s e n c e T h e crys

, .

t al s l ike those o f quartz i n an y other of its m an ifold

,

v ariet ies are of su fficien t hard n ess to scratch glass an d

, ,

are in fusibl e before the b low pipe -

.

T h e A m ethyst i s d ichroic or exh ibits u n der certai n ,

c on d ition s t wo disti n ct tin ts the on e bein g red dish purpl e

—

an d the other bluis h p urple

A meth y sts are u su ally foun d i n association with
A gates . B razil Uruguay an d S iberia furn ish us with the
, ,

b e st speci m en s of the d ark colou red ston es T h e com mon .

A methyst is fou n d i n n early al l parts of the world , but i s

‘

,
o f very l ittl e val ue .

T o show the fall in the v al ue of this ston e we m ay ,

refer to the A m ethyst n ecklace of Q ueen C harlotte which ,

w as suppl ied by my p red ecessors M essrs E manu el B ros , . .

,

o f B evi s M arks I t c onsisted o f well matched an d v ery

.
-
 C H A P TE R V .

A NDA L U S IT E .

H IS
m in eral which was n amed from its o c cur
,

rence i n the provi n ce of A nd al usia i n S pai n , ,

i s o cc asional ly fou nd i n B razi l i n cl ear crystal s

ad m ittin g of bein g c ut as an orn amen tal ston e ,

A n dal usite is howe v er a v ery rare gem ston e

, , I t is-
.

remarkabl e for d is p l ayin g m arked pleochrois m S ome of .

t h e green crystal s she w i n the d ichroisco p e green an d

’

yellow i mages whilst the brown crystals give a redd ish

,

brown an d green is h yel low A rem arkably fi n e speci men

.

'

of ric h c o lo u r an d great brilli an cy weighin g , carats ,

’
w a s recently in the author s possess ion A lthough a.

beautiful ston e its hardn ess i s on ly slightly above that

of quartz .

A N D A LU S I T E .

Ch e m ica l Co mp os it i o n
S ilica
A l u min a

Sp e c ific G r a v i ty 3
-
1

7 to 7 5
'

Cry s t a llin e S y s t e m O rthorhombic .

Fo r m Pris matic C rystals .

 C H A PT ER VI .

A Q U A MA R I N E , OR B E R YL .

Q U A M A R I NE is a n ame given to t h e v ari e ties

of B eryl w hich possess a pal e gre e n c olou r
S uggestive of sea water -
when ce t h e n am e
,

a q u a m a r in a I n fact ; the B e ry l t h e A quam arin e an d the

.
, ,

E merald though d i fferin g m uch i n value as gem ston es

— -

are all un ited by m in eralogists un d er the he a d of a s ingle

s p e c re s i n as m uch as they are foun d to agr e e i n c r s t a ll o
, y
graphic an d che m ical characters whil e they di ffer m ain ly
,

in colou r T h e p ale green of the A quam arin e is probably

.

d ue to the p resen ce of a s mal l proportion of oxid e of i ron ,

whereas the rich gree n of the E merald appears referable

to o x id e of chrom iu m .

A quamarin e comes to u s fro m B razi l an d it is also

foun d i n the U ral M oun tain s the A ltai M oun tain s i n
, ,

S iberia A ustralia an d other parts of the world

, ,
.

A quamari n e is m ade i n to a variet y of orn amen ts It .

is said that the E m peror C o m m od us possessed an A qua

marine en graved with a portrait of H ercules by H yll us ;
an d that i n the treasures of O descalchi there was a ston e ,

en graved by Q u in t iliu s representin g N eptu n e d rawn by

.
,

sea hors es I n the N ation al Library in Pari s there is a

-
,

beauti ful en gravin g by E v o d u s on A quamarin e of th e

, ,

head of juli a the daughter of T itus A n A quamarin e 2 T16

,
.
,

in ches long an d 2 § i n thick n ess adorned the tiara of Pope

,

J ul ius I I .

O n e of the fi n est k n own specim ens of A quam arin e is

the rem arkabl e sword hilt wh ich was in the collection of
-
24 8 A qu a m a r i n e , or B e ry l .

the l ate M r B eresford H ope exhibited for so me years in

.
,

the S outh Ken sington M useum I t is covered with facets

.
,

an d is un ique both as a m in eral an d as an exa mpl e of t he

l apidary s art T his ston e which i s said to h ave belon ged
’
,

to Prince M urat weighs 3 5 ozs T here were a lso in M r

, . .

H ope s col lection som e fi n e engraved B eryl s

’
.

A QU A M A R INE .

Co mp o s i t io n — S il ica
A lu mina
G l ucin a

'

l OO O

S pe c ific G ra v i ty 27

7 5
'

Sy s t e m o C
f yr s t a l l iz a t io n H e xagon al .

Fo r m s of Cry s t a l s S ix -
s ided prisms .
 CHA PT ER V I I I .

B LO O D S T O N E .

L O O D S T O NE or H e lio t rope is a variety o f

, ,

C halcedon y of a d eep green colou r i nter

, ,

s p ersed with red spot s of jasper wh ich ,

res embl e s m all d rops of blood when ce its n am e ,

.

A lthough a b eauti ful m in eral , it i s n ot m uch used for

orn amen tal pu rp oses e x cept for sign et rin gs B ein g a
,
.

rather hard ston e yet n ot d i fficul t of m an ipulation it i s a

, ,

fa vou rite with en gra v ers an d h en ce crests an d m on ogram s

,

are frequently e ngra v ed upon it C u ps bo x es an d other ,

orn am ental obj ects of s m al l si ze are also fashioned fro m

,

it I t was m uch prized by the an cien t Egyptian s an d

.

Babylon ian s who e mployed i t for seals i ntagl ios & c

, , , .

I n the R oyal C ollection i n P aris is a bust of ou r Lord

J esus C hrist i n B loodston e so e x ecuted that the red s p ots
,

of the ston e stan d ou t like real d rops of bl ood .

B LOOD S TO N E .

Co m p os it io n — S ilica ,
with a s mal l p ercen tage of
peroxid e o f iron .

Sp e c zfic G r a v i ty
H a rd n e s s
 C H A PT ER IX .

'

C A R N E LI A N .

A R NE L IA N
i s n oth in g m ore than a pale red -

variety of Ch a lc e do ny i tsel f a form of Q uartz , ,

characterized by its tran sl ucen cy o r sem i ,

o p acity an d by an absen ce of d istin ct cry stalli n e texture

,
.

Th e word Ca r n e l ia n is s aid to be deri v ed fro m the Latin

”
word Ca ro flesh , i n al lusion to the redd ish colou r
“
,

of the ston e A s to the word Ch a lc e do ny som e bel ieve it

.
,

to be derived fro m Ch a lce d o n n ow K ad i Ken e an an cien t ,

-
,

city i n B ithyn i a th e pl ace where i t was earliest fou nd T h e

, .

A n cien ts called th e C arn el ian S a r da either from the town ,

of S ard is in A sia M in or or fro m the A rabi an word S ard

,

(y e llo w) .

C arn elia n
is chiefl y fou n d i n n odular m asses an d i n ,

th e in terio r of A gates I ts col ou r vari es from blood red to

.
-

wax yellow an d reddish brown

-
,
i t i s cloudy s eldo m -
,

striated sem i tran sparen t an d of wa x y lu stre B y heat

,
-
, .

the colou r of C a rfie lia n b e c o m e s i nten sified because its

'

colourin g m atter which is a hyd rated oxid e of i ron or

, ,

ferric hyd rate becom es dehyd rated or loses more or l ess

, ,

of its water an d is thu s red uced partiall y or completely to

,

the state of anhyd rou s oxid e of iron or ferri c oxid e the , ,

colou r of which is bright red B y an over a p plication of .

heat it someti m es loses its colou r an d becom es whit e pale ,

,

an d friable .

C arnelian of a light ruby col our is of m ore val ue than

the other varieties of C hal cedon y ; the p ale red rank s n ex t -
.
2 52 Ca rn e l i a n .

A t O berstei n an d I d ar ord in ary pale grey C halcedony i s -

col oured red by chem ical m ean s an d thu s co n v erted in to ,

a brightly tinted C arn elian .

T his ston e appears to ha v e been chosen by the G reeks

an d R o man s for cameos an d i ntaglios in con sequen ce of its
possessin g a beauti ful colour an d a certain hardn ess ,

affordin g a facility for m an ipulation T h e oldest G reek .

gem s known are i n the col lection of th e E mperor of

G ermany O n e o f the m is a C arn elian on which is
.
,

represen ted a win ged J up iter appearin g t o S emele ; an d

the other an opaqu e S ardonyx on which 15 engraved a ,

d raped figu re of Ven us T here is a C arn elian of the

.

earl iest period in the S t Petersburgh collection on wh ich.

,

’
a m an s head is en graved with most artis tically arran ged ,

beard T h e B ritish M u seu m possesses an exampl e of the

.

secon d period v iz a C arn el ian butterfl y carryin g a

,
.
, ,

represen tation of Ven us of very fi n e work man ship , .

A C arn elian o f the third period is in the R oyal

C ol lection o f Vien n a an d represents H elen a , O n a s mall .

C arn el ian i n the C ol lection at Floren ce , there is a head of

,

A pol lo adorned with l aurel s an d fi llets

,
I n the B erlin .

M useu m there i s an u n ique I n d ian C arnelian al most as ,

transparen t as the H yacin th en graved with the h ead of ,

S extu s Po m p e iu s O n e of the most famous of the an cien t

.

deep cut ston es r epresen ts the birthday festival of D ionysius

-
,

an d was on ce it is said possessed by M ichael A ngelo

, ,
.

CARNE LIA N .

Co mp o s it io n — f S il ic a ,
with oxid e of i ron .

H a rd n e ss 7
A morphous .
2 54 Ch ry s o be ry l .

an d A rfw e d s o n c on sidered it to be c omposed of s ilic ic

ac id an d alu min a T o S eybert we are i n debted for the
.

d isco v ery of gl ucin a i n it H e bel ie v ed i t was c o mposed.

of s il icic acid alu min a an d an al u mi n ate of gl uci n u m or

, ,

beryl li u m T homson declared that he coul d fi n d n o s ili c i c

.

aci d i n it an d was con fi rmed i n t h is v iew by R ose

,
.

A s paragus or yel l ow green C hrysobery l was k n own -

i n v ery early ti mes to t h e peopl e of C eylo n and B razil .

I n C eylon it is foun d i n river san d s i n company with

T ourmal i n e S pin el an d S apphire
,
I n B orneo an d i n
,
.
,

B urma it i s fou n d amongst pebbles an d l oose al l uvia

,
In .

B razil pieces of the C hrysoberyl of the size of a hazel nu t

, ,

an d of yellowish green colou r are someti me s met wit h

-
,

wh il e washin g for D iamond s O f late years it has a l s o .

b e en fou n d i n gran ite i n C on n ecti c ut North A merica in , ,

well formed tabl es an d pris m s with T ou rmali n e G arn et

-
, , ,

a nd B eryl ; an d at S aratoga an d G reen field i n N ew York

S tate i n regular twi n crystal s wit h T ou rm alin e G arn et

, , ,

a nd A p atite .

CH R Y S OB E R YL .

C om p o s i t io n — A l u m in a
G l uci n a
Ferro u s o x ide

S p e c ific G ra v i ty 3 5 to
H a rd n e s s 8 5
°

Cry s t a ll in e Sy s t e m T ri m e tric
or ortho rhombic -
.

Fo r m Flat prism s gen erally as rolled pebbles .

 CHA PT E R XI .

CH R Y S O PR A S E .

HE C hrysoprase
is mention ed in the book of
E z ekiel ( c xx vii v . an d it is also referred.
, .

to as on e of the ston es in the wal l of the H oly

C ity ( R e v c x xi v 2 0 ). I t has b e en s aid
, . .
, . .
,

ho w e v er that the C hrysoprase o f the A nc ien ts was a v e ry

,

d i fferen t ston e fro m that which is kn o w n by this n ame at

the pres en t d ay Pl i ny s p eaks of it as a well k n own gem
.
-
,

an d tells us that vessels were made of it an d that the ston e ,

was ob t ain ed fro m I n dia i n great quantities N o an t iqu e .

work s i n true C hrysoprase h a v e co me d own to us T h e .

c ostly m osaic wal ls of S t W en zel s C hapel i n the C ath e dr al

.
’

o f St. B ei t at P rague built i n the 1 4 th cent ury contai n

, ,

s p len did s p e c i men s of C hrysoprase .

O u r C hrysoprase i s a green variety of C halcedo n y of ,

e xt remely l o cal occu rren ce I t is foun d i n S ilesia n ear

.
,

K o s e m ii t z G l asen dorf an d B au mgarten n ot far fro m

, , ,

Fran ken stein I t occurs i n vein s of serpentin e i n com p any

.
,

with other siliceou s m i nerals such as Q uartz C h a lc e d o n y, , ,

an d O pal .

