GEMS, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL 



glittering, six-pointed star, diverging from the center 

 to the edge of the gem, presenting an appearance 

 quite unlike any other precious stone. 



"The spinel is a beautiful gem which occurs in al- 

 most every color in many different shades, and is known 

 as blue, green, purple, or red spinel respectively. The 

 red and blue varieties of spinel are not infrequently 

 called spinel rubies and spinel sapphires from their 

 resemblance to rubies and sapphires." 



From all this it is evident that the nomenclature 

 is indeed a confused jargon, for which the cupidity 

 of dealers is responsible in many instances. The 

 true and the false cat's-eye furnish a case in point. 

 The true cat's-eye is a variety of chrysoberyl, varying 

 in color from a soft yellow to a rich green, and having 

 a glittering streak resembling the iris of the cat. 

 There are, however, two varieties of quartz which have 

 a somewhat similar appearance, but which lack the lus- 

 ter and brilliancy of the true cat's-eye. Commercially, 

 these quartz cat's-eyes are of little value, but by giving 

 them the name of the more valuable gem, dealers are 

 able to get fairly good prices from the unsuspecting, 

 who do not know that there are true and false gems 

 of the same name. 



Nothing approaching a scientific nomenclature of 

 gems could be determined until the development of 

 modern chemistry, and an understanding as to the ulti- 

 mate particles of matter something like a century ago 

 And it will be recalled that one of the first great steps 

 in the progress of changing the so-called chemistry 

 of previous centuries into an exact science was a sys- 



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