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414 SELLING PRICE OP PRECIOUS STONES.
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increases.
The smallest, those as large as a millet-seed, used for encrusting
jewels, sell for no more than sixpence the dozen, whereas a perfect
Turquois, when it reaches the diameter of half an inch, is worth 101.
It
is impossible to fix the present selling price of the Jacinth, of the
Brazilian Topaz, or indeed of any gem no longer in fashion : the
dealers buying such stones at nominal prices, and selling them
according to the occasion ; but Barbot gives 100 frs. (4l) as the highest limit per kilo (2 lbs.) for the best Brazilian Topazes in the rough.
Lapis-lazuli sells in the mass, the finest quality at 30 l.
per pound. It is sawn into slabs for brooches and pendants. The
inferior pieces used to be roasted for making ultramarine ; but the
mineral has been superseded by the cheap prepared cobalt.
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III. TABLE OF THE WEIGHTS AND PATTEENS OF
THE LARGEST KNOWN DIAMONDS AND
OTHER PRECIOUS STONES.
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