A mon g the s em i Precious S tones the C hrysopras e

-
,

deserves to be on e of the great e st fa v ourites I t possesses .

a beautiful a p ple green colou r of m any shades an d a

-
,

transparen cy an d capabil ity of high polish t ogether wit h ,

the ad v an tage of bein g fou n d i n large pieces Exposure to ’

.

sunl ight howe v er ren ders it l iabl e to fa d e s ligh t ly I t w as

, , .

the chem ist K lap ro t h w h o discovered the presen ce of n i c kel

, , ,
 Ch ry s op r as e .

and that the ston e c on tain ed a s m al l quan tity of water .

T h e n ickel o x id e is therefore pro bably u n i te d with water

, ,

as hyd rate i n the C hryso p r ase an d i f by the in fluen c e of

, ,

heat som e of the water i n the ston e i s lost the beauty o f

, ,

the colour m ay be more or less de s troyed .

A t O berstein a green colou r is i mparted to ordin ary

C halcedon y by mean s of salts of n ickel or of chrom ic a c id
,
°

so as to prod uce an artifi ci ally tin ted C hrys oprase .

C H R Y S OP R A S E .

Co mp o s it io n — S ilica
O x ide of N ickel , &c .

I00 0

Sp e c ific G ra v ity
H a rd n es s
Fo r m
b ut i s also found i n other parts of S outh A frica I t has .

b een regarded as m ain ly a pseudomorph of quartz or

chal c edony after tru e C ro cidol ite in other word s the
—
,

origin al m aterial has been con v erted i n to a qu artzose

substan ce while retain in g its fibrous form I t seems .
,

however that some at least of the s o called C rocidolite

,
-

used as an orn amen tal ston e is a m ixt ure of C rocidol ite

an d C halcedony with m uch o x id e of iron T h e min eral
, .

has b een stud ied m icroscopically an d chemically by

Fischer, W ibe l R en ard Klement an d others
, ,
.

C R OC I D O LIT E .

Ch e m ica l Co mp o s i t io n
S ili c a
O xide of
S od a
M agnesia
Water

S peci men s vary very m uch i n c omposi

tion an d some of the S outh A frican
,

m ineral is m ain ly C halced ony .

S pec ific G r a v i ty bout 3

A .

H a rd n e s s Nearly 7 .

Fo r m Fi b rous masses in vein s .

 CHA PT ER X I I I .

E UC LA S E .

H IS
min eral has occasion ally been c ut an d
pol ished as a gem ston e bu t rather as a m at
-
,

ter of scientific c uriosity than w it h a Vi ew to ,

its i n trod uction i nto j ewellery I t is i n fact a .

, ,

rare m i neral occasional ly foun d w ith T opaz at Vill a R ica

, ,

in B razil I t is also k n own to occ u r with B eryl o n the

.
,

R iver S an arka i n the U rals

, .

E ucl ase is always foun d in crystals which exhibit

perfect cleavage an d perhaps the most curiou s featu re of
,

the ston e is its excessi v e brittl en ess — when ce in deed the , ,

n ame E uclase fro m e u an d h la o I ts colou r is gen erally

“
,
.

a pale straw passi n g i n som e specim en s into bl ue an d

,

green T h e mi n eral i s t richroic an d p ossesses con siderable

.
,

lustre. I n its chem ical relation s it stan ds closely rel ated

to the E meral d .

E U CLA SE .

Ch e m ic a l Co mp o s i t io n :
S ilica
A lu min a
G lucin a
Water

10 0 0 0

S p ec ific G ra v ity 3
H a rd n e s s 7 5
'

Cry s t a ll in e Fo r m T ri metric .

Fo r m Pri smatic crystals .

 CHA PTE R X IV

THE G A R NE T , CA R B U NC LE , A N D C I NNA MO N S TO NE .

N D E R the gen eral n am e of G arn et the m in ,

e ra lo gis t i ncl udes a n u mber of stones which

presen t a great variet y of colou r ranging from ,

the lightest cin n amon through al l shades of ,

red an d cri mson an d eve n to v arious tin ts of green B e

, .

tween these d iverse m in erals the chief bon d s of association

are to be fou n d i n their crystallographic relation s and
“ ,

their con stan cy of che mical type O n glan ci n g at the .

variou s analyses of d i fferen t G arn ets o n e m ight fail to ,

recogn ize their relationship ; but the chem i st is aware that

these changes of co mposition take place accord i n g to cer
tain d efin ite laws without violatin g the gen eral type on
,

which they are con structed T hei r specifi c gravity, and

.

even their hardn ess are s ubj ect to great variation s corres
, ,

pon d in g to their d ifferen ces of co mposition T hey all .

belon g to the i sometric or cubic system an d are co u se ,

q u en tly m onochroic .

T h e G arn et was a great favourite with the A n cients ,

an d an ti qu e G arn ets have often been fou n d i n R o man

r u ins I n former d a y s it w a s very frequentl y engraved
.
,

an d beautiful spec im en s are n ow to be seen i n Paris T urin , ,

R ome an d S t Petersburg
,
. T h e s mall degree of hardn es s
.

possessed by this ston e re nders en gravin g on it compara

t iv e ly easy .

T h e word G arnet probably owes i ts origi n to t h e

'

si m ilarit y o f the colou r of this ston e to tha t of the blos so m

26 2 Th e G a r n e t , Ca r bu n c l e ,
an d Ci n n a m o n S t o n e .

G ar n etis s i m ply that the form e r is cut e n c a bo c ho n whils t ,

the latter i s gen eral ly c ut w ith a table and facets .

A l m an din e G arne t is occasion al ly foun d to be asteri

ated but such specim en s are rare
,
.

A LM A N D INE (C a rb u n c l e ),

Ch e m ic a l Co mp o s i t io n
S ilica
A l u m in a
I ron protoxid e
Magn esia
Li m e
M an ganese protoxide

I OO O

S pe c ific G r a v i ty to 35
H a rd n e ss abou t 7
Cry s t a ll in e Sy s t e m C u b ic .

Fo r m s R hombic dodecahed ron an d 2 4 faced -

trapezohedron .

P YROPE .

Pyrope so meti mes kn own as B ohe m ian G arn et

The ,
“
,

is of a blood red colou r n ever purpl e

-
When cut l ike a
,
.

b rill ian t it i s very b right but owin g to its occurrin g in

,

sm all p ieces it is more usu ally rose cut an d moun ted en

,
-

'

p a v e I t .is fou n d prin cip al ly in S axony an d B ohem ia ,

where it occurs e mbedded i n S erpen ti n e By the gradual .

decomposition of this m atri x , the G arn ets are set free

,

an d being carried d ow n by streams are foun d i n the sand s ,

of the ri v ers where they are collected by child ren

, Fine .
 Th e G a rn e t , Ca rbu n c le , a nd Ci n n a m o n S t o n e . 26 3

Pyropes occur with the D i amon ds o f S outh A frica an d are ,

un fortun ately termed C ape R ubies ; bu t som e of these

“

m ay b e A l man d in e .

P YR OP E .

Ch e m ica l Co mpo sit io n

S il ica
A lu min a
M agn esia
I ron protoxid e
Li me
C hro miu m sesqu iox ide
M an gan ese protoxide

Sp e c ific G ra v i ty 37 to
H a rd n e ss 7 5
'

Cry s t a l l in e Sy s t e m C ubic .

S ame as those of A lm and in e .

E SS ONI TE .

T his ston e which com es prin cip al ly fro m C eylon

, ,

passes u nd er three n ames accordin g to it s colour T h e .

lightest of the th ree i s of a p al e cin n amon colou r an d is

’

hence kn ow n as Ci n n a m o n S t o n e T h e n ext is a l ittle

.

darker with a pecu liar ad m ixture of red and oran ge an d

, ,

i s kn own to jewellers as ja cin t h T h e l ast has a darker

.

shade of bright red orange an d brown gi v in g rise to the

, ,

pecul iar hyacinthin e tin t an d it is t herefore called in trade

,

a Hy a c in t h I t i s a com mon e rror to con foun d these hya

.

c in t h in e G arn ets with Z ircon s of si milar col our to wh ic h ,

the n ames jacin th an d H y acin th a re also appl ied .

 2 64 Th e Ga r n e t Ca r bu n c le ,
, a nd Ci n n a m o n S t o n e .

A A G arn et
resem b l in g Esson ite i n composition bu t ,

of green colour is kn own as G ros s u l a ri a or G ooseberr y

'

“
, ,

”
S ton e I t is foun d chiefly in S iberia
. .

E S S ON I T E .

Ch e m ica l Co mp o s i t io n °

S ili ca
A lu m in a
Li m e
I ron protoxide ,
&c .

34 to
H a rd n e s s 7
C u b ic .

Fo r m s S am e as those of A l man din e .

U WA ROWI TE and DE MA NTOI D .

Of
the m any other varieties of G arn et more or l ess ,

rare occurrin g in a state of perfection fi t for j ewell ery pu r

,

poses m en tion m ay be m ade of the m in eral called

,

U w a ro w i t e I t presents a fi ne E m erald green colour an d

.
-
,

when su fficientl y clear an d large form s a beautiful an d

lastin g ston e I t i s very l ittle used i n j ewellery an d is
.
,

o ften con fou n ded With the G reen G arn et ( D em antoid ) “

-
”

of the Urals which i s a m uch softer stone but on e which

, ,

exhibits a great am oun t of fi re especially by artificial “

,

light T his l atter ston e has on ly bee n k n own with in the

.

last fe w y ears ; it is a sil icate of iron an d li me I t was .

fou n d firSt i n th e gold washin gs of Nis c h n e T a gils k a n d

-
,

a fterwards i n those of t h e B obrowska a stream which flows ,

in to the river T s c h u s s o w a ia in the U ral M oun tain s B y

, .
 CHA P T E R XV

HZ
E MA T I T E .

H ER E
are certai n ores of i ron which are used
to a l i mited exten t i n j eweller y an d i n t h e
Fin e A rts notably H e m a t it e a m in er a l which
—
,

has been used fro m ti me i m memorial for in

‘
t a gl io s an d occasion ally for the i m itation of black Pearl s
,

A lthough o f steel grey colour when pol ished the streak

-
,

o f the m i n eral when scratched is of a redd ish brown o r

, ,
-

cherry red colour when ce the word H mm a t i t e m ean in g

-
, ,

”
“
blood ston e is d erived
-
,
.

T h e occurren ce of H mm a t it e i s wide spread but the -

,

hard vari ety which is polished as an orn am en tal ston e is ,

fou nd chiefly in the C arbon i ferous Lim eston e o f C u mber

l an d especial ly n ear Whiteh aven C rystals when fou n d
, .
,

have often a h ighly spl en den t lustre an d are hen ce kn own ,

as S pecul ar I ron ore

“
Usual ly however the H aem atite
-
.
’
, ,

occurs i n ren iform or kid n ey shaped m asses whence it -

,

”
often c alled kid n ey ore“
-
.

H AS:M A T ITE .

C om
p o s i t io n — Perox ide of I ron con tain in g ,

I ron

Sp e c ific G r a v i ty to 45
H a rd n e s s 55 to
R ho mbohed ral .

Fo r m s C om plex modification s of R hombohedr a

—
;
but gen erall y ren iform an d m assive .
 C H A PT E R XV I .

H IDDE NI TE .

ID D E N IT E is a very rare an d co mparatively

l ittle k n own ge m ston e which was discovered
- -
,

in 1 8 8 0 i n A le x an der C ou nty N orth C arolin a , ,

by M r W E H id den after whom it was

. . .
,

n amed I n appearan ce it is so methin g l ike the E merald

.
,

both i n its rough an d c ut states I t is of a brill ian t green

.

hu e lighter than that of the E m erald vergi n g to w ard s

, ,

y ell ow an d possessin g a beauty of i ts ow n

,
H idden ite is .

a v a riety of the m in eral c all ed Sp o d u m e n e or Trip /ca n e an d ,

”
is so meti mes term ed L ithia E merald“
I t occurs i n .

assoc iation with E meral ds an d the two gem ston es have

,
-

been worked by T h e E merald an d H idd en ite M in in g

“

C ompan y . A station on th e T aylorsville exten sion of the

Western N orth C a rolin a R ail road near the m i n e i s n am ed
, ,

”
H idden ite .

H IDD E N ITE .

Co m p o s i t i o n — A s ilicate of A l u mi n i u m an d Lithi um .

3
H a rd n e s s 7
Cry s t a ll i n e Sy s t c m M onoclin ic
 CHA PT ER XVI I .

IO LIT E .

N D E R the n a m e of I o l i t e or D ich ro i t e the

m in eralogist i s familiar with a certain ston e
which is re marka b le for its pleochrois m ro ,

d i fferen ces o f ti n t when viewed in d ifferent

direction s O ccasio n al ly it is cut an d pol ished as a gem
.

ston e an d is kn own to the j eweller as S ap h ir d e a u T h e

,
’
.

best speci men s com e from C eylon those fro m B avaria ,

bein g al most opaque I t is also foun d at H adda m C o n

.
,

n e c t ic u t T h e u sual colours are various shades of blu e an d

.

violet when ce the n a me I ol ite

,
“
.
”
T h e d ark b lu e I olite
is sometimes k n own as Ly nx s a pp h ire but this term is also
-
,

occasion ally appl ied to an in d igo bl ue variety of true -

sapphire .

IOLITE

Ch e m ic a l Co mp o s i t io n .

S il ica
A lu m in a
M a gn esi a
Ferrou s ox id e

10 0 .

