Gems Notes and Extracts Augusto Castellani, Mrs. John Brogden 1871

42 GEMS.dominant taste in the various epochs, and are examplesof the best style of each.XIII.AVENTURINE.IT is said that the accidental discoveryof the artificialcomposition of a red vitreous substance, sprinkledinternally with bright gold-coloured filings, and similarto the quartz much used in jewels of the peruke period,caused the name of aventurine to be given to both,merely distinguishing them by the addition of artificialor natural.Scientifically speaking, one cannot, from such a term,understand one special stone, since the agate, jasper,chalcedony, rock crystal, opal, and even the commonestfluate of lime, exhibit at times the golden filings, andtherefore, as with respect to the asteria, so with theaventurine, there are stones of every species, whichreceive this name from the accidental quality abovementioned.Thus Borson had a chalcedony covered internallywith a golden sand : it was aventurine chalcedony.Bossi describes a garnet jasper with small golden dots :it was an aventurine jasper.In New Granada a similarstone was found, there called :pentaura it therefore isan aventurine stone.We are of opinion that the aventurine quartz is thestone described by Pliny under the name of sandastro :