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PRECIOUS STONES.
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for the markets of the world. Its commercial value has been
variable, the price being sometimes equal to that of the emerald, and at other times falling below it ; stones of faultless tint command very high prices at the present time. The sapphire is more abundant than the ruby, and in its
native state occurs of a large size. Instances of this kind are seen in some of the musuems and collections of Europe, especially one specimen, of gigantic dimensions and great beauty, in Vienna, besides several others in the Green Vaults at Dresden, and in the imperial treasury of Russia. Some blue stones of different species have occasionally been
sold for genuine sapphires, but it is not difficult for an expert to detect the counterfeit. The iolite, which is one of them, may be known by its superior dichroism ; kyanite, by its softness, while the blue tourmaline and the blue beryl, both rare varieties, may be recognized by other tests, but glass imitations are more deceptive to the eye, though readily yielding in hardness. The blue diamond is distinguished from it by superior hardness and brilliancy. Among the celebrated sapphires is one belonging to the
crown of Saxony, purchased, it is claimed, from an Afghan, the owner of the Orloff diamond, and considered the finest known, and two magnificent gems, owned by the Baroness BurdettCoutts Bartlett, valued at nearly two hundred thousand dollars. The Lennox, or Darnley sapphire, now belonging to the Queen of Great Britain, was set as a heart-shaped pendant for Margaret Douglas, in 1575. This ornament, consisting of a gold heart more than two inches in diameter, and embellished with a sapphire, a ruby, and an emerald, is marked by three divisions — front, reverse, and interior, and combines numerous emblems and mottoes. A sapphire cut in the form of a rose, and once owned by Edward the Confessor, ornaments the centre |
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