INTRODUCTION.
The
native gems of southern California, as tourmaline, beryl, kun-zite,
topaz, essonite, etc., are being mined, cut, and sold in some quantity
by jewelers of San Diego and Los Angeles. Good lapidaries are employed
at both towns, and the cut stones are retailed in the East and abroad
as well as locally. The greater part of the output of California
stones, however, is shipped East for cutting.
In
Maine, where precious stones of a similar class are mined, the cutting
is nearly all done locally and the sale of gems is limited chiefly to
the State, good prices being realized by retailing to tourists. The
discovery of kunzite, or lilac-colored spodumene, at Andover, Oxford
County, Me., will add a new interest to the gem industry of that State
if pieces large enough for cutting are found. The material so far found
has come from near the surface and was somewhat fractured. It is hoped
that better, flawless mineral will be found with depth.
Gem
tourmaline and beryl are mined at a new locality near Canyon, Colo.,
and are cut, at present at least, largely for local sales.
Chrysoprase
is known to exist at many places in California and has been mined in
considerable quantity. There was a large production in 1906, part of
which was high-grade material.
There
has been a large decrease in the production of turquoise in the
Southwestern States, from Texas to southern California. Several of the
companies formerly operating in that region reported good material to
be very scarce, and many companies did not attempt mining during the
3-ear. If turquoise is to be a popular stone this season, as is
reported from London in the Jeweler's Circular Weekly, the scarcity of
the native stone should cause a revival of activity in the development
of the American turquoise deposits.
The
discovery of gem corundum during 1906 in the gold placers of Washington
County, Idaho, adds a new locality for the occurrence of blue and other
colored sapphires in the United States. Stones of considerable beauty
have been found, and it is to be hoped that predictions regarding the
finding of sapphires in quantity and in other parts of the State will
prove true.
The
importation of diamonds for consumption during 1906 again showed a
large increase over the preceding year; and this in spite of
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