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GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES.
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By Waldemar T. Schaller.
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INTRODUCTION.
A
review of the production of precious stones in the United States for
the last five years shows that for very few of them is the value year
by year at all constant and that for many of them the fluctuation is
very great.
The
value of beryl, exclusive of emerald, has remained fairly constant
within the limits $1,600 to $2,600. Emerald included, the production
of beryl has varied greatly and in general has decreased.
Californite
is showing a slow but gradual increase, but the heavy production in
1907, 1909, and 1910 makes the output of the last five years seem
almost insignificant.
Chrysoprase
is also again slowly increasing in production, but the total of
$234,545 from 1906 to 1911 myites the total of $1,345 from 1912 to 1915
look very small.
Diamonds
have remained fairly constant, according to the published figures,
although statistics for the production from Arkansas are not available.
The values reported are those of isolated and scattered finds and
seldom exceed a few thousand dollars annually.
Feldspar
gems, garnet, peridot, rhodonite, and topaz have a relatively small and
irregular production, which varies within rather narrow limits.
The
production of quartz gems nearly doubled in 1915, amounting to $35,725,
compared with $18,838 in 1914, $16,861 in 1913, and $21,779 in 1912.
The largest items among the quartz gems are chalcedony and agate. The
production of agate, chalcedony, and jasper increased appreciably in
1915, whereas that of amethyst, gold quartz, quartz crystal, smoky
quartz, and rose quartz decreased.
Opals reached their maximum production in 1913, but since that year the output has greatly declined.
The production of sapphire from Montana, which fell from $238,635 in 1913 to $60,932 in 1914, increased to $88,214 in 1915.
Tourmaline
shows a slight increase in value for 1915 over the two previous years,
but the production in 1915 of $10,969 is small compared with $50,000
to $133,192 in the years from 1905 to 1909.
Turquoise
has had about the same production for the last four years, but the
total output for the four years from 1912 to 1915 is less than the
production for any single year from 1908 to 1911 and for any single
year from 1897 to 1905. The production of variscite was the smallest
since 1907.
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