ARTIFICIAL DIAMONDS

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 135, 2 March 1908, Page 8

ARTIFICIAL DIAMONDS

THE CHARGE 'AGAINST LEMOINE. ALLEGED USE OF FUSIBLE PLUGS. iy rELEGßArn—press association—copyright. . Paris, February 28. It ia reported that the examining Magistrate has evidence that in connection with : tho jewellery furmshod by Lemoine to a South -African magnate fusible plugs had . been used in connection with tho crucibles' to conceal real diamonds. . Lemoine, who lived in tho Montmartro Quarter, Paris, is an engineer. . ' ' A PARIS 'SENSATION. , . - The Paris correspondent ,of the " London Standard,", writing on January 12, states:— , ,In .-.tho artificial diamond case there ,is the 'i'. mystery ,of the diamond, -and there is the ... mystery*. of. the envelope'. . Did, Lemoine, ever make a diamond in his electric furnace? The - .question' is of no less'interest at; present' than the otheir: Does the envelope noiv lying in a ... London bank, : and said to enclose the' secret for manufacturing' contain the secret,-or;: is it.'emptyi- as is [suggested? : Few "causes' Celebris" in. these; latter months -haive, ;interested'.'Parisians sri much- as the'. affair of. . the artificial,.diamonds,V, which .'as a: case of public -interest- in France, has everything in . | its favour. Tho French adore diamonds,, and -'V:, they: adore ..what is. almost as rare—tags of ■V..-.' authentic '' information aboutmulti-million-aires.-:rTKey. are also keenly. Interested in' .everything; that 1 '/'appertainsj.' • to' .advanced . . scientific experiments, arid,'the.,Humbert case stands in history ,to prove what ■ a great' regard they have for a'romantic mystery. : CRUX OF. THE CASE. , . The crux of the 'case iras 'debated before the Magistrate, M. Le Poitevinl'on February ; ' 11. Maitare Labori asked that' his client should • , be granted bail, ;in order'that he might carry ' out his experiments in public, and then make the ..case a civilone, M. Lemoine to take •an indemnity, if • the' experiments!, succeeded, ■ Sir Julius to", be refunded, and to ,i. be paid- an: indemnity ;if they failed. Sir Julius Wernher opposed the-application. The only , way to' establish the i truth, he 'said, was to opehjthe envelope in the bank in London. Maitre-/Labbri refused to ..allow this. > ! The .' contract was signed in another country, and a French magistrate had -no power, to in-: fringe 'on what it stipulated—that it could : only be opened at : the' death 'of - Lemoine. ■With,,'the''.magistrate's permission, Lemoine. , 6erit a telegram' to :the London bank, opposing . any demand that'may be made for , the sur- - render, of . the! precious envelope. ' • Sir Julius. i Wernher/ suggested that this 1 precaution was' necessary only because Lemoine knew that >. the envelope was empty. He offered tg deposit a'guarantee of J!Booo.'if Lemonine would open .. the envelope ; voluntarily. Neither' wishing , to accept, the, other's : proposal, the case was left .there". ./ .. >, DIAMONDS IN THE MAKING. : The chief witness to come forward in the defence of'.Lemoine is a Mr. Jackson. He

says -Lemoine'-experimented before him stripped toAthe.waist, unaWe to palm or otherwise - , conceal real ; diamonds, and put them in a cruciblo, after-, .experimenting.Mr. Jackson - says .he- was,present at, every, -stage of-the process, 1 and himself broke the crucible, in / which he found ten-or twelve little.diamonds. ■ He adds that he took diamonds produced: after ' a second experiment to an expert jeweller, in London, who said'immediately that they were from Jagersfontein mines, .and offered to /buy ? them if a guarantee of their origin could be • 6hown. . • SIB JULIUS WERNHER'S Sir Julius Wernher's story is the following: —"I was introduced in 1905,. early in; .the year, to M. -Lemoine by Mr. Feldenheimer, a diamond merphant, . and Mr. ! Brandon, ' his solicitor. -. Some time .afterwards ' I -. went .to Paris, saw M.- Lemoine in his laboratory in ■ the Rue Lecourbe, and was convinced that .he could ; and did make, diamonds, bofqro me and my friends. ;I-entered:into negotiations with him, not, ,as has- been suggested, so as to buy his-manufactured - .diamonds and sell them as real ones,'but-60 as to buy them up. and : prevent them being sold. I- have," said Sir - Julius, "done the same thing many times be,fore.!: I have bought a. large number of patents for the-manufacture of -artificial' diamonds, but: Fhave never "put, these diamonds on the . market. Sucli a thing vould 1)6 perfectly ■ ridiculous." CONJURING ' TRICKS. ■ ~ M. -Bordas, tho distinguished scientist, is anxious'to see-every facility given to/M. Le- - rnoine to do-his.best to make diamonds; "No / one will; be more:-delighted r than -myself," he' , said, if the manufacture, : o'f'diamonds proves to be a scientific 'fact and not a l '.conjuring trick. But conjuring; tricks in these . things are frequent. , I remember a'.case when' a man i protended to -have 'discovered' gold; in the ; stones -of the streets Of' Paris. : His namo was' not Dick. Whittington. : An-'analysis of J some of the paving, stones showed a small proportion . of, goldi '■ and l goodness .knows what would - have-happened if one of the experts.had; not discovered that the gold contained precisely - the same impurities as the gold of a 20-francpiece. It was discovered that the originator of the hoax had put a little gold powder.into the tobacco of a cigarette,' and. as ;he smoked it', dropped : the ashes on.to the paving stones, with which' . the experiment: was being; made." - : |