Sy s t e m f
o C ry s t a ll i z a t io n T ri metric
Sp e c ific G r a v i ty
H a rd n e iss 7
Pr is m atic crystals or as pebbles
,
.
i n S iberi a N ew C aledon ia T urkestan B urm a A laska and
, , , , ,

a few other localities bu t u sual ly in on ly l i mited quan tity

, .

Ch e m ic a l Co mp o s i t io n (G reen J ad e or N ep h rite of N ew ,

Zealan d )
S ilica
M agn esia
Li me
O xid e of iron al u min a
, , &c .

10 0 0 0

Sp e c ific G ra v i ty 29 1 to
6 5
Fo r m A morphous : occurrin g as a rock .
 CHA PTER X I X .

J A S P E R .

Y modern min eralogists the term J asper i s re

restricted to the opaqu e varieties o f Qu artz ,

which presen t a co mpact texture an d a re ,

destitute of any cry stal lin e structure B u t the .

J asper of the A n cien ts was evid en tly a di fferen t substan ce ,

in as much as it i s u s ually descri bed as possess in g a green

colour associated with more or l ess t ran sl ucen cy T h e .

G reek n ame ,
accord in g to I s o d o re s i n ifie t h
g ,
“

green an d such a green as doth il lustriously shin e forth

,

w ith a very supreme virid ity or green n ess of glory Pl iny ’

.
,

consid ers the y a sp is to be a ge m of a d ul l green colour -

,

l ike an E merald but n ot so tran sparent Th e n a me itsel f

,
.

is very an cien t T his ge m i s said to be the y a sp e h or

.

eleven th st on e i n the breastp late of the H igh Priest T h e

, .

glory of the supposed J asper is often m ad e use o f in the

H oly S criptures to represen t the N ew J erusalem b ut the ,

author b el ieves this to be w ron gl y tran sl ated an d to re fer

really to the D iamon d .

Pl i ny assures u s that Eastern n ation s wore pieces of it

as amulets E v en G alen soberly asserts that the green
.
“

J asper ben efits the chest an d mouth if tied upon it ; an d

D e B oot writin g so l ate as 1 60 9 does n ot hesitate to
, ,

ascribe rare medicin al virtues to the J as p er .

J asper is com monly fou n d i n compact masses or as

pebbles I ts colours are b rown yellow an d red of various
.
, ,

shades someti mes green an d rarely bl ue T hat kn own as

, .
27 2
y p
as er .

E gy p t ia nj p is found
as erin roun ded m a sses i n the d esert ,

n ear C airo it is of d ull yellow colour deepen in g in to ,

bro w n an d is usual l y marked with stripes or zon es

, .

Co m m o n y a spe r gen erally red an d brown but som e

’
, ,

ti mes y ellow and black is foun d i n m an y localities ; for

,

exampl e i n the old rocks of N orth Wales an d i n S cotland

, .

R ibba n d o r S t r ip e d y a sp e r occurs i n compact masses

with a conchoid al fractu re I t has stripes or zon es of gre y
.

green yello w red an d brown an d is mostly fou n d in

, , , ,

S iber i a Th e s o called P o rce l a in y a sp e r is on l y burn t c la y

’
-
. .

T h e R e d J asper was mu ch val ued i n early ti mes for

engravin g I n the Vatican there is a beautiful vase of R e d
.

J asper with wh ite vein s and another of B l ack J asper with

, , ,

yello w vein s I n C hin a the E mperor s seal i s of J asper ;

.
’

and i n that cou n try the ston e is highly val ued I n Florence .

the Yel low J asper is largely em ployed for Mosaics an d the ,

R i b ban d J asper for cameos .

J A S PE R .

Ch e m ic a l Co mp os i t io n
S il ic a
O xide of iron

Sp e c ific G r a v i ty
H a rd n e s s
Fo r m
 L a br a d o r i t e .

I n add ition to the b rillian t irid es cen ce many s peci men s ,

of Labradorite exhibit a b eautifu l span gled appeara nce ,

like that of A van turi n e T h e iridescence is d ue to the

.

presen ce of n u m b erless thi n plates which give rise to what

”
are cal led i n t erferen ce phen om en a whereby a peculiar
“
,

brill ian cy i s obtai n ed so m ethin g l ike that on a peacock s

,
’

feather . T h e span gled effect is attri b utable to very

min ute plates of ox ide of i ron distributed through the
ston e I t is n ot however every p iece o f Labradorite that
.
, ,

e x hibits these phen omen a T h e ston es w hich h ave the .

most beautiful colou rs com e fro m the coast of Labrador

an d S t Pau l s I sl an d where they occu r i n m asses an d
.
’

, ,

from N orway where they are fou n d as loose blocks

, .

G reat care has to be taken i n the m an ip u lation of this

ston e to preserve the p lay of colour ; for i f an y facets are
given to it this gen eral ly d isappears
,
T h e fi rst block of .

Labrador w a s brought to E u rop e i n 1 7 7 5 an d the rock was ,

d isco v ered in R ussi a i n 1 7 8 1 S ti ll later two blocks were.

,

fou nd on t h e shores of the Pau lo v k a which e x ceeded al l ,

hitherto k n own speci men s i n S i ze on e weighin g lbs , .

L A B R A DOR I TE .

Co mpo s i t io n — S il icate of alu m in iu m cal ci u m an d sod i u m

, , .

S ilica
A l umi n a
Li me .
12
'

3
S od a etc 5 5
'

.
,

10 0 0

27

H a rd n e ss 6
Cry s t a ll in e S y s t e m T riclin i c .

Usual l y i n clea v able m as s es .

 CHA PTER XX I .

L A P I S LA ZU L I
-
.

H IS
ston e i s remarkable for its beautifu l blu e
colou r w hen ce the A rabian s cal l it A z u l
, ,

m ean in g blue T heophrastus describes a

.

”
bl ue ston e spotted with gold dust while ,

Pl iny speaks of i t as bein g l i ke to the seren e blue heavens

“
,

” ”
fretted with golden fire T h e gol d m en tion ed by these
.
“

an d other an cien t authors refers to the span gles of brass

l ike iron pyrites w hich are com mon ly dispersed throu g h
-

the rich bl ue subst an ce of the Lap i s Lazu li -

.

T h e colo u r of the ston e varies from p al e azure to deep

blue with a tint o f green but is seldo m quite pu re bein g
, ,

oft e n mottled with white an d yellow spots I n deed the

.
.
,

L apis Lazul i is n ot a hom ogen eous substan ce but con sists

-
,

o f a defin ite bl u e m in eral which is probably referabl e to

,

t h e species H a uy n e associated with a colourl ess substan ce

’

, ,

when ce its mottled appearan ce I t is brittle has but l ittle

.
,

l ustre an d is tran slucen t on ly at the corners of thi n edges

, .

T h e pre c ise origi n of the beautifu l bl ue co lou r o f the

L apis Lazu l i is still a m atter on which che m ical opin ion is
-

d ivided I t is usu al ly referred to the presenc e of a s ul

.

p h id e, probabl y of sodiu m an d iron bu t it appears l ikely ,

that the sulphur is presen t i n the form both of a sulphid e

 L ap is L a z u l i -
.

an d of a sulphate La p is Lazul i fuses with great di fficulty

.
-
,

a n d expan ds before the blow p ipe after which it become s -

,

a p orous colou rless glass ; but i f h eated with saltpetr e i t

, ,

tu rn s to a beaut iful green .

I n the C ord illeras near the sources o f the C azadero ,

an d Vi as l ittle t ributar ie s of the R io G ran de not far

—

fro m the high road l ead in g to the A rgen tin e R epubl i c ,

an d a short distanc e fro m the great watershed in the C hil i

do m in ions the Lap is Lazul i is foun d in a thick stratu m of
,
-

c arbon ate of l im e accompan ied by s mal l quan tities of iro n

,

pyrites .

Lap is Lazu l i is a lso fou n d i n S iberia on the shore of

-
,

the S h u d an k , particularly on the l an ds n ear the B aikal

Lake i nto which that river e mpties its e l f M arco Polo i n
, .
,

his travel s to the p rin ces of T artary i n 1 2 7 1 fou n d it i n th e ,

up p er d istrict o f the O xus m i x ed with iron ore when ce , ,

the A rmeni an m erch an ts stil l brin g i t to the m arket o f

O renburg i n E astern R ussia
,
I n m any provin ces of C hin a .
,

an d i n B u c h aria it is fou n d i n gran ular li m eston e with

,

iron pyrites an d on the ban ks of the I n d us in a greyish

, , ,

l i meston e .

I n I taly it is a favourite ston e for orn amentin g

c h urches an d in the chapel of S an M artin i at N aples t h e
, , ,

La p is La z ul i is pro fusely em ployed n ot on ly for decorativ e

-

work but even as a structural m a t erial I n the Zars k o e

, .

4 Palace n ear S t Petersburg there is an apart ment called

,
.
, ,

C at h erin e I I s :hamber formed en ti rely of Lapis Lazul i

’
-
.
,

an d A mber .

T his ston e was i n early t i mes much val ued b e caus e ,

it was the o n ly m aterial from whi ch the true ultra marin e -

of the artist so cel ebrated fo r its e ffect an d permanen ce

, ,

could be obtained A rti fic ial ul tr a mari ne is now prepare d

.
-
 C H A PT E R XX I I .

MA LA C H I T E .

H ER E can be l ittl e doubt that this ston e was

kn own to the A n cients an d it has been sug
,

gested that our M alachite was the S m a ragd u s

M e d icu s of Pl iny .

M a l achite a hydrated carbon ate of copper is foun d in

, ,

al most every l ocal ity which yield s c opper ores occurrin g -

,

prin cip al ly in the upper p arts of the deposits where atmos

p h e r i c in fl uen ces ha v e been at work T h e fi n est speci men s
.

ha v e bee n obtain ed fro m the m in es of the Urals an d from ,

the great d epos its of copper ore i n S outh A ustral ia

-
.

M alachite i s occasio n ally foun d i n crystals b ut p erfect ,

s p e c i m en s are rare I t usually occurs i n m asses with

.

rou n ded surfa c es m am m illated botryoid al an d ren i form

—
,

which have evidently been deposited fro m sol ution i n

water m uch i n t h e s am e way that deposits of stalagm it ic
,

marbl e ha v e been formed I ts grad ual d eposition i n

.

success i ve layers is shewn by t h e con cen tric structure

which speci men s of M al achite so often d is play an d owin g !
,

to this st ructure a sl ab of pol ish ed M alachite usual ly

,

e xh ibits a b eautiful ly variegated p attern .

MA L A C H I TE ,

Ch e m ic a l Co mp os i t io n — C opper oxide
C arbon d io x ide
Water

to 37
to 4 0 3 5
Cry s t a ll i n e S y s t e m Mon ocl in ic
Usually modi fi e d oblique rhombic prism s
.

Fo r m ,

but rare ; usually botryoidal o r stalagm itic .

 C H A PTER XX I I I .

M OO N S T O N E , S E LE NI T E , A ND S U N ST O N E .

I NE R A L O G I S T Sof the p resen t day apply the

n a m e S e le n it e to the fi n er varieties of G yps u m
— a com mon m ineral m uch too soft to be o f
any real service in j ewellery yet p resen tin g in ,

its fi brous form s s o pleasin g a l ustre as to be occas ion al ly

c ut and pol ished as an o rn amen tal ston e T his fibro u s .

G y p su m or S elen ite occu rs i n the N ew R e d Marls of

D erbyshire an d S taffordshire an d especially i n th e n ei gh,

bo u rh o o d of N ewark i n Nottin ghamshire where it i s

, ,

worked to a li m ited exten t i nto bead s an d other trivial

obj e c ts. S elen ite derives its n am e fro m its soft l ustre ,

suggestive of m oon sh in e ; but though the word l iterally

sign i fies m oon ston e n o j ewel ler wou l d thin k of d esign
“ ”
,

at in g it by s uch a term — the word moon ston e bein g “

i n v a ra bl y appl ied to an en tirely di fferen t ston e .

”
Th e S elen ite says A d reas B a c c iu s i s a ki n d of
“ “
, ,

gem w hich doth con tain i n it the i mage of the moon an d ,

it d o t l irep resen t i t in creasin g an d d ecreasin g accord in g to

'

the i n crease a n d d e c re a s e of the moon i n its monthly

“

.
,

”
chan ges . T h e G reeks called it A p h ro s e l e n e which s ign ifies ,

the splen dour of the moon or a beam o f the moon whilst , ,

‘
the R o man s cal led it L u n a ris D ioscorides says it 15 .
“

fou n d i n A rabia an d is en dued with v irtues as of makin g

, ,

”
trees fru itful an d of curin g epile p sy ; he add s that i
,
“

the n ight it wi l l il lu m in ate the place that i s n e x t to it .

Whatever the M oon ston e of the A ncients may have

b een the M oon ston e of the present d ay is an opalescent
,
2 80 M o o n s t o n e S e le n i t e
, ,
and S u n s to n e .

variety of orthocl ase fe lsp ar termed A d u l a ria a n am e

- —

wh ich it deri v es from M ou n t A d ul a on e of the highest ,

p e a k s of S t G othard w here it occurs T h e best spec i mens

.
. ,
, .

howe v er com e fro m C eylon T her e c a n be little doubt

, .

that the R o man s received con sign men ts of it with the ,

other prod ucts of T aproban e (C eylon ) T h e pleasin g l u s tre .

of t h is ston e has led to its us e by t h e j ewel ler an d a short ,

ti me ago it had a great run bu t at p r e sen t is quite out ,

of fashion .

