Untitled

with the blue earth in which they are formed, they are the result
of volcanic action? The Indian and Brazilian are found mostly as
rolled pebbles, brought far from the mother rock by the force of torrents
and rushing water.
Dr. Kunz reckons that, according to the high American standard,
only eight per cent, of the Cape output is first quality; twenty-five
per cent, second ; twenty per cent, third ; and the balance "bort," an
imperfectly crystallized form, used for mechanical purposes. Carbonado,
found largely in Brazil, is a brownish-black variety, very indistinctly
crystallized and without brilliance.
The American commercial scale is white, pearl white, steel white,
commercial white, Cape white, the last four increasing shades of "off"
color, then deepening tones of yellow but a ; "canary," at its best precisely
the tint of the bird, is a fancy stone, and as such is more valuable
than a pure white.
After the yellows come "London Smoke," and the various shades
of brown, first barely tinged, then gradually down through increasing
coffee tints to mud. There is a well-defined value for each of
these gradations, and also for brilliance through the various defects
to the thickest impurity. A karat stone, white, flawless, but without
a hint of blue, at the present time costs the public quite a bit over
$200. As the karats increase, the price mounts much faster than the
karats.
But flawlessness, while to be desired, does not necessarily contain
all the virtues. Less perfect stones, though defective, may possess
a greater value and charm. Cattelle says: "It is necessary,
above all things, that a stone, of whatever kind, have some positive
merit. There are stones, like men, whose qualities are all negative ;
they have no striking faults even ; they do not impress
one. Avoid
them. Others are faulty, but somehow one likes them. They have
character. A crystallized dew-drop that holds the play of the sun
will have more lovers, though there is a black spot in the heart of it,
than a dead stone which barely winks at high noon, even if 'perfect/ J:
Very large stones, though scarce and expensive, are stupendous
rather than beautiful, valuable only as curiosities. The fire does not
increase after a dozen karats in proportion to the size. Great
diamonds often impress the beholder scarcely more than so much
glass.
The black diamonds of Borneo, the hardest of all, must be polished
by their own powder. They are more strange than beautiful,
being practically opaque, light only along the edges. Yet their veryopacity
gives them a certain interest, and they make ideal mourning
jewelry. Australia, the home of the black opal, recently given to the
market, produces as yet no black diamonds, though the small white
ones found, the largest not exceeding five karats, are next in hardness,
to Borneo's, and cut very brilliant. Black diamonds occur near Bahia
in Brazil, but the main output there is carbonado of great use wherean
irresistible substance is required, but not appropriate for jewelry.
In Brazil, particularly at Diamontina, Minas Geraes, there are
stones of a greenish cast which sometimes proves superficial and a
33