CHAPTER I
GEMS AND JEWELRY—THE INTEREST OF THE SUBJECT, AND THE NEED OF MORE BOOKS CONCERNING IT
F
ROM the earliest
ages jewels have powerfully attracted mankind, and the treatment of
precious stones and the precious metals in which they are set, often
serves as important evidence, not only concerning the art of early
times and peoples, but also concerning their manners and customs.
Jewels have been the gifts and ransoms of kings, the causes of
devastating wars, of the overthrow of dynasties, of regicides, of
notorious thefts, and of innumerable crimes of violence. The known
history of some existent famous gems covers more years than the story
of some modern nations. Around the flashing Koh-i-noor and its compeers
cluster world-famous legends, not less fascinating to the general
