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PRECIOUS STONES 57
from thirty-five to seventy-five cents per carat. Large, finely marked pieces bring more.
Only
very fine specimens of moonstones command carat prices; such stones are
worth from seventy-five cents to one dollar per carat.
There
is no definite price for obsidian. Probably fifty cents to five dollars
per carat is a fair valuation for the transparent variety in good
colors.
The
chalcedonic and jaspery varieties of quartz are not sold by the carat.
Of the vitreous, amethyst, cairngorm, citrine, and rose quartz, there
are grades which bring from seventy-five cents to two dollars per carat.
The
sphene is rare, and the occasional specimens which come into the market
are generally held for a fancy price. They have been sold as high as
fifty dollars per carat.
Some fine specimens of topaz are sold up to two dollars per carat.
For
stones seldom used as " jewels" no definite price can be given, as it
depends entirely upon an uncertain demand and the supply at the moment.
The
price of diamonds given here may seem to many too high. This will arise
from the practice, which has grown quite common of late, of quoting
goods as a grade higher than they really are. Capes are frequently
offered as silver capes, silver capes as crystals, etc. Firms of high
standing often pay as much for crystals as smaller concerns in the same
city sell so-called crystals for. It should be remembered also that
these prices are for well-cut goods. If by thick, irregular, or poor
cutting of any kind the cutter succeeds in getting ten per cent, more
cut material out of his rough, such goods can be sold at much less per
carat and yet be dearer than well-made goods. For example, take two
stones of the same grade of which the finely cut stone weighs one
carat. The other, cut thick either by making it too deep, or too thick
through the centre at the girdle, will weigh, if of the same spread, an
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