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Ch. 6: Diamond

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	PART III.



	CONSIDERATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL GEMS.



	DIAMOND. Diamond: Diamant (German), Adamant (of the ancients), Almas (Oriental), Diamant (French). The name Diamond is derived from the Greek, Adamas, meaning invincible, and referring to the hardness of the gem. The Syrians are said to have first known the diamond, and it was in early ages the subject of trade to the people of the East. The Carthaginians are said to have carried on their trade with the Etrurians, who procured diamonds from the interior of Africa. Pliny mentions six species of diamonds, among which, however, the Indian are to be considered the true, in contradistinction to the quartz crystals, which were likewise called diamonds in those times. The diamond was highly esteemed, and many medicinal virtues were attributed to it, particularly against mania, and as an antidote for poisons; it was worn in the rough state. The art of cutting it with its own powder was discovered in 1476, by Lewis Van Berghen. In the beginning it was cut in the table-form, with one row of facets on the surface; afterwards, in 1520, the rhomb cut was adopted : the form of brilliants was invented in the reign of Louis XII. Cardinal Mazarin was the first who had diamonds polished in this form, some of which yet belong to the crown of France. For a long

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Feuchtwanger. Treatise on Precious Stones.

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1 Page 399 second in August and September; and the more rain, the more
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2 Page 401 weight of twenty-four grains is counted as thirty; so that a
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3 Page 398 body on, or by boring a hole in, the shell. The Chinese are
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4 Page 400 At the Pearl Islands, near the Isthmus of Panama, the pearl
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5 Page 406 In 1620, King Philip IV., of Spain, purchased a pear-shaped
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6 Page 401 weight of twenty-four grains is counted as thirty; so that a
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7 Page 402 reach the age of seven or eight years, and in the fourth yea
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8 Page 403 found in the Elster river, in the kingdom of Saxony, from it
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9 Page 404 nearly two millions of francs ; Julius Csesar presented to S
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10 Page 404 nearly two millions of francs ; Julius Csesar presented to S
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11 Page 405 The seed pearls, when quite round, are worth about one hundr
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12 Page 411 and on the Continent ; around Southampton, in England, these
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13 Page 412 Artificial Pearls. Artificial pearls or beads are of variou
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14 Page 406 n 1620, King Philip IV., of Spain, purchased a pear-shaped p
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15 Page 409 near the town of Paterson, New Jersey, went to a neighbori
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16 Page 410 of Messrs. Tiffany & Co., was purchased from Mr. Howell for
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17 Page 415 The shad-fish, as well as the white-fish of our lakes, must
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18 Page 413 decomposition, and for their preservation numerous chemica
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19 Page 414 Heidelberg, Nuremberg, Sonnenberg, Meistersdorf, in Bohemi
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