phire,
but giving them their strictly correct designations, we have the
olivine corundum, called " chrysolite " (oriental), which is harder
than the ordinary or " noble " chrysolite, sometimes called the '•
peridot." The various yellow varieties of corundum take the name of the
"oriental topaz," which, like most, if not all, the corundum
varieties, is harder than the gem which bears the same name, minus the
prefix " oriental." Then we have the " amethyst" sapphire, which varies
from a red to a blue purple, being richer in colour than the ordinary
amethyst, which is a form of violet-coloured quartz, but the corundum
variety, which, like its companions, is called the " oriental "
amethyst, is both rarer and more precious. A very rare and extremely
beautiful green variety is called the oriental emerald. The oriental
jacinth, or hyacinth, is a brown-red corundum, which is more stable
than the ordinary hyacinth, this latter being a form of zircon ; it
changes colour on exposure to light, which colour is not restored by
subsequent retention in darkness.
The
blue sapphire is of all shades of blue, from cornflower blue to the
very palest tints of this colour, all the gradations from light to dark
purple blues, and, in fact, so many shades of tone and colour that they
become almost as numerous as the stones. These stones are usually found
in similar situations to those which produce the ruby, and often along
with them. The lighter colours are usually called females, or feminine
stones, whilst the darker ones are called masculine stones. Some of
these dark ones are so deep as to be almost black, when they are called
" ink " sapphires, and if inclining to
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