AMONG THE GEMS.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XXII, Issue 3467, 26 October 1896, Page 4

AMONG THE GEMS.

The finest toirqupises cojcae^rom Pqrsi^. Thebeatitiful green T^of malachite isdulß ■Jo copper. Bone turquoise is cut from the teeth of mastodons, colored with "animal matter. Diamonds aTe found ih every coldrand •hade, from the purest white to jet blacks The Regent diamond was found at Golconda and in the j-ongh weighed 410 carats. Carved emeralds were well known to lhe ancients and of high value as cut Ivorks. 4 Opals are so sensitive 1 that exposure to moisture or heat, or even sudden atmospheric change, sometimes ruins thsjh/xX When fine ruby is found in- Bnr^al^^ a procession of elephants, grandeesfaali soldiers escorts it to the king's palaep. « Jasper n an impure quartz,, usually* containing.muchiron. It is found in re% brown, yellow, green, black and blue/ The sapphire which adorns thfe summit of the English crown is the same that' Edward the Confessor wore in his ring. To the habit of burying gems with the owner we owe the preservation of many of the most remarkable ant|<pie jewels. Amber, often classed among gems, is a fossil product. Most of the specimens inclosing insects are manufactured from gum copaL The emerald was pne of thebestlrnaw-n ancient stones; Emeialds have been discovered in the Etruscan tombs in settings over 3,000 years old. The Santa Catino of the cathe<f^fl bf Genoa is an imitation emerald disk, 14 inches wide and 5 deep. It was, according to tradition, giveh by thp Ctueen of Sheba to Solomon. 'It w^s captured at Ceesarea by the crusaders and given to Genoa in- U4QU^tc-'l«Tiv''.^]k)b^^ispr; crafc. ' „ . .'*_'