British Guiana. Some
attention has been drawn of late to the reported diamantiferous
deposits in British Guiana. It is stated that there was a shipment of
282 specimens from this field to London early in 1900, and, later in
the year, 400 small stones were brought to Georgetown. The location of
the deposits is reported to be on the Mazaruni River, about 250 miles
from its mouth. The diamonds have been found in an alluvial formation,
consisting of sandy clay mixed with pebbles and fragments of
ironstone, quartz, and felsite.1
Importation of Diamonds
In
the importation of diamonds the United States leads, and England,
Germany, France, and Italy follow in the order named. The increase in
the demand of the United States has been extraordinary, showing an
advance of fully 2000 per cent in the last fifty years. In 1899 the
valuation of the total import of precious stones was $17,208,531. In
1900 there was a falling off of about $3,850,000 owing to the
interruption in the supply, but the records of the year 1901 indicate a
probable importation exceeding $20,000,000, the total for the first two
months of the year reaching $3,870,359.31, an increase of $2,674,787.88
over the import of the corresponding months in 1900. The importation
is a close measure of the total sale, as the production of precious
stones in the United States only reached a valuation of $185,770 in
1899, and this was larger than in any previous year. Nearly five-sixths
of this native product is made up of ' sapphires and turquoises.
Rubies,
emeralds, sapphires, and pearls are the gems most commonly used in
settings in combination with diamonds. It is estimated by Mr. George F.
Kunz, of New York, an expert of international reputation, that the
value of the diamonds imported into the United States is approximately
75 per cent of the valuation of all precious stones and pearls
imported, and it is judged that this consumption fairly represented the
percentage in other countries. The changes in settings from year to
year and even from decade to decade are not very pronounced. The
resetting of
1 "The Mineral Industry," 1900.
