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Sec. I, Ch. 6: Precious Stones as Objects of Commerce

Sec. I, Ch. 6: Precious Stones as Objects of Commerce Page of 366 Sec. I, Ch. 6: Precious Stones as Objects of Commerce Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
44            Precious Stones as Objects of Commerce.
or red colour : these are called dust when very fine and in large numbers in one stone. Absolute perfection is no more to be found in Diamonds and Precious Stones, than in any other created things ; for, however perfect they may appear at first sight, there is, as a rule, some trifling defect discoverable on minute inspection. 25 per cent, of the Diamonds found have to be cleaved, whereby the Diamond-cutter is enabled to remove black spots or air-bubbles, or any other flaws in the stone.
THE FIRST KNOWN APPLICATION OF DIAMONDS FOR ORNAMENT.
The adaptability of the Diamond for personal orna­ment is grounded mainly on its conspicuous lustre and beautiful play of light, properties which are rendered prominent by cutting the stone, so as to give it the greatest number of surfaces consistent with its size. By this manipulation the rough stone loses an amount of material tending in some cases to more than one-half, and some­times as much as two-thirds of its original weight.
The Tyrians are said to have been the first to apply the Diamond to personal ornament, but the author thinks this very doubtful, and believes that it was an article of commerce much earlier among the peoples of the East. They valued it highly, carried it as an amulet, and attributed to it many medical virtues. It was regarded also as a safeguard against madness.
The breastplate of Aaron previously referred to is mentioned in Exodus xxxix, 10 to 14. Jeremiah (xvii. 1) speaks of the sin of Judah being written with " the point of a Diamond,''—puncto adamantis of the Vulgate—though it is probable that this adamas was the corundum, and not
Sec. I, Ch. 6: Precious Stones as Objects of Commerce Page of 366 Sec. I, Ch. 6: Precious Stones as Objects of Commerce
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