GEMS 



2414 



GENDER 



dered rock crystal, red lead and dry potassium 

 carbonate. These ingredients are powdered 

 carefully, mixed and then subjected to heat 

 for about thirty hours. The quality of the 

 resulting glass depends largely on the regularity 

 of the temperature and slowness of cooling. 

 The glass is colored to imitate precious stones 

 by the same process used in making colored 

 glass. This paste, uncolored, resembles the 

 diamond, but is soft and can be scratched eas- 

 ily. By testing with a quartz crystal or piece 

 of hard steel, an imitation is easily detected. 



Some imitation gems are merely cheaper 

 stones which very closely resemble the genuine. 

 Clear quartz, white Brazilian topaz and color- 

 less varieties of beryl, emerald and sapphire are 

 often sold for diamonds. Colored varieties of 

 quartz are substituted for other gems. Another 

 form of imitation of gems is known as doublet. 

 Thin pieces of genuine gems are attached to 

 valueless backings in such a way that the en- 

 tire stone seems genuine. The imitation of 

 pearls forms an important industry. Hollow 

 glass beads are coated on the inside with a 

 preparation made from certain fish scales. If 

 colored pearls are desired, dyes are added to 

 the mixture. 



Numerous attempts have been made in 

 recent years to produce genuine gems artifi- 

 cially to solve by human skill one of Mother 

 Nature's mysteries. Diamonds, rubies, emer- 

 alds and other colored stones have been suc- 

 cessfully made by the fusion of various sub- 

 stances by means of an electric furnace, and 

 the industry has become an important one. 

 At first the process was so expensive, and the 

 stones produced were so small, that the experi- 

 ment seemed impracticable for commercial pur- 

 poses. The process was improved, however, 

 and the manufacture of rubies, especially, was 

 successfully accomplished in Paris. It is said 

 that crystals weighing over forty carats and 

 valued as high as $25,000 each have been pro- 

 duced. The annual output of rubies in the 

 Paris factory is 5,000,000 carats annually, at an 

 average cost to the manufacturer of twenty- 

 five cents per carat. 



Some Famous Gems. Among the celebrated 

 diamonds of the world probably none has at- 

 tracted more attention than the Koh-i-nur, 

 presented to Queen Victoria by the East India 

 Company in 1850. After being recut it weighed 

 102% carats; it is valued at $600,000. The 

 Cullinan, found near Pretoria in the Trans- 

 vaal, weighed originally 3,024% carats, or 1.37 

 pounds, and measured 4 inches by 2.5 inches 



by 1.25 inches. It was said to be worth from 

 two and one-half to five million dollars. Since 

 its discovery it has been cut into nine smaller 

 stones. The Orloff, one of the most famous 

 of the Russian crown jewels, weighs 195 carats. 

 It was purchased in 1772 by the Empress 

 Catharine II, who paid for it, according to the 

 accepted story, $450,000, an annuity of $4,000, 

 and a Russian title. There is a magnificent 

 diamond in the Louvre, Paris, which weighs 136 

 carats and is valued at $2,500,000. This stone, 

 called the Regent, is probably the finest of 

 large brilliants. 



One of the most beautiful pearls ever found 

 is the Pelegrina, a pear-shaped stone weighing 

 134 grains, and described by an historian as 

 being "as large as the largest pigeon's egg." 

 It was presented to Philip II of Spain by a 

 Spanish adventurer, and at the time was valued 

 at 14,400 ducats ($28,800). This pearl was 

 found off the island of Santa Margarita, 100 

 miles from San Domingo. After remaining in 

 the possession of the Spanish royalty for many 

 generations, it passed to a prominent Russian 

 family. 



Consult Kunz's The Curious Lore of Precious 

 Stones; Wodiska's Book of Precious Stones. 



Related Subjects. Each gem referred to in 

 the article is described in its place in these vol- 

 umes. In addition, reference to the following will 

 add to the reader's knowledge of the topic: 

 Birthstones Intaglio 



Cameo Lapidary 



Glass (Colored Glass) Scarab 



GENDARMES, jendarmz'. The strength of 

 the French army for nearly 450 years before 

 the Revolution was in a body of heavily-armed 

 cavalry, called gendarmes, which served as 

 a bodyguard to the king. Each gendarme 

 dressed in armor, and had five soldiers of in- 

 ferior rank to wait on him. Since the Revolu- 

 tion the name has been applied to military 

 police, nearly always comprising both infan- 

 try and cavalry. They are paid much higher 

 wages than the rest of the army, from which 

 they are picked because of their ability. Pre- 

 vious to the outbreak of the War of the 

 Nations in 1914 there were 21,000 men in this 

 service, who took care of many police matters 

 connected with the government and were only 

 sent into active service in case of an emer- 

 gency. In time of war they keep order in the 

 camp and on the march. 



GENDER, jen' der. Just as living things are 

 classed as male or female, and things without 

 life as sexless, so in English grammar the 

 words naming these things are said to belong 



