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THE DIAMOND
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Look
into a paste diamond from the front, and it will be seen that the inner
surfaces of the back facets lack the shimmer of light on them which is
so noticeable in the real diamond. The surface of the stone nowhere
looks so hard; the corners of the facets are not as sharp; the light
from it is not as quick and sharp. Let a diamond and a paste lie
together in the same temperature for a few minutes, and it will be
found on touching them with the tongue, that the paste feels warmer
than the stone. Touch the face of each with a point carrying water,
and the drop left on the diamond will hold itself together like a
globule; that on the paste will flatten and spread. The sharp edge of a
file will bite the imitation, but glide harmlessly over the diamond.
Diamond Weights.
The
weight of diamonds to-day is reckoned by the " carat," a term which
means different quantities of mass in different countries, though it is
practically the same in those markets of the world w?here
most of the gems are handled. It is nowhere recognized by a government
as a definite legal weight, but is an evolution, peculiar to the
diamond trade, out of ancient and primitive conditions. According to
Charles Edward Guil-laume of the International Bureau of Weights and
Measures at Sevres, as reported from the Commission of the National
Bureau of Weights and Measures in France, during the late endeavor to
establish an international decimal weight for the weighing of diamonds
and other precious stones, there exists at present, the following
variations in the milligramme weight of the carat in different cities
and countries:
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