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Ch. 9: Smaragdus, Emerald

Ch. 8: Margarita, Pearl Page of 377 Ch. 9: Smaragdus, Emerald Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
276
NATURAL HISTORY OF PRECIOUS STONES, &c.
SMARAGDUS:Emerald.
It has been frequently asserted by writers on Gems, as Dutens (p. 36), K. O. Müller (Archœol. § 313, 2), that the ancients were not acquainted with the true Emerald (the combination of Glucina, Alumina, Silica), which they pre­tend was unknown in Europe before the discovery of Peru, from whence in the present day the market is exclusively supplied. In spite of the largo numbers of Emeralds occurring in Indian jewelry, both in their native form and rudely cut into pear-drops and " tables," Tavernier de­clares his firm conviction that this gem was never produced in the East, neither on the mainland, nor in the islands ; for that having made the strictest inquiry in all his journeys, no one was able to point out to him any place in Asia where they are found, and hence he arrives at the conclusion that all Emeralds brought from the East Indies must have been imported thither from Peru by the way of the Philippine Isles. In support of the same opinion Dutens asserts that in all the old Treasuries, like that of Loretto, St. Denys, &c, every kind of precious stone is to be found except the Emerald amongst the presents made to these ancient repositories by princes and other pious persons, previous to the discovery of the New World : a conclusive argument (if well-founded) that the Emerald was not
Ch. 8: Margarita, Pearl Page of 377 Ch. 9: Smaragdus, Emerald
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