Home » categories » rare book library » Castellani. Gems.
This chapter is tagged (labeled) with: 

Iris

Hypersthenum Page of 243 Labrador Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
132
GEMS.
their value, as an iridised gem is considered worth only half as much as otherwise it would be.
The Empress Josephine possessed a well-known set of ornaments composed of the iris, in which the colours were so vividly reflected that it was said to be com­posed of brighter and more precious jewels.
LII.
IOLITE.
As already remarked, this is one of the various names of the dicroite ; but it is well to know that the peculiar kind found in Sweden, and therefore called hydro-jolite of Sweden, is very soft, of a dark olive-green colour, and is always in red granite. This stone is not used as a jewel, and it is only valued in mineralogical collections.
LIII.
LABRADOR.
At first it was thought that this substance was an opaline felspar, but in time it was acknowledged to be a separate species.
It was discovered by some Moravian missionaries in the island of St. Paul, on the coast of Labrador, and was brought to Europe in 1775, under the name of the country where it was found.
Hypersthenum Page of 243 Labrador
Suggested Illustrations
Other Chapters you may find useful
Other Books on this topic
bullet Tag
This Page