While on e m e mber of the Felspar grou p is kn o w n as

Moon ston e an other is recogn ised as S u n s t o n e T h i s i s a
,
.

redd ish or golden coloured variety of Ol igocl as e exhi b itin g ,

i ntern al pris matic reflection s an d m i n ute s p an gles d ue to

the p resen c e of i n c luded c rystals of o x id e of iron or of
mi c a I t is fou n d to a l i m ited e x ten t in N orway an d i s
.
,

bu t rarely e mployed in j e w ell ery .

T h e Ch e m ic a l Co mp o s it io n the two Fe ls p a rs m ay be
taken as follows

M o o n s t o n e Ort h o cl a se ) . S u ns to n e ( g
Ol i ocl a s e
) .

S il ica
A l u min a 18 4
Potash 16 9
'
I OO O

Cry s t a ll in e Sy s t e m Cry s t a ll in e Sy s t e m
M ono c l in ic . T ri c l in ic .

S pe cific G ra v ity to S pe c ific 25 to

 CHA PTE R XXV

O B S I D IA N .

E O LO G IS T S ap ply
this n a me to a v olcan i c
glass or fused l ava an d at fi rs t sight it m ay
,

see m stran ge that s uch a s ubstan ce shoul d fi nd

a d escription i n a work on Precious S ton es .

O bsid ian was how e ver u sed by t h e A n cient s as an

, ,

orn amen tal ston e an d it i s stil l occ a sion ally c ut an d

,

polished I t is gen erally o f bottle green colour an d when

.
-
,

cut l ooks so mewhat l ike a Peridot or a green T our mali n e .

T h e great obj ection to the sto n e is its softness which ,

is rather less than that of Felspar A brown streak e d .

A m erican variety is c ut an d pol ished un der the n am e of .

M a h og a ny Obs id ia n A S iberian v ariety with a p l e a s in g

.
,

silvery sheen i s o c casion al ly u sed i n the man u facture

,

of sn u ff boxes an d other orn amen tal articl es

-
C u rious .

globular m asses of O bsid ian kn own fro m a S iberian ,

local ity as M a re h a n z t e someti mes e x plod e when struck

'

, , ,

”
l ike R uperts d rops
’
. O bsid ian bombs
“
are occasion ally
fou n d i n Western A u stral i a an d elsewhere
“

.
,

O B S I D IA N .

Ch e m ic a l Co mp os it io n
S il ic ate o f alu m in a potash i ron an d li me
, .

Sp e c ific G ra v i ty
H a rd n e ss 65
Fo r m A morphous .
 C H A P TE R X XV I .

O R I E N TA L ON YX .

NYX i s a celebrated variety of tin ted A gate ,

havin g its colours arran ged i n paral lel strata .

T h e O riental O nyx i s obt ai ned fro m I n d ia ,

Egypt A rabia an d A r men i a T h e i nferior

, , .

variety m ostly co mes fro m U rugu ay B avaria an d B ohe m ia

,
.

A bout 50 years ago this O rien tal O ny x was greatly

valued i n this coun try as an orn amen tal ston e an d I ,

re mem b er £ 1 0 0 0 bein g paid fo r a very fi n e row of bead s

of this O nyx which was got together with m uch d iflfic u lt y ;
,

b ut at the p resen t ti me the ston e has but l ittl e val ue .

S om e ston e , cal led b y tran slators Ony x ran ke d amon g ,

.

the highest class of gem s i n the an te C hristian world -

.

Pl i ny l iken s it i n co lou r to the h u m an fin ge r n ail an d it -

i s u pon this si m ilarity that its G reek n ame O nyx i s

‘

b ased T h e G reeks attached the foll owin g myth ological

.

origin to this ston e ; C upid with t he sharp poin t of his

,

arro w cu t the n ail sof the sleep in g Venus which fel l in to

, ,

‘
the I n d us b ut as t h e y w e re of heaven ly origin they san k ,

an d b ecam e metamorph osed i n to O nyx .

T h e O nyx has been chiefly u sed for n eckl aces ,

cameos an d costly vessels I n m akin g the cam eo the

, .
-
,

fi gure i s ca rved out of the ligh t col o ur an d stan ds i n relief,

on the d ark groun d .

2 84 Orie n t a l Ony x .

A mongst the mos t celebrated o f these cameos is the

”
S cha ffhausen O nyx on e of t h e most cherished ,

treasures of the C anton of S chaffhausen T h e fi gure .

engraved o n it is a fem ale wearin g a crown of hon ou r ,

hold ing in on e h an d a horn of plen ty i n the other a ,

”
M ercury s sta ff T h e fi gure D r O eri identifies as Pa x
’
. .
,

an d the C ameo was cut between A D 6 8 an d 8 2 I t i s of . . .

great historical i nterest an d is supposed to have b een

’

brought from C onstan ti n opl e by O rt l e ib von Frohberg ,

w h o was a trusted frien d of K onrad I II an d Friedrich I .

an d took part i n the S econd C rusade .

O n e of the m ost famou s of the A n t iqu e C ameos is t h e

Man tu a n Vase ; the base is brown an d on i t in relief are , , ,

grou ps of wh ite an d yellow fi gures re p resen tin g C eres a n d

,

T riptolemu s i n search of Proserpin e T h e Vase is formed .

from a sin gle ston e an d i s seven in ches high an d two an d

,
-

a hal f broad
-
I n the M u seo N azion al e at Na p les there
.
, ,

are many C am eos in O ny x ; on e ( el e v en i n ches by n i n e )

represen tin g the apotheosis of A u gustus an d an other with
the head of Med usa carved on on e s id e an d t he a p otheos i s ,

of Ptolemy o n the other .

O ny x has been foun d i n s uch large m asses tha t s m al l

p ill ars ha v e been m ad e of it : there are s i x s uch i n the
B asil ica of S t Peter, a t R o me
. A t C ologn e i n the T emple
.
,

of the T hree M agi there is on e broad er than the p al m of

,

t he han d A p p ia n as says that M ith ridates Kin g of

.
, ,

Pon tus had,

cups of this gem ; it is scarcel y possible ,

howe v e r to believe that they could have been of true

,

O ny x probably they were si mp ly O ny x marbl e -

.

By mod ern m in eralogists the term O ny x i s restri c ted

to an Ag a t e li ke substan ce form ed o f altern ati n g wh ite
-
,

an d brown or black l ayers of C hal cedony Whe n the .

 CHA P T E R XXV I I .

P E R I DO T OR C H R Y S O L I TE .

H IS is a v ery an cien t ston e an d is said to have

,

been at one ti me consid ered of m ore v al ue

, ,

than the D iamond bu t the author c an not

,

believe this statement .

I n the Ward robe B ook of E dward I t he P erid ot is .

,

men tion ed am on g the j ewels of the d eceased B ishop of

B ath an d Wells which were escheated to the C rown
, .

T h e Peridot has a v ery pleasin g yellowish green c o lou r -

,

an d is susceptibl e of a fi n e p olish but it is so soft as to be

,

easily scratched I t is a ston e that requires con siderabl e

.

skil l an d care i n pol ishing the fi n al l ustre being i mparted

,

to it by m ean s of su lp huric acid I t u s ual l y occurs i n.

fragments m uch w o rn by the action of water b ut w e ll ,

d efi n ed crystals have b een foun d which pro v e t hat its ,

n ative form is that of the rhombic prism .

A l t hough the P eridot has n ot retain ed its pristin e

repute it is still i n d eman d
,
T h e ge m looks wel l if
.

j udiciously set in gol d an d the deeper th e green th e m ore

,

val uabl e the ston e bu t it requires D iamon ds to set off it s

,

be a uty .

I t has been poin ted out i n treatin g of C hrysoberyl ,

th at o w in g to lapid aries callin g that ston e the O riental

,
“

”
C hrysol ite con siderab le con fusion has ar i se n between the
,

two ge ms A comparison of their chem ical co mposi tion

.
 P e rid o t or Ch ry s o l it e . 287

is how e ver su fficien t to shew t hat scarcely any two

, ,

m in erals d i ffer m ore widely i n their con stitution the on e —

bei n g an alu m i n ate of gl uci n a t h e other a sil icate of m ag

,

n e s ia
. T h e C hrysol ite o f m in eralogy i s i n fact practicall y ,

the sam e ston e as t h e Peridot .

M in eralogists in cl ude the C hrysol ite an d the Peridot

u n der the on e s p ecies Oliv in e T h e colors of O l ivin e .

vary from light straw yel low to yellowish green when ,

t h e ston e recei v es the n a m e o f C hrysolite ; an d then ce to

a pecul iar soft hu e o f a del icate deep yello wish gre e n

, ,

when it i s cal led Peridot I t i s foun d i n Egypt B razil

.
, ,

M e x ico A rizon a S outh A frica an d other c o untries

, , , ,

gen erally as s m al l pebbles an d it occurs i n fragmen ts i n

,

most o f the gold dri fts of N ew S outh Wales O f l at e a .

large quantity of rough P eridot has com e i nto the m arket

from two n e w m in es .

P E R I D OT OR CH R Y S OLIT E .

Ch e m ica l Co mp os i t io n
S ilica
M agn esi a
Ferrous o x ide
N ickel o x id e & c , .

I00 0 0

Sp e c ific G ra v i ty 3 35
H a rdn e s s 6 5°

Cry s t a l l in e Sy s t e m T ri metric .

Fo rm G en erally i n water worn pebbles

- .
 CH A PTER X XV I I I .

PH E NA K I T E .

late years this rare m in era l has occasion ally

been used i n R ussia as a gem stone T h e -
.

k in d employed for this purpose i s perfectly

tran sparen t an d colourless e x hibitin g when ,

ski lfully o u t great bril li an cy an d bearin g m uch superficial

,

resemblan ce to D iam ond .

Phe n akite l ike the E merald the C hrysob e ryl an d

—
, ,

Euclase— con tai ns the rare metal gl u c in u m or beryll i u m .

T h e fi n es t Phen akite occ urs i n m ica schist at S t re t n is k on

-
,

the R iver T ak o w ia n o t far fro m E katerin burg in the

,
‘
,

U rals I t i s also fou n d in Norway an d at P ike s Peak

. ,
’

in C olorado b ut is i n all local ities a rather scarce m in eral

, , , .

P I TE N A K I T E .

Ch e m ica l Co mp o s i t io n
S ilica
G l ucin a

Cry s t a l l in e Sy s t e m R ho mbohedr a l .

Sp e c ific G ra v ity 3
H a rd ne s s to 8
7 5
Fo r m Pris matic crystal s .
 CH A P T E R XX X .

R H O D O N ITE .

i s the rose red colou r of this m in eral which

-

has gained for it the n am e of R h o don ite ( from

the G reek rh o d o n arose ) ; an d it is this colour
,

also w h ich gives it a place am on g orn am ent al

ston es R hodon ite is an opaqu e silicate of mangan ese
.
’

foun d i n m asses so meti m es of con siderabl e size especially

, ,

n ear Ekaterin burg i n t h e U ral s

, B y the R ussian l a p i
.

d a rie s it is occas ion ally worked in to vases an d other orn a

mental obj e c ts I t also occurs at K ap in k in H un gary
.
, ,

where it is ass o c iated with black o x id e of man gan ese,

which gives a v ariegated colour to the ston e I t is on ly .

c ertain varieties of R hodon ite which can be ad v an tageousl y

used by the lapidary .

R H O D ON I T E .

Ch e m ica l Co mp o s it io n
M an ganese o x id e
S il ica

Cry s t a ll in e Sy s t e m T ri c li n ic
Sp e cific G ra v i ty 3 6
H a rd n ess
Fo rm R arely c rystal l ized us ual ly m assive .
 CHA PTER XX X I .

RO C K CR Y S TA L .

E R E O F thecom mon opin ion hath been an d ,

”
stil l re main et h am on g u s said the l earn ed ,

S ir T homas B rown e i n his famous work on ,

Vu lg a r E r ro rs i n 1 64 6 that C rystal is
, ,
“

n othin g else but ice or s n ow con creted an d b y d uration o f ,

t i m e con gealed beyon d l iquation O f which assert i o n if

.
,

prescription of t i m e an d n u merosity of assertors were a

s ufficien t d emon strat ion we m ight set d own herei n as a n
,

u n questio n able truth ; n or S houl d there n eed ulterior d is

q u is it io n F.o r few opi n ion s there are whic h have foun d
s o m any frien ds or been so popularly received through al l
,

”
Profession s an d A ges T h e word c ry s t a l is i n fact a
.
, ,

stan di n g testim ony to th is stran ge belief sin ce i t owes its ,

”
o rigin to the G reek word h r u s t a l l o s which mean s i c e “
, .

