GEM COLLECTION OF THE V. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



By George F. Kunz, 



The collection ol' geiu.s exhibited by the National IMuseum at the 

 Cincinnati and New Orleans Jijxpositions is now on exhibition in the 

 ]\Inseuin in Washington. This mnch-needed accession, representing a 

 small ]>art of the ai)i)ropriation for the World's Fair, promises to be 

 one of the most attractive and iustrnctive featnres of the Musenm. 

 The large nnmber of visitors, who examined the collection, both at the 

 expositions and in its present location, can testifj' to its interesting 

 character. Although a mere beginning, it is the most complete public 

 collection of gems, in the United States. It is contained in three tlat 

 I>late-glass exhibition cases, the gems being neatly marked with printed 

 labels, and arranged on velvet pads, with a silk rope border. The 

 di\ersity, brilliance, and richness of nature's brightest colors disjjlayed 

 render the whole elfect a very attractive and pleasing one. The col- 

 lection begins with a suite of glass models of the historical diamonds, 

 followed by a series of diamonds in their natural state, among which is 

 an interesting octahedron, 18 carats in weight*, and by two smaller, 

 though very perfect, octahedra of about 2 carats each. These speci- 

 mens are gooil illustrations of the form from South Africa, though of 

 little commercial value as gems. One dozen other crystals, from one 

 ([uarter to 1 carat in weight, complete a representative set of form and 

 o(!currence in that legion. Next we have a very neat set of a dozen 

 more crystals, small, but choice, principally from India and Brazil, for- 

 merly belonging to the Mallet collection. One of these is a perfect 

 cube, a form peculiar to Brazil, while another is twinned iiarallel to the 

 octahedron. Another stone of 1 carat is only half cut, and for compar-' 

 ison we have a stone of al)()ut the same weight completely cut. 



* (iciiis tiro <;oiH'rally boiiglit and Hold by tlie w()ij;bt., called a carat, which is ('(jual 

 lo al)oiit :J. 1(58 troy j^rains. It is usually divided, however, into 4 diamond or pearl 

 j^rains, each of whicii is .7;):iir» of a trin; <;rain. Fractions of a carat are also known 

 as fourth, ei^htlis, sixteentlis, thirty-secon<ls, and sixty-fourths. The weight ol" the 

 carat formerly differed sliglitly in <lifferent countries, and this diversity finally led a 

 syndicate of l*arisian jewelers, goldsmiths, and gem dealers, in 1871, to propose a 

 standard carat. Thiw was subsequently confirmed by an arrangement between the 

 diamond morchauts of London, Paris, and Amsterdam, fixing the uniform value of 

 the diamond (?) carat at . 205 gramm. 



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