trade. He would discover for himself fast enough that London was not peridot-minded.
Yet,
before the week was out, my German friend had to send an urgent message
home for fresh supplies. So much for my cocksureness. We managed to
cash in on a short-lived fashion, however. The wave of popularity that
had raised the olive-green transparent lustrous stone, despite its
softness, into general favour soon subsided. This is usually the way
with the lesser semi-precious stones; unlike the aristocrats, which
always have a world-market, the small fry among gems depend very
greatly upon the vagaries of fashion.
There
are several localities where peridots are mined. Burmah is one of
these, and New Mexico and Queensland are others, but in the opinion of
those best-informed the Egyptian peridot excells all others. In these
latter days the stone is little seen in jewellers' shops, but no doubt sooner or later they will be on view again.
