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I02
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PRECIOUS STONES
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White
and yellowish-white streaks are mixed with the blue. A majority of
colorless stones contain numerous blue spots. Some are in thick
blotches, others scattered throughout. Only when the stone can be cut
to show an even color is it of value as a jewel. Great heat is liable
to destroy the color entirely. It does not leave the stone equal to one
naturally colorless, but grayish. Sometimes one end of the crystal is
blue and the other colorless; occasionally both ends are blue and the
middle colorless. The dark sapphires of Siam often contain several
shades of blue in the same crystal, a clean blue and a greenish blue,
etc. Some are blue at one end, red at the other; others blue at the end
and yellow in the middle. Max Bauer, in his " Edelstein Kunde," speaks
of a figure of Confucius in the museum in Gotha cut from a sapphire,
of which the head is white, the body blue, and the legs yellow. The
dark-blue sapphires are most highly esteemed; the blue must be clean
and free from the indigo or inky taint, which destroys alike the beauty
and transparency of the color. The gem color is a deep shade of
corn-flower blue.
Sapphires
are found in Siam, Burmah, Cashmere, Ceylon, Australia, and the United
States. The stones of each section differ in general characteristics.
The sapphires of Siam are the finest. The color of the Burmahs is
generally too dark, that of the Ceylon stones too light. Cashmere
yields some of the finest, but they are generally too thin in color.
The Aus-_ tralians are too dark and dense, and have little value.
Mon-tanas are light and uneven, and the color inclines almost
invariably to indigo, though the writer has seen some which would
compare favorably with the finest Orientals.
The
sapphires of Siam are found principally in the province of Battambong,
in a district (Pailin) about two by six miles, situated about fifty
miles from Battambong. There are a number of villages in the district,
of which Bo Din Nia and Bo Yaka are the most important. They are also
found with rubies in the provinces of Chantaboon and Krat. The
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