INGENUITY AND LUXURY 



For many centuries the location of the Burmese 

 ruby-mines was a secret closely guarded by the mon- 

 archs of that country, who held them as royal posses- 

 sions. It is said that from time to time adventurers 

 had attempted to locate them, but none of these ever 

 returned to tell of success or failure; and it was not 

 until Great Britain annexed the country that the exact 

 location of these mines became known to the outside 

 world. Needless to say, shortly after this had been 

 accomplished, a company was formed to work the 

 mines and introduce modern mining methods. 



These methods are most simple, and differ from the 

 older ones very largely in the matter of replacing hand- 

 labor with machinery. The ruby-bearing material 

 is mined, brought to the surface, and washed in ma- 

 chines very similar to those used in diamond washing. 



The Siamese rubies rank next to the Burmese, but 

 are distinctly less valuable, and usually darker in 

 color. Those of Ceylon, on the other hand, are much 

 lighter hi color, limpid and brilliant, and even less 

 valuable than the Siamese. France alone seems to 

 appreciate their beauty and artistic qualities, and most 

 of them are marketed in that country. 



The sapphire, the corundum gem stone next in 

 importance to the ruby, is of a peculiar interest to 

 Americans, since it is the most important precious 

 stone produced in the United States. Australia, 

 Kashmir, Siam, Burma, and Ceylon also continue to 

 furnish sapphires in considerable quantities, but the 

 quantity and quality of the Montana gems have re- 

 cently rather overshadowed those from the other sources 