P liny S en eca, an d other an cien t writers— n ot t o m en tion

,

A ustin G regory J erom e an d several earl y fathers of the

, , ,

C hurch have gi v en their adhesion to the opin ion that

-

R ock C r y stal i s n othin g b ut water congeal ed by a cold so

i nten se that ord in ary methods fai l to m el t it .

M od ern sc ien ce howe v er d is p el l in g such i ll usion s

, , ,

has proved that R ock C rystal i s a p ure an d l i mpid for m of

Q uartz —a n atural v ariety of sil ica .

R ock C rystal is foun d i n a v ari e ty of form s someti mes ,

o f e x traord i n ary S ize an d beau ty I ts col our v aries fro m

.

p ure white to greyish white yellow

- wh ite
,
yellowish -
,

brown clo v e brown an d bl ack A ccord in g to its c o lou r

,
-
, .

it re c e iv e s a v ariety of n am es : thu s th e yellow i s k n own

a s Ci t r in e an d Fa ls e To a z
p the brown ,
as C a i rn o rm an d
g
 29 2 E ach Cry s t a l .

S m o hy Q -
an d the black as M ar io n
u a rtz , T h e clear .

varieties are tran sp arent an d p ossess doubl e refraction , .

T h e frequ en t ad m ixture of chlorite asbestos rutile , , ,

iron pyrites an d actin ol ite i n the c rystal s is very re mark

,

abl e I n some speci men s there are cavities with liquid

.

en closures which move as the crystal i s turned

, The .

brill ian t hai r brown n eedles of R u t ile p enetrating the

-
,

crystal i n al l d irection s i m part a curious appearanc e to ,

th e ston e an d such speci men s are o ften cut for brooches ,

,

”
u n der the n am e of Fle ch e s d A m o u r or C upid s arrows
’ ’ ’
“
, ,

”
or Ven us s H air S ton e
“ ’
I t is also kn o wn as S ag e n it e
-
.
,

or S ag e n it ic q u a rt z .

A mon g European localities for R ock C rystal the mos t ,

remarkable are thos e i n S witzerland A l ittl e d istan ce .

fro m the G ri msel it is fou n d i n the m in es of J o c h le B erg

,

an d Zin k e n s t o c k I n 1 7 3 5 the yiel d fro m the cave o f

.

Zin k e n s t o c k alone was v a l u e d a t T h e most

'

fa mous m in e perha p s, is that of Fis c h ba c h i n the V is p e rt h al

, , ,

which s upp l ied the crystal for the great Pyra m id of

M a rs fie ld 1 7 9 7 ,
T his block m easu red three feet i n
.

d iameter an d weighed over 8 00 lbs

,
I t i s n ow i n t h e .

Natural H istor y M useu m at Paris .

T h e most re m ark able d isco v ery of R ock C rystal o n

record is that which was mad e i n 1 8 6 7 at the G ale n s t o c k ,

above the T iefen G l acier by a p arty of tourists u n der the ,

gu ide P eter S u l z e r o f G u t ta nn en A ca v e i n the gran ite, .

yi elded more than a thousan d crystals al l of l arge size ,

’

an d weighin g fro m 50 lbs ea c h to upward s of 3 cwt . .

T hey wer e howe v er of d ark colou r

,
I n the M useu m at ,
.

B e rn e there are som e m agn ificen t crystals from this lucky

disco v ery O n e gigantic crystal known as the G ran d
.
“
,

”
father weigh s as m uch as é7 6 lbs ; while an other chris
,
.
,

”
t e n ed T h e Kin g weighs 2 5 5 lbs
“
, .
 CHA P T E R XXX I I .

S PH E N E .

P H E N E is a m in e ral which has occasion al ly

been c ut as an orn am ental ston e I ts ap p ear .

an c e i s som ewhat between that of O pal an d

C hrysol ite I n colour i t varies fro m pal e
.

yellow to green ; an d it e x hibits al l d egrees of tran sparen cy ,

some v arieties be in g howe v er opaque O n ly the most

, , .

transparen t an d clear spe ci men s have th e clai m to be

cl assed as ge m ston es ; an d although the m i n eral has a
-

rem arkably brill ian t d ispers i v e power its soft nes s is ,

a gain st its e v er bei n g e x ten sively u sed A m on g its m any .

lo c al ities m ention m ay b e m ad e o f A ren dal i n Norway , ,

of S t G othard an d M on t B lan c an d m any p arts of

.
,

N orth A merica .

S P H E NE .

'
Co mp os i t io n — Titan ic O x id e
S il ica
Li m e
I ron O x ide

S p e c ific G r a v i ty
H a rd n e s s 5 to 55
C ry s t a l l i n e Sy s t e m M on o cl in ic .

W edg e sha p ed crystal s

-
 CH A PT ER X XX I I I .

S PO D U ME NE .

F l ate c erta in v arieties of this min eral ha v e been

c ut as gem s ton es -
I ts colours v ary from
.

greyi sh to green ish yellow som e varieties are

opaque an d others transparent A ltho ugh sus c eptible o f
.

high polish it i s a v ery d i ffi cu lt m aterial to work p artly

, ,

b ecause it is m uch hard e r i n o n e d irection than another ,

an d partly on accou nt of i ts re markabl y easy c l ea v age ,

which ren d ers it liabl e to S plit .

S podu m en e i s foun d in a l arge n u mber of localities ,

b ut the t ran sparen t v ariety which alon e h as bee n c u t as

,

an orn a mental ston e is con fi n ed to B razil

,
.

T h e m in eral previously d escribed as H id d e n ite or ,

Lithia E m erald is on ly a v ariety of S pod u men e

, .

S P ODU M E NE .

Co m bo s i t io n : S ilica
A lu m in a
Lithia
I ron o x id e an d sod a
'
I OO O

S p e c ific G ra v i ty 3
7
Cry s t a l l in e Sy s t e m M on ocl i n i c .

Fo r m Us ual ly i n fragments e x hibiting two ,

paral lel clea v age pl an es .

 CH A P T E R X XX I V
T O PA Z .

HE n am e of this ston e is derived from the

G reek Top a z io s — a word which appears to
hav e been som eti m es wron gly appl ied to the
C hrysolite or P eridot T his was probably the
.

an cien t classic gem called i n H ebrew P i t t d o h by Professor

,

A aron Pick , an d P i t da h by G en esius ( accord in g to the

Mas so re t h ) the latter of who m i m agin es that it is deri v ed
,

fro m the S an scri t p i ta (pal e ) an d th at the G reek Topa z io s

,

S a tran spositio n fro m P i t d o h to Tip d o h .

T h e an cient
min eralogists d escribed this as a pal e yellowish or green ish
gem foun d i n an islan d of the R e d S e a B oetiu s s ays .

it is of a d il uted green colou r with yel lown ess add ed to

“

”
it. A m on g the virtu es then attributed to it we read
”
that the T opaz c al m s an acreon tic tem p eram ents
“
.

U n der t h e gen eral n ame of Top az modern m in eral

o gis t s i n cl ud e three d istin ct ston es the t r u e T opaz ;
(2 ) the Yellow S ap phire or the Orie n t a l Top a z ; an d ( 3 )
,

the Occ ide n t a l or Fa ls e Topa z T h e secon d is a yellow C o r

.

u n d u m an d the third is o n ly a v ariety O f S cotch Q uartz

, .

T h e tru e T opaz p resen ts a v ariety of colours fro m ,

clear white when it has been oc c asion al ly pal med o ff as

,

a D iamon d ran gi n g through al l shades of light b lu e and

,

l ight green to rose p in k oran ge an d straw yellow A

, , .

pin k colour is frequ en tly obtain ed by subj ectin g the

S herry coloured T opazes to a moderate temperature
-
Th e
.

i n stabil ity o f colou r in certai n T opazes is at tested by the

bleachin g which they su ffer on ex p osure to s un light .

C rystals of T opaz are re m arkabl e for their py r o

e l e c t r ic i ty in other word s they be c om e electri c on
exposure to heat .
A aro n Pick, an d P i tda h
Mas so re t h ) t h e lat t e r o f w
,

fro m the S an s c ri t p i t a (
s a tra n s p ositio n fro m
m ineralogists de s cribe d th i s as a
m foun d i n an isla n d f! the
g e O

it i s of a d il uted green c ol o u r
”
it . A m on g the v irtu es the n
that th e T o p a z ca l m s
“

Un de r the g e n e ral

are re m arkabl e fo r
w or d s t h e y be c o me
CR Y S T A LS OF B R A ZI L I A N T O PA Z
.
29 8 Top a z .

been fou nd at S ton eham in Main e I t is n otabl e th at, .

T O p a z is n ot un com mon ly fou n d i n con nection with Ore s

of ti n i n al l parts of the world .

T h e T opaz i s on e of the few S em i P recious S tones -

’
foun d i n the B ritish I sl es I t occurs at S t M ichael s . .

M ou nt C ornwa l l ; i n the M ourn e M ou n tain s C o D own ;

, ,
.

an d i n se v eral S cotch d istricts .

S everal en graved T o p azes are kn own ; that i n the

B ibl ioth equ e R oyale i n Paris is set as a sign et rin g havin g
, , ,

the portraits o f Philip I I an d D o n C arlos deeply cut in

.

it T here i s also a C itron yellow T opaz represen tin g an

.
-
,

I n dian B acchu s Th e antique T opaz i n S t Petersburg

. .
,

en graved with the repres en t ation of S irius i s of e x cel len t ,

work m an ship .

T h e G o u t t e d E a u which is capable of exquisite pol ish

’

, ,

is a colourles s T opaz I f c ut as a B rill iant with a s mall

.
,

table the p u re ge m form s a beautiful orn am en t an d some

,

specimen s foun d i n N ew S outh Wales an d i n B razil a re ,

worthy of care fu l cuttin g po l ishin g an d settin g

, ,
.

T h e che mical compo sition of the T opaz i n add ition ,

to its ob v ious characteristics con fi rm s its title to a high ,

ran k a mon g orn am en tal m in era l s .

TOPA Z .

Ch e m ica l Co mpo s i t io n
A l u min iu m
S ili c on
O xygen
Fluorin e

S p e c ific G r a v ity
H a r d n es s 8
Cry s t a l l i n e Sy s t e m R hom b ic .

Fo r m Pris ms , termin atin g with pyra mids ;

the two en ds us ual ly d issi milar ; wit h
s tron gly marked basal cleavage
- .
 CHA PT E R X X XV

TO U R MA LI N E .

HE D utch are said to have in trod uced T our

m al in e i nto E urope from C eylon T h e first
,
.

w ritt en history o f the s ton e i s fou n d i n a

book publ ished at Leipzig in 1 7 0 7 c a lled , ,

Cu rio u s Sp e c u l a t io n s of S l e ep le s s N ig h t s
”
I t is men tion ed
.

also i n the catalogu e of a collection of ston es sen t over

from C eylon t o Leyden i n 1 7 1 1 Fo r m any years s m al l
.

qu an tities on ly of th is ston e were sen t to Eu ro p e an d th e ,

G e rm an J ews were al most its on ly p urchasers .

Fe w m in eral s p resen t greater co m p lexity of che mical

con stitutio n than the T ou rm al in e I ts c om position has been
.

said to resemble the prescri p ti on of a med i ae val doctor i n ,

wh ich a l ittl e O f everythin g was thrown i n ; an d a refere n ce

to the an alysis append ed to this chapter will ill ustrate this
i n tricacy of c on st itution T o the st udent of physics the
.
,

T ou rm al i n e i s a ston e of S in gu l ar in terest fro m the curious ,

optical an d electrical characters which it e x hibits It .

enj oys i n its d ifferen t variet ies a v ery wide range of

, ,

colour though it rarely d isplays any v ivid or brillian t

,

hue hence it h as beco m e a great favourite w ith c o n n o is

s e u rs
,
who can appreciate its soft an d so m b re ton es but ,

has n ot acqu ired gen eral popul arity I ts colours c on sist.

of variou s shad es of grey yel low blue pin k a n d brown ;

, , , ,

a ll havin g a ten dency toward s the d arker h ues e v en ,

to bl ack .
3 0 0 To u r m a l in e .

T h e T o urm al in e
pass es un d er a v ariety of m in eralogical
'

n am es a c cord i n g to the col ou r wh ich it p re se n t s T h e

, .

red varieties are kn own as R u be l l it e the blu e as I n d ico l it e , ,

an d the clear an d colourl ess c ry St a ls as A ch ro it e ; while

the com m on black T ourm al in e is still d istin guished by
the ol d G erman n a m e of S ch o rl .

I t O ften happen s that the colou r i s n ot con stan t

throughout the ston e S O th at on e part may be green wh ile
, ,

a nother por tion of the sam e crystal m ay be decidedly pin k .

A n A m erican variety is n otable for presentin g a central

kern el of red colou r surrou n ded by a zon e of l ively green
, ,

an d as su ch crystals are u sual ly three sided prism s the y -

,

offer when cut across a tria n gu lar or heart S haped section

, ,
-
,

with the pleasin g effect of a red centre frin ged by a

green bord er .

T ourm alin e possesses doubl e refraction an d polarizes ,

light perfectly : hen c e it is used by optician s i n t h e

con struction of polariscopes I ts d ichrois m is v e ry p ro
. ,

no unce d an d m ay b e often recog n ised without the aid

,

o f an in stru m en t .

