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186 THE DIAMOND
No.
1; $10.50 for No. 2; $5.00 for No 3 and $2.50 for No. 5, per carat.
They are sold by the oitava (17-1/2 carats). Vitrie are sold by the
grao (about 1/4 carat), in which there are six or eight stones. They
brought about $2.88 at the time.
According
to former Vice-counsel Rowe, the limit of price paid by the field
buyers of Bahia in the spring of 1906 was as follows:
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The
current rate of exchange at that time being at 17 pence to the milreis,
the latter is reckoned in the above figures at 3 to the dollar. There
are 72 graos to the oitava which equals 17-1/2 carats; a grao is
therefore about 34 carat. Nearly all the stones are exported uncut,
though there are several cutting establishments in the diamond region
and one in Bahia city. To get a fair idea of the value of the stones in
the market, there should be added the cost of transportation to Bahia,
the export duty equaling about 13 per cent., dealer's profit, and
steamer and insurance charges. When this is done it will be found that
the Brazilian fields have approximated their prices closely to those
established by the Diamond Syndicate in London.
Mining is conducted in a general way, the same as in all other alluvial deposits the world over, though no
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