Show EXPENSE OF PASTE DIAMONDS material from which imitation gems are made Is not paste from which imitation precious stones are made is widely known but few are acquainted witt the ingredients though it Is generally understood that the paste gains ats brilliancy from the lead t contains formulas vary for the paste but all contain rock cristal red lead car bonate of potash borax and white ar it Is required that these articles shall be of a higher grade of purity as there Is a considerable waste so that the gems made from strass as the composition is technically known are by no means inexpensive A paste diamond cannot scratch glass and Is thus easily detected but colored atones are made of crystal alone that are considerably harder than glass in the making of these a crystal stone Is hollowed out and filled with some colored liquid the orifice being closed with a plug of crystal which la ground down so that there is no trace of the junction new york herald |