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Sec. III, Ch. 1: The Ruby

Sec. II, Ch. 13: Value of Rough Diamonds Page of 366 Sec. III, Ch. 1: The Ruby Text size:minusplusRestore normal size  Mail page Print this page
SECTION III.
COLOURED PRECIOUS STONES.
CHAPTER I.
THE RUBY.
HE Ruby not only stands in the very.foremost class of coloured gems, but it occupies among Precious Stones in general a position which is unquestionably supreme. By the Ancients it was regarded as the very type of all that was most precious in the natural world ; and its value is amply attested by the numerous allusions to it in the Old Testament, sometimes under the name of Jasper.
The price paid for this stone by the Ancients was very high. According to Benvenuto Cellini, in his time a perfect Ruby of a carat weight cost 800 ecus d'or, whilst a Diamond of like weight cost only 100. Even at the present day a fine Ruby of 5 or 6 carats may be worth ten times the value of an ordinary white Diamond of equal weight ; for the former is very difficult to obtain, whilst the latter may be readily procured.
Although it is not always easy to distinguish in ancient writings between the description of the Ruby and
Sec. II, Ch. 13: Value of Rough Diamonds Page of 366 Sec. III, Ch. 1: The Ruby
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