BORT CARBONS, ETC 329
the
body of the stone. This was dipped into a liquid made of melted chips
of diamonds, whereby a coating of diamond was deposited on the surface.
The finished product was therefore practically as good as solid
diamond, though the cost was very much less. Having in mind the
well-known process of plating the base metals with gold, many persons
paid large prices for his pure glass diamonds, and not a few jewelers
also gravely and innocently retailed the story with his high-priced
glass gems.
Paste
diamonds, or glass, as they really are, have been sold under many
names. " Paste diamonds" or " white stone jewelry" are names used when
there is no attempt to deceive, but many of the names given to these
imitations, though unaccompanied by explicit false statements, are
intended to aid the buyer to infer that they are better than they
really are. Most of these, since the greater vogue of the diamond in
this country, have fallen into disuse, as the " Lake George diamond,"
the " Colorado diamond," and the " Parisian diamond." A few years back,
stores filled with cheap imitation diamonds with which pieces of
so-called white topaz or rock crystal, cut like diamonds, were mixed
and placed under effective electric lighting, were opened in most of
the leading cities of the United States. Ambiguous signs carried an
impression that the imitations were either real stones, or so superior
that they were preferable to stones that were real. In some cases it
was stated that real diamonds were placed among the imitations and if
picked out by a customer, could be bought at the same price. The
nominal price of the jewels displayed was one dollar each, but a
customer willing to