T ourm ali n e in com mon with m any ot h er Precious

,

S ton es d evelop s electricity u n der friction

,
M any T ou r .

m al in es also acquire electric properties when heated o n e —

e nd of the crystal b ecom in g positive an d the other

‘

n egative T his phen omen on i s k nown as Py ro e le c t r ic i ty I t

.
-
.

is con n ected with th e curious form of m ost of the cry stals ,

their two extrem ities ex hibit in g d iffe re n t faces T his r

‘
.

p eculiarity of S hap e i s term ed h e m im o rp h is m S i n ce hal f of ,

the crystal presen ts on e form an d half an other When ,

.

the temperat u re of a hem i morphic crystal is either raised

o r l owered its electric equilibriu m is d isturbed an d
, ,

polarity d eveloped ; so that the con d itio n of the crystal

m ay then be compared with that of a magn et .
3 0 2 To u r m a l i n e .

A very large s p e c i m e n of R ubellite or R e d T ou r ,

m al in e fro m B urm a i s e x hibited i n t h e M ineralogi c al

, ,

G allery of the B ritish M useu m ( S outh K en sin gton ) T his .

u n iqu e group of crystals was presen ted by the K in g of A v a

to C olonel S ymes w hen on an embassy to that cou n try ,

an d has been val ued at 1 0 0 0 I t has probably lost m u ch

.

o f its original colour and val ue .

Th e author has received a very fin e piece of reddish

T ourmalin e fro m the C ash mere S apphire M i n es an d several
pi e ces fro m the B u rm a R uby M i n es .

T OU R MALI NE .

C omp o s it io n — Very complicated an d varied A c .

cord in g to R am melsberg a green ,

B razil ian ston e ga v e

S il ica
Alumina
B oron t rio x id e
Ferric o x ide
Ferrous o x id e
S od a
Fl uorin e
L ithi a
Li m e
M an gan i c o x id e
M agnesia
Potash

to
'

7 5
Cry s t a l l in e Sy s t e m R hombohedral .

Fo r m U sually in pris m s striated verti c ally ,

an d d i fferently ter mi n ated at op p os ite en ds .

 CHA P T E R X XXV I .

ZI R CO N O R J A R G O O N
"

HE Zircon i s a lovely ston e the red an d ,

brown varieties bein g especially n oteworthy .

S om e of the fi n est Jargoon s presen t yellow ,

green an d bl u e ti nts n ot u n l ike those of the

, ,

T ourmalin e but with m uch more fi re an d l ustre

, S ome .

s peci men s when subm itted to great heat i n cre a se i n l ust re , ,

bu t at sam e ti me lose colou r .

T h e Z irc o n is distin gu ished when i n i ts n atural form ,

by its qu ad rilateral crysta l s term in atin g at both en ds i n a

,

pyram id I t is of ad aman tin e l ustre t ran sparen t to s u b

.
,

t ran sl ucent I n form er ti m es this gem was more hig h l y

.

v alued than at present .

A lthough the local ities which yiel d Zircon s fit for

workin g in to orn amental ston es are b ut few it should be ,

born e i n min d t h at the coarser forms of Z ircon are presen t

i n a great v ariety of ro c ks s u c h as the Zircon syen ite of
,
-

Norway an d S ibe l ia
'
.

N i c ol s writin g of Zircon s 2 3 0 years ago says ,

T hey are foun d in Ethiopia I n d ia an d A rabia , Th e

, .

A rabs d istinguish three k in ds —4 1 R ubri C oloris : 2 , C itrin i

,

C oloris : 3 A n t im o n ii C oloris
, O f these the worst i s
.

foun d i n the river I ser which i s u pon the con fines of

,

”
S ilesia an d B ohem ia .

Klap roth in 1 7 8 9 dis c o v ered i n the Z ircon an earthy

basi s, to which he gave the n am e of Zircon ia I t is the .
 Zirc o n or

o x id e a pec uliar m etal called Zirco n iu m of w hich the

o f ,

ge m itself is a S il icate T h e word Zi rco n is of A rabic

.

origin .

T here is a splen d id speci men of a very an cient

en gravi ng on a Z ircon i n the Paris M useu m the work ,

man sh ip of which is exqu isite ; it is abou t 2 i n ches i n

len gth an d I } i n width an d represents Moses with the two
, ,

tabl es of the l aw Lord D un can n on had i n his collection

.

a Zircon with an engravin g on it represen tin g an athl ete .

A ccord in g to m in eralogists the red an d brown ,

varieties of Z ircon form the true hy a c i n t h an d ja c i n t h ;

though the ston es so called co m mercially are O ften , ,

Esson ite which is a ston e belongin g to the G arn et fam ily

,
.

The hyacinthin e Zircon occurs i n the gem drifts of -

A ustral ia .

ZI R C O N OR J A R G OON .

Ch e m ic a l Co mp o s i t io n — S ilica
Z ircon ia

Sp ec ific G ra v i ty 4 to
H a rd n e s s 7 5
'

Cry s t a l li n e Sy s t e m T etragonal .

Fo r m T etragon al pris m with p yramid al term in a

tion : often as rolled pebbl es .
 Cl a s s ific a t io n .

O X I DE S— (
co n t in u e d
)
J A S PE R (S il ica , co m p a ct ) .

O PA L ( S ilica , hy d ra t e d ) .

3 . A LU M I N A T E S
S PI N E L .

B alas R uby .

C H R Y S O B E R YL .

O riental C at s eye
’
-
.

A le x an drite .

4 . S I L I CA T E S
B E R YL .

E merald .

A quamari n e .

E U C LA S E .

P H E NA K I T E .

ZI RCON .

J argoon .

H yacin th or J a ci nth .

T O PA Z .

O L I VI N E .

C hrysolite or Peridot .

DIC H R OIT E or I O L I T E .

GA R NE T .

E sson ite .

A l man din e .
 Cl a s s ifica t io n .
30 7

S I L I CA T E S

C arbun cl e .

Pyrope .

G r oss u laria .

D em an t oid .

T OU R MA LI N E .

S PO D U M E N E .

H idden ite .

A NDA L U S ITE .

S P H E NE .

FE L S PA R .

Moon stone .

S u n ston e .

Labradorite .

A mazon ite .

O B S I DIA N .

R H ODO N I T E .

J A DE .

N e p h rit e .

J ad e ne .

L A PI S L A ZU LI
-
.

PH OS PH A TES
TU R QU OIS E .

O don tolite .

M O ROX I T E .

C A R B O N A TE S
M A LA C H I T E .
 Cl a s s ifica t io n .

ORGA NI C
A MB E R .

P E A R L S con sist essen tially of C a r

bon ate of Li me an d woul d ,

therefore come un der the class of

”
C arbon ates n u mbered 6 i n the
,

above schem e of C lassification .

B u t as Pearls are formed b y

certain M o llusca they m ust be ,

regarded as o rg a n ic products an d ,

S hould consequen tly be placed i n

class 7 I t is , however n ot correct

.
,

to in clud e them i n any sche me for

the C l assifica t ion of M in eral
s u b stan ces .

Com o s it io n ( Fro m t h e Pe a rl fou n d i n A u strali a

'

p —

an d C eyl on ese fi sheries ) . I dentical i n a sam p le

fro m each fishery .

C arbon ate of Li me 9 17 2 p e r cen t .

O rgan ic m atter
W ater
the highest n u mber an d the softest at the bottom of
,

the scale
I O D iamon d
, 5 A patite .
, .

9 S apphire
, 4 Fl uors p ar .
,
.

8 T opaz , 3 C alcite
.
, .

7, Quartz 2 G ypsu. m , .

6 Fels p ar
, 1 T alc .
,
.

To as c ertain the hard n ess of a ston e rub it over the ,

ed ge of an other ston e of kn own h ard ness I f it n eithe r .

scratches n or is scratched by it the two are iden tical i n

degree of hard n ess I f it scratches say N o 7 but i s
.
, , .
,

scratched by No 8 its hard n ess wil l l ie between t h e two

.
,

n u mbers S i mple as the test seem s to be it requires con

.
,

s id e ra ble skil l i n some cases to O btain satis factory results .

T o the studen t of Precious S ton es it is on ly the fi rst

four degrees of hard n ess that are Of in terest I t is con .

v e n ie n t to have represen tatives of these m oun ted in t ubes ,

or han d les for ready use A s m al l case con tain in g these

,
.

stones conven iently m oun ted m ay be p urc h ased for a

, ,

guinea an d w il l en abl e any ord in ary j udge to test a doubt

,

fu l ston e .

PO C K E T C A S E OF S TO NE TE S TS ,
(A c t u a l S iz e )
.
 A pp e n d i e . I 1

T h e D iamon d
( No 1 0 ) scratches e v.ery other stone .

T h e S apphire ( NO 9 ) stan ds n ext i n h ard n ess to t h e D ia

.

mon d an d scratches al l in ferior stones T h e T op az ( No 8 )

, . .

an d the R ock C ry s tal ( No 7 ) are t h e o n ly other m in eral s

.

li kely to be of serv ice

T h e O pal , T urq u oise M oonston e an d S phene are al l
,

i n ferior to Q uartz i n hard n ess or i n Other words fal l , ,

below N o 7 i n the stan d ard scale

. .

S P E C I FI C G R A VI T Y .

A specifi c gravity is a read ily appl icable yet in v al u

s ,

able aid i n the d iscri m in ation of Precious S ton es a d e s

, ,

c ri t io n of the usu al modes of takin g the s ecific gravity

p p
of a m in eral m ay be useful B y specifi c gra v ity i s mean t .

the rel ative weights o f equal bul ks of d i fferen t kind s of

of m atter D istilled water at 6 0 d egs F is usually taken
. . .

as the u n it of co mparison so that i f a gem weigh 3 , ti m es

,

as m uch as an equal bulk of water u n der t he above con ,

d it io n s , it is sai d to h a v e a specifi c gravity o f 3 5

°

O n e method n ow m uch used con sists i n placin g the

, ,

gem i n a l iquid of k n own specific gravity and observin g ,

whether it S in ks or floats T h e l iquid m ust n ecessarily be

.

of v ery high specific gravity i f it is to be of any use i n

deal in g with gems S u ch a liquid as that discovered by
.

Mr S o n s t a d t an d called after h im S o n s t a d t s S olution “ ’

.
, ,

has been used T his is a sol ution of mercuric iod ide in

.

potassiu m iodide an d can b e prepared of an y specifi c

,

gravity up to about 3 [t is h o w e v e r v e ry p o is o n o u s a n d
.
, , ,

m u s t be u s e d w i t h t h e g re a t e s t c a u t ion I t i s often k n own .

on th e C on tin ent as T h o u le t s sol ution ’

.

I n this sol ut ion any ston e i n the followin g l ist would

,

fl o a t — T ourmal i n e T u rquoise E merald B eryl all the

, , , ,
3 12 A pp e n d i x
.

varieties of Quartz an d M oon ston e O n t h e other han d

, .

G arn et S apphire R uby C hrysoberyl S p in el T opaz D ia

, , , , , ,

mon d an d C hrysol ite from their greater s p ecific gra v ity

, , ,

wo ul d s in h .

O f lat e years S o n s t a d t s sol ution has been re p laced by

’

other l iquids of even higher den sity T hu s the boro t ungs .

,
-

'

tate of cad m iu m is a sal t whic h gi v es a pale y e l lo w s o l u t io n -

of the d en sity of 3 2 8 T h is i s kn own fro m its d isco v erer

.
, ,

as Klein s solution M ethyl en e iod ide again is a v ery

’
.
, ,

con ven i en t liqu id its speci fi c gravi ty be i n g about 3 3 or

, ,

sl ightly higher I f is a yellow l iquid read ily m iscible with

.
,

ben zen e ; an d its use was suggested by D r B raun s . .

B u t the den sest of al l l iqu ids as d isco v ered by ,

D r R e t ge rs is the fused n itrate of thalliu m an d S il v er

.
, ,

which has a specific gravity of about 5 an d fuses at as low ,

a temperatu re as 7 5 C or 1 6 7 Fah T hus at a te mper

°
.
,
°
.
,

atu re con si derably less than that of boilin g water the salt ,

form s a liquid which is cl ear an d colou rl ess an d m ay be

, ,

m i x ed i n any p roportion with water whereby its dens ity ,

c an be red uced at w ill .

A n other method of takin g specifi c gravities is by

weighin g the ston e fi rst i n air and then in water and ,

d ivid in g the former weight by the d i fference between the

two weighin gs A si m ple m ethod an d on e gen erally of
.
,

su ffi cien t acc u racy is to e mploy a firs t class pair of D ia

,
-

mon d scales as follows : D rill a s m all hole i n the bottom

,

of on e of the scale pan s throug h which pass a double fibre ,

of silk S O as to han g say 4 inches below the pan ; ti e a

,

kn ot to preven t its S l ippin g through suspen d the ston e i n

the silk by bend in g back the S ilk upon itsel f so as to form ,

a doubl e S l ip n oose ; an d weigh the ston e very carefully

whil e han ging suspen ded i n this position T hen i m merse .

the ston e as it hangs i n dist il led water I t wi ll a ppear to

, , .
3 4
1 App e n d i x .

intens ity an d d elicacy of hu e an d beauty ; i n a word the ,

optical characters co nstitute a great gul f that d i v ides t h e

real ston e fro m the i m itation .

