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GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES.
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11
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IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.
The
precious stones (excluding pearls) imported into the United States in
1918, as reported by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce,
Department of Commerce, were valued at $22,666,839. Pearls are omitted
from the total value, as they are lustrous calcareous concretions with
animal membrane between successive layers and are not a mineral but an
animal product, being deposited in the shells of various mollusks. As
pearls owe their beauty and value to the organic part of their
composition, they do not come within the scope of this report. They
are, however, among the most desired of gems, and their value is
therefore given in a separate column in the table of imports.
Including pearls, the value of imported gems in 1918 was the lowest for the last 10 years except that in 1914.
Diamonds and other precious stones imported and entered for consumption in the United
States, 1909-1918.
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