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GEMS.
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dominant taste in the various epochs, and are examples of the best style of each.
XIII.
AVENTURINE.
It is
said that the accidental discovery of the artificial composition of a
red vitreous substance, sprinkled internally with bright gold-coloured
filings, and similar to the quartz much used in jewels of the peruke
period, caused the name of aventurine to be given to both, merely
distinguishing them by the addition of artificial or natural.
Scientifically
speaking, one cannot, from such a term, understand one special stone,
since the agate, jasper, chalcedony, rock crystal, opal, and even the
commonest fluate of lime, exhibit at times the golden filings, and
therefore, as with respect to the asteria, so with the aventurine,
there are stones of every species, which receive this name from the
accidental quality above mentioned.
Thus
Borson had a chalcedony covered internally with a golden sand : it was
aventurine chalcedony. Bossi describes a garnet jasper with small
golden dots : it was an aventurine jasper. In New Granada a similar
stone was found, there called pentaura : it therefore is an aventurine
stone.
We are of opinion that the aventurine quartz is the stone described by Pliny under the name of sandastro :
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