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Ch. 6: Ruby, Sapphire, Spinel etc.

Ch. 6: Ruby, Sapphire, Spinel etc. Page of 295 Ch. 6: Ruby, Sapphire, Spinel etc. Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
     
     
 
164 Onyx, Sardonyx, etc.
Indian or Oriental onyxes realize a much larger price than the German ones; and many lapidaries in this country have the erroneous idea that all the translucent ones are Oriental, that they are very much harder, and that it is impossible to stain them artificially, which is quite fallacious, as Indian or Oriental onyxes are of precisely the same nature as the German ones, and are equally susceptible of being coloured.
The trade in German onyxes is extremely large. At Oberstein and Idar are regular works, established on a large scale, for cutting, slitting, drilling, and staining onyxes and agates; the mills are driven by the water-power of the river Aar, which runs into the Rhine opposite Bingen. The grinding and cutting wheels are of very large size, some six or seven feet in diameter; and labour being exceedingly cheap, these operations are performed at an incredibly low cost. The labourers lie on their faces, on a bench constructed for the purpose, and hold the stones against the wheels, their feet rest­ing against two supports firmly fixed to the bench, in order to get greater purchase, and to be enabled to work more rapidly.
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
     
Ch. 6: Ruby, Sapphire, Spinel etc. Page of 295 Ch. 6: Ruby, Sapphire, Spinel etc.
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