R efle c t io n and R efra c t io n .

W h en a ray of light i mpin ges u pon the s urface of a

gem p art of i t passes through it , i n accordan ce with
,

wel l k n own optical l aws an d part of i t is thrown back or

-
,

r
efl e c t e d i n obedien
, ce to the fol lowi n g l aws
( )a .T h e an gl e of reflection is equ al to the angle of
in ciden ce .

( ) oth the i n ciden t an d the reflected ray are i n

b .B
the sam e plan e an d this i s per p en d icu lar to the reflecting
,

s urface .

T h e a mou nt of l ight thus reflected is d i fferent in

di ffe rent gem s an d it varies also i n proportion to the
,

obl iqu ity With which the in ciden t ray falls upon the ston e .

Th e amoun t o f light reflected i n creas es u p to a certain

an gle d i fferin g i n d i fferen t ston es ; an d u n der certain
—

con dition s t o t a l refle c t io n takes place T o this p roperty is.

d ue the superior brill ian cy of the D iam on d as every ,

in ciden t ray which strikes a face in sid e the ston e at a , ,

’
greater an gle than 24 1 3 is tota lly reflected We thus see
°
.

the s upre me i mportan ce of cuttin g a D iamon d n ot on ly o f ,

a graceful an d han dsome o utlin e but havin g each facet c u t

,

with s uch m athematical precision as to secure the greatest

a mou nt of reflection fro m its i n tern al su rfaces .

Leavin g the reflected part of the ray an d passi n g on ,

to n otice that part which is tran sm itted through the gem ,

we fi n d that this tran s m ission is regul ated by l aws wh ich

may be thu s en u n ciated
( )
a A . ray of l ight passin g fro m a rarer into a denser
 “
A pp e n d ix .
3 5 I
"

med iu m (as from air i n to a ge m ) is ben t or re fra c t e d

t o ze a r d s a l ine d rawn perpen d icular to the plan e which

d ivid es the m : and v ice v e rs a .

b
( ) T h
. e in es of the an gl es of in c iden ce an d refraction
S

bear a constan t relation to on e an other for each substan ce ,

which relation is k n o izvn as its ref ra c t iv e in dex or in de x of

refr a c t io n I t is to this p roperty that lenses owe their
.

ma gn ifyin g power ; the higher the i n dices, th e higher the

magn ifyin g power T h e ref r a ct iv e in dex O f the D iamon d
.

is the highest of any wel l k n own s ubstan ce I t was the

-
.

high refractive i n dex o f the D iamon d that led Newton to

s uspect its composition , as e x plain ed at p 5 7 S ir D . . .

B rewster gives the followin g as the refract ive in d ices (for

the y ello w ray ) of several gem ston es compared with -

glass
D i amond C hrysoberyl
Z ircon S pi n el to
R uby C rown G lass 15

An i n stru m en t cal led a R eflec t o m e t e r has been in tro

d u c e d for the pu rpose of read ily ascertai n in g the refractiv e
i n dex an d m ay be con ven ien tly used i n the examin ation
,

of certai n ge m stones -
.

D isp e rs io n .

When a ray of co m mon white light p asses thro ugh a

tran sparen t med i um i t may s u ffer deco mposition an d be
, ,

split up i n to its co mponen t colour s I f the med iu m be .

properly shaped this d ecomposition O f the light is ren dere d

,

evident an d i n place of the white l ight w hich entered

, ,

there e merges a beauti ful gro u p o f all the prismat ic ‘

colou rs of the rain bow .

 T his act of spl ittin g u p is called the D isp e rs io n of
l ight I t is the phen o men on fam iliar to al l i n a chandel ier
.

d rop A s m ight be an ticipated the d ispersion is highest

.
,

i n the D iamond ; i n fact the d ispersive power of this

,

ston e is more than three ti m es as great as that of rock

crystal I t is upon this property that the m atchless qu al ity
.

c alled fi re in the D iamon d d ep en ds T h e lower the d is.

p e rs iv e power ,
the less fi re i n the ge m ; the higher the
d ispersive power, the more brillian t an d iri d escen t is the
fi re which it reflects fro m its s u rfaces Th e d ispersive .

power of certain kind s of gl ass or paste m ay be very h igh ,

bu t their softn ess ren d ers them co mparatively worthl ess

for orn am ental purposes .

D o u ble R ef ra c t io n .

T h e D iamond , S pin el , G arn et ,

an d all other substan ces
c rystall izin g i n the I sometric or C ubic S ystem or those ,

occu rrin g i n the amorphous con d ition n ormally possess ,

on ly s impl e ref ra c t io n T h e rest of the gem s w hich c rys

.

t al l iz e i n system s other than the c u b ic are said t o exhibit

,

d o u bl e refraction that is to say when a ray of light passes

,

through them it i s spl it up in t o two rays on e of which

, ,

called the o rd i n a ry ray follows the laws o f refraction

—

j ust descri b ed whi le the other cal led the ex t ra o rd in a ry

,
—

ray fol lows a totally d i fferen t law T his spl ittin g or

— .

d ivid ing of the ray d epen ds u pon the direction i n wh ich

the l ight i s tra n sm itted through the ge m ; there bein g a
certain position in which the ray su ffers n o d ivision an d ,

the substan ce si mply acts as an ordin ary m ed ium poss ess ,

i n g S in gle refractio n ; this d irection is called t h e ax zs of r

n o ref ra c t io n or the op t ic ax is O n lookin g at a s mall

.
 P l e o ch r o is m .

P leochroism is a term used to express the existen c e

o f a pl ural ity o f colou rs i n on e an d the s a m e ston e w h en ,
-

viewed by tran s mitted l ight u n der certain con dition s .

T h is can be m ad e an in valuable aid i n the iden tification

of certain gems by the help of a l ittle i nstru men t in v ented
,

many years ago by the great A u stria n m i n eralogist

, ,

H aidin ger an d called the D ich ro is cop e Th e m ineral I olite

, .
,

takes its n am e o f D ichroite from its m arked dichrois m .

T his m in eral an d so me other ston es such as certain ,

S a p phires an d T ourmal in es m ay S how the di fference of tin t

,

to th e u n aided eye b ut i n m ost cases a speci al in str u men t

,

is n eeded for its detection .

T h e d ichroiscope is a v ery S i mpl e i n stru me n t con ,

structed as follo w s A cl eavage rhombohed ro n of I celand

-

spar is fitted i n to a s mal l m etal cyl inder havin g at on e ,

en d a sl idin g cap per forated through its cen tre with an

,

aperture usual ly squ are A t the other en d is a len s o r

,
.
,

combin ation of l en ses of such focal length that when

,

the sl idin g cap is pulled out it wi l l S how i n con sequen c e

, ,

of the doubl e refraction of the I celan d sp ar two distin c t ,

i mages of the aperture I f a ston e be i n troduced i n fron t

.

o f the aperture the two i mages wi l l be O f the same or o f

,

d ifferent hues accord in g to the opti c al characters o f the

,

ston e T hose min eral s with crystall ize i n the C ubic system
.

s uch as D iam on ds G a rn ets an d S pi nels S how a p ai r of

, , ,

i mages identical i n colour B u t all Precious S ton es cry st

.

a l l iz in g in an y of the other systems sho w e x cept w h en ,

v iewed i n the d irection of t h e optic a x is two i m ages t h e , ,

 A ppe n di x .
3 19

colours o f which d i ffer to a greater or less e x tent T his ,

property of e xhibiting two colours i s called d ic h ro is m ,

an d th e ston e possessin g it is said to be d ich ro ic .

T h e followi ng is a l ist of the prin cipal ge ms which

shew twin colou rs when seen with the d ichroisco p e as ,

gi v en by Prof C hurch bu t S l ightly mod ified

.
,

NA M E OF S TO NE . T WI N C O LO U RS .

S a p phire ( bl ue ) G reen ish straw an d B l ue

Bu rma R uby ( )
red A u rora red C armin e re d

S ia m R uby ( )
red B rown ish red C ri mson

E m eral d ( green ) Yellowish green B lu ish gre e n

B eryl ( pale bl ue ) Sea green A zu r e

A quamari n e( sea green ) S traw white G rey blu e

C hrysoberyl (yellow ) G olden brown G reen is h yell o w
T ourmalin e ( )
red S al mon R ose pin k
( green ) P istachio green B lu ish green
( bl ue ) G reen ish grey I n digo blu e
Peridot ( ol ive green ) B rown yellow Sea green
T opaz ( sherry yello
-
w ) S traw yel low R ose pin k

U se f
o th e S pe c t roscop e .

i nstru m en t w h ich is so fam il iar to the p h y si c ist

T h is , ,

the chem ist an d the astron o mer is n ot often u sed by t h e

, ,

gem e x pert ; but Prof C hu rch shewed many years ago

-
.
, ,

that it m ight b e u sefully employed i n the e x am in ation of

cert ain stones T hus many tran sparen t zircon s when
.
, ,

viewed through the sp e c troscope exhibit a characteristic ,

series of bl ack absorption ban ds ; whilst another set Of-

band s is shewn by most al mand in e garn ets -

.
 A PPE N D I X B .

G E N E R A L R E MA R K S

U PO N TH E T ERM OR WO RD

C A R A T, R A TI, A ND T H O LA .

HE word C arat is derived from the n ame of

'

a bean the fruit o f a species of E ry t /z z m a

, ,

which grows i n A frica T h e tree which yields .

”
the fru it is called by the n ati v es Kuara “

( S u n
, ) an d both blossom an d fruit are o f a golde n colour .

T h e bean or fruit when d ried is n early al ways of the same

,

weight , an d thu s i n very re mote ti me it was used in

S han gallas the chief market of A frica as a stan dard of
, ,

weight for gold T h e B ean s were afterwards i mported i nto

.

I n d ia an d were there used for weig hin g the D iamon d

,
.

T/z e oz mee w e zlgk t ( }

1 5 I ‘ e ts .
)
is u se d f or w a g/t in g

B a ro qu e P e a r /s , Co m !

a nd S e m i - P re cio u s S t o n es .

The B ali is 89 per cent . of a c arat ;

more p recisely
O n e C arat I 2 2 80
’
R ati .

O n e R ati 0 8 9 0 6 2 C arat ; an d
O n e Tbo l a is about 5 7 carats .
 IN D E X

P AG E
A chates, R i v er, A gates nam ed fro m
A chroi t e ( T our m aline )
A dam antine lu stre . .

s par ( C orundu m )
A dam as
A dularia ( M oonstone )
A fghanistan R u b ies
A frican C at s E y e (C rocid o lite )
’
-

D iam onds
”
“
R u b ies ( G arnets )
A gates
arti fi cial colourin g of
A le xandrite .

A l m andine (G arn et)

A l p hab et of Precious S tones
A m azonite (Fel s par )
A m b er
A m ethy st
A m sterdam D iam ond cuttin g -

A n d alusite
A nj ou Duke o f D iam o nds o f
, ,

A nthrax
A patite
A p h ro s e l e n e
A po stle S to ne s
A p p endi x
A quam arine
A rab ian T ur q uoise
A rist o tle, Precious S tones k n o wn
 I n d ex .
3 3
2

P AGE
A rizona M eteorite s Diam onds in ,

A ste rias
A steris m
A st rap ia
A t l ay , Mr at B urm a R u by
.
,
F, . m ines
A ustral ian D iam onds
E m eralds
O p als
R u b ies (G arnets )
S apphire s
T urquoise
A u strian E m eralds
A vanturine
A zul ( La p is Lazuli ) -

B adak sh an S p inels 1 96
B ahias (D ia m onds ) 1 10

B alais R u by I 97
B al a s 1
95
“ -
1 97
B all , Prof on Indian Diam o nds
. V .
,
1 1 8— 1 2 3— 1 27

o n R u b ies 1
5 1

B altic A m b er 24 1

B an agan p ill y D ia m onds 1 2

5
Barb ot M on D iam onds
, .
, 59
B arkl y ite (C orundu m ) 1 61

Beau S anc y D iam on d 21

Bernardi G io v anni ge m en graver

, ,
-
34
B ery l 24 7

B in gara D iam ond fi el d 97

—
98
B irago C le m ent Dia m ond en graver
, ,
-
37
B l a ck O p als 2 20

B lac k Prince R u by 1
56
Bloo d stone ( H ae m atite ) 2 66

( H eliotro e
p ) 2
5 0
‘

B lue D iam onds

B lue E art h A m ber ,

D ia m on d
B o ggy C a m p I nverell Dia m ond fi e lds
,

B oe thius on Precious S tones

,

Bohe m ian G arnet ( P yro p e )

B one T u rquoise
B onne y Pro f descri b e d S A fric a n bl u e e art h
, .
, .
a

B orneo
B ort
B o y le on the Diam o n d
,

B rab ant R ose D iam onds

B ra z ilian A gate
D iam onds
Pe bb les
T o paz
B reast plate o f J ew ish H i gh Prie st
-

B re wster S ir D , o n A m ethy st .
,

on D iam onds
B rillian t s
B riolettes
B ristol D iam onds
“

B ritish G ui ana D i am onds

B ro wn Mr C B
, on B ur m a R u b ies
. . .
,

B ro wne S ir T, on D iam onds .

