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Show SOMETHING ABOUT DIAMONDS. Their Appearance In the Rough, the Cutting Cut-ting mid UcHt rii-Uln. The ruby mirrors