404 THE MAGIC OF JEWELS AND CHARMS
that these names refer not to our topaz but to yellow corundum, or Oriental topaz, as it has often been called.
A topaz of exceptional size is that known as the "Maxwell-Stuart Topaz"51 from
the name of the owner. It was brought from Ceylon to England with a lot
of inferior rubies and sapphires for use in watchmaking, and was
believed to be simply a piece of quartz. So little was it appreciated
that when sold at auction it only brought £3 10s. ($17.50). When on
closer examination its true quality became apparent, the owner decided
to have it cut in brilliant form. The operation required twenty-eight
days' consecutive work, the diamond-wheel being used, and resulted in
the production of a fine cut stone of a pure white hue, weighing 368 81/32
carats. When the cutting was partially completed, a "feather" became
apparent that would have spoiled the table, but as it was still
possible to reverse the position of table and culet, this was done, and
the "feather" removed. At this time, in 1879, this topaz could lay
claim to being the largest cut stone in existence, although its size is
considerably surpassed now by that of the largest Cullinan diamond,
516% carats.
The
same exceptional position taken by jade among the Chinese is occupied
by turquoise among the Tibetans ; these are so emphatically primates
among gem-minerals that the very name "stone" seems a designation
unworthy of them, and as a Chinese would say, "it is jade, not a stone," so would a loyal Tibetan exclaim of his favorite gem, "it is a turquoise, not
a stone." Another indication of the exceptional rank of turquoise in
Tibet is that, a® with the famous Oriental and European diamonds and
also with some celebrated balas-rubies, certain of the first
turquoises of Tibet have received individual names, such, for example,
as "the
β J. H. Collins, " The History of a Remarkable Gem. The Maxwell-Stuart Topaz." Mineralogical Magazine No. 13, 1879.