,

on C ry stal
B runs w ick B lue D iam ond
.

B rutin g Di am onds
B ruzzi V in c e n z io on c o l o u re d D iam o n d s
, ,

B ur gun d y, D u k e o f, Diam on d s of
B ur m a R u b ies
R u b y m ines of
S app hires
C harles I engraved D iam ond o f
.
,
.

C harles the B old cut D i am on ds of ,

C hurch Pro f on T urquoise

, .
,

o n D ichrois m

on the S pectroscope
o n Zircons

C hrysob ery l
C hr ysolite
O riental
C h ryso p ras e
arti fi cial colour of
C innam on S tone (E ss o nite )
C ircular A gate
C itrine (Yello w Q uart z )
C lassi fi catio n of S tones
C leavage of D iam onds
C loud s in S tones
C oloured D iam onds
C olouring S tones arti fi ciall y
C o m b ustion of D iam ond
C orundu m
C anadian
U nited S tates
C ritical an gle of D iam ond
C rocidolite
C rook es S ir W on D iam onds
, .
,

o n Phosphorescence

on X ray s -
. .

C ud gegon g D iam o n d fi el d s
C upid s arro ws
’

C uttin g o f D iam o n d s
C y m ophane ( C hrysob ery l )

Dana, Prof , . o n ori gin of D iam ond

 I n d ex . 2
3 7

P AG E .

Darcet, M .
, on D ia m onds 6 2 — 63
Davy , ‘S ir H com po s ition of Diam onds
.
, ou -
64
D e B eers D iam ond m ine 82 87 88 — — -
9 1

De B oot cleaved D iam onds

, 54
o n de col o urin g Diam onds 59
-

De m antoid 2 64

D erby Prof O o n B razilian D ia m onds 1 0 7 — 1 0 9

, .
, .
,
—
1 10

D e sp re t z M on D iam onds
, .
, 67
Dewar Pro f on D iam onds
, .
, 68
D e wey D iam ond 1
35
D iam ond 5 2

co m p osition of 62
cuttin g of 24

drill 1 44

en gravin g of 37
o ri gin of 69
use of 44
D ia m onds A frican , 75
A ustralian 96
B orneo 1o 2

B razilian 1o 6
B ritish G uiana 1 1 7
Indian 1 1 8
R ussian 1 33
U nite d S tates 1
34
D iam antin a 10
9 1 1 5
Dichro iscope 3 18
D ichroite 2 68

D i m etri M o n S ia m R u by m ines
,
.

,
1
5 8

Dis p ersion of L i ght 3 5 1

in Diam onds 57
D ou b le refraction m
316
Drill D ia m on d
,
1 44

D ry diggin gs fo r D iam onds

- . 81
Du T oit s Pan ’

D utch R ose
Dy ein g Precious S tones

E gy p tian E m erald s
J asper
E m eralds
A ustrian
A ustr alian
E gy ptian
M uzo
U nited S tates
E n glish D iam ond cuttin g
E n graved Diam on d s
E n gra v in g o n S tones

E ssonite (C inna m on S tone )

E uclase
E x celsior Diam ond
fi gure o f
E y e A gate

E zek iel m ention of Precious S tones by

,

False T o p az (Q uartz)
Favre M on ori gin of D iam onds
, .
,

Feathers in S tones
Fire O p al
-

Fl ech es d A m o u r
’

Fl o rentine A cade m y e x p eri m ents o f on Diam onds

, ,

P loyer Mr on E m erald m ines of E gy p t

, .
,

Fluorescent A m b er
Fo rt ific a t io n A gate ,

Fossil T urquoise (O dontolite)

Fo u rc ro y on D i am onds
,
,

Fran k S m ith Diam ond m ine ,

Friede l M on D ia m ond s
, .
,

Frie d l zin d e r D r on ori gi n of D ia m onds

'

,
H un gari an Opal
H yacinth

(Zircon )

Illicit Diam ond b uy in g

I ndex of R e fraction
Indian D iam onds
I ndi an cut D iam ond s
-

Indicolite (T our m aline )

I ntaglios
Inverell D iam o nd Field s
I olite (D ichroite)
Irish Diam onds
“

I sle of Wi ght Diam onds

Itacolu m ite (Fle xi b le S andstone )

J acinth (G arnet)
(Z ircon )
J ac o po da T rezzo D iam ond engraver ,

J acquelin on Diam onds

,

J ade
J adeite
J agers fontein
J argoon (Zircon )
J a rl e t,D ia m ond cutter -

J asper
J e w ish H i gh priest breast plate of
-
,
-

J udd Prof on B urm aR u b i e s

, .
,

Kash m ir S apphires 1 85
K idney O re (H ae m atite) 2 66

K idney S tone (J ade ) 26

9
K i m b erley Diam on d Mine 83 —
87 —
88 —
93
K i m b erlite 84
 I ndex .
33 1

K in g ,
Dr , . on Indian D iam onds
'

K o fiy fo n t e in
Koh i n u r
- -

on D iam onds
of the U nited S tates
on pho sphore s cence of D iam onds

Lab radorite ( Fels p ar )

Lapis - L azuli
i m itation
Lavoisier on D iam onds ,

Le b lanc o n D ia m onds ,

Leicester D i am ond m ine

Leo nhardt on origin of Diam onds ,

Le wis Prof C arv ill on ori gin of Diam onds 7 1

, .
, ,
—
80
B orneo Diam onds
Le w y M ,
on colour of E m eral ds
.
,

Lie b i g on ori gin of D iam onds

L isb on cut D iam ond s
-

Lithia E m erald (H iddenite)

L i v ersidge Prof A ustralia n D ia m onds of
, .
,

Loc k hart Mr W S on B ur m a R u b y m ines

, . . .
,

Lo nd o n D i am ond cuttin g
Louis Pro f H , o n S iam R u b ies . .
,

on S iam S app hires

Louis de B e rq u e m the Diam ond cutter ,
-

Lyn x S a p phire ( Iol ite )

Macquer on Diam onds ,

Maho gany Obsidian

Malachite
M allet Mr on Indian D iam on d s
, .
,

on C ash m ere S ap ph ires

Marekanite ( O b sidian )
Marbo d u s B isho p o n Precious S ton e s
, ,
Marie A ntoinette en graved D iam o nd of ,

Marsden Dr , on ori gin of D iam onds

, .

Mary of Mod e na engraved D iam ond of ,

Mask el yne Pro f N S o n S A frican b lue earth

, .
, . .
, .

Mau n d e v ille S ir J on R u b ies

, .
,

Mazarin ,

Mazarin D iam onds

M e d lic o rt Mr o n I ndian D ia m onds
, .
,

Mete o ric D iam onds

Me xican Opals
M icrocline ( Fels p ar)
M iers Prof on m atri x o f Montana S ap phires
, .
,

on test fo r T ourm aline

Mit o u ard on D iam ond s
Mocha S tones
Moissan M on D iam onds
, .
,

Mo n astery D iam on d m ine

Montana S a p phires
Mo n te C hristo Dia m ond mi ne
M o nths Precious S tones fo r speci al
,

Mo o nstone (Felspar )
Morion ( B lack Quartz)
Moro x ite (A patite)
Morren M o n D iam ond s
, .
,

Morrisse y D iam on d
Moss A gates
M ud gee Diam on d work in gs
M uzo E m eralds

Naife s 45
N a p oleon I engraved portrait
.
,
o f, on D ia m ond 3 6 —
3 8

N e p h rite (J ade ) 2 69

Ne w Mex i c o T urquoise o f ,
2 24
 Parisite
Parrot, on ori gin of D iam onds
Part e al D i am on d s of
,

Pearl che m ic al co m positio n of

,

Pennin g W H , on old D ia m ond work in gs

. .
,

Pepy s on D iam ond

,

Peri dot ( O livine)

Persian
Pe t z h o l d t on D iam onds
,

Phenak ite
Phos p horescence of D iam ond
R u b ie s
Pirs so n Pro f on m atri x of Montana S apphi res
, .
,

P itt D iam ond

Pleochrois m
Pleon aste ( S p i n el )
P lin y on D iam onds
,

on C rystal
Point cut D ia m onds
-

Polarization o f li gh t
Porcelain J asper
Portrai t S tones
Portu gal D iam ond cuttin g in
,
-

Po se witz o n B orneo D iam on d s

,

Prehistoric D ia m ond w orkin gs

Pym electricity
-

Pe p e ( G arnet)

Q uartz
C at s
’
E ye
s m ok y
Q ueensland Opals
S apphires

R ati , value of the

 I n d ex .
335

R e d D iam onds
R e flection of li ght
fro m D ia m ond s
R e fraction of light
by D iam onds
R e fraction dou b le ,

R e gent D iam on d
R hodes Porter D iam ond
, ,

R hodonite
R i bban d A gate
J asper
R iver di ggin gs fo r D iam onds
-

R o ber t s A usten Pro f o n D iam onds

, , .
,

R ob inson D iam ond m ine

R ock C rystal
R ogers on D iam onds
,

R iin t ge n ray s use o f in testing ge m s

,

R oscoe S ir H , o n D iam on d s .
,

R ose G usta v on D iam onds

, ,

R ose D ia m on d s
R ousseau on B lac k Di am on d s
,

R u bellite ( T ourm aline )

R u by
B urm a
C e ylo n
S iam
R udd M r on the s eparation
,
.
,
D iam onds
R ussian D ia m o nds
E m eralds
Meteori t es

S age n i t e ( R utile
in Q uartz)
S alzb urg E m eralds
S an d in S to n es
S aphir d E au
’
S apphire
A ustralian
B ur m a
C ash m ere
C e ylon
Montana
S iam
S ard
S ardon yx
S chaffhausen O n yx
S chindler, G e n .
,
on Persi an T urquoise m ines
S chorl ( T our m aline )
S cotch Pebb les ( g
A ates
)
S e gim a D ia m ond
S elenite
Se m i Preci o u s Ston es
-

S eton K arr M r on E m erald m ines of E gypt

-
,
.
,

S ia m R u b l es
S ap phire
S i beri an C hrysolite (G arnet )
'

”
O livine ( G arnet )
”
R u by ( T our m aline )
S icilian A m b er
S im e t it e (A mb er )
S im l ar on o rigin o f D iam onds
’

S inaitic T u rquoise
S m aragd u s
m edicus
S m ok y Q uartz
S m yth M r H Warin gt o n o n S iam R u b ies
'

, . .
,

on S iam S ap phires
u H

S n ak e ro c k at D e B e e rs
S outh A fri ca n D iam onds
Ru b ies (G arnets)
“ ”
T h e o p h ras t u s on Preciou s S t o n es
T hol a, alue of
v

T i bagy D iam ond s

T i ger s E y e (C rocidolite )
’

T ooth T u rquoise (O dontolite )

-

T o p az
False (S cotch )
T o t al re fle ctio n of li gh t
T ou rm ali n e
T ri p h ane (S podu m ene )
T ur q uoise
B one or Fossil
I m itatio n
M ines o f Pers 1a

U nited S tates
’
D iam o n ds
E m eralds
O p al s
S ap p h ire s
T u r q u o ise

U waro wite ( reen

g G arnet )

Vaa l R iver D i am onds

Value o f a C arat
of R ou gh D i am onds
V ariscite
V enu s s H a ir S tone (C r y stal w ith R utile )
’
-

V ic t o r1a D i am o nd
”

V ictori a n D i am o n d s
S ap p h ires
T urqu o ise

Wajra Kar u r D ia m onds

Warth D r on B en gal C o rundu m
,
.
,

We sselt o n D i am o nd M ine
 I n d ex .

3 39

W illiam s Mr G reville o n the colour of E m e ralds

, .
,

Wilson D r G o n D iam onds

,
. .
,

Wiih l e r on ori gin of D iam onds

,

Woll aston D r cleav age of the D ia m ond by

, .
,

X -
rays ,
D ia m ond trans p arent to

Y ello w Q uartz (C itrine)

Zircon (J argoon ) silicate of zirco n ia

,

Hoe '
rr S o n , O l d S ty l e Pri n t e rs , 10 , rw t n S T R E E T , s o n o , L O ND O N, W .
 E xtract fro m “
S O U TH A FR I CA , N ove m b er 2 3 rd , 1 8 9 5 .

E n glish p eop le wh o li ve at ho m e at ease appear to

take great p leasure in creatin g sus p icion of everyth in g in the w ay of
di scoveries in which they have no hand . It was the s am e when
d iam onds were fi rst discovered . In the fi rst pl ace the y did not
,

believe that the stones sh o wn were d iam on d s and had not

M r S treeter of B ond S treet, one of the hi gh e st authorities on
.
,

p recious stones ,
c o m e to the rescue ,
there w ould , in all
p ro b ab ilit y have
, b een no S outh A fric an diam ond i n dustr y d urin g
the pres e n t ce n tury . It was Mr . S treeter w h o satis fi e d the world
that there were diam onds to b e found in S outh A frica . He sent
out a representati ve to p urchase ,
wh o not onl y p urcha s ed b ut ,

b o u ght cl ai m s an d w ork ed the m ; an d so th at m atter w as se t

at rest .