DOCTORS FOR JEWELS

Evening Star, Issue 19774, 26 January 1928, Page 16

DOCTORS FOR JEWELS

NEED FOR TREATMENT. Doctoring precious stones is often misconstrued witli Inking. Yet it_ is quite legitimate when done to bring out all "that is best in a gem (says George H. Holden, in tho ‘Daily Mail’)-, Sometimes ready good diamonds are spoilt by a colored tinge, and the only remedy is to bleach it out. This is done by placing the gem in a covered crucible brought to great bent over a gas or charcoal lire. After cooling slowly and regularly, tho yellow_ or other tints are entirely Removed without injuring the brilliance of tho gem or the polish of tho facets. Opals, when first mined, are comparatively soft compared with other gems, and need to be hardened. To do this tho gems are arranged on trays and exposed to the direct air currents of high-speed electric fans for a lew hours. The harder the stone the better it retains its polish. The likelihood of pearls being “ run down ” due to tho indifferent health of the wearer is well known. To restore their lustre tho_ pearls are bathed in honey for forty-eight hours, at intervals of two weeks. The treatment occupies from one to six months, and imparts a lustre equal to that of wellconditioned gems. The topax, although likely to become “off color” at frequent intervals, yields easily to the gem doctor’s an,. The stones are simply put aside and allowed to rest for about three mouths in some light, airy place. Each stone is then enclosed in a piece of sponge, and the latter set on Hie and allowed to burn until nearly consumed, huh without the flame reaching the gem. Made hot in this manner, tho gem assumes a permanent pale red. ° To got them up to perfection sapphires frequently need their vitality reduced. This is* not difficult. All that is necessary to correct the fault is to give the gems a series of baths of liquid and sunshine. Water, cheese, offals, sawdust, cork, methylated spirit, olive oil, and eau do Cologne figure largely ip the gem doctor’s prescription for curing “ sick ” gems, not forgetting Spamsh-bayonct a prolific weed that soon proves a nuisance wherever it happens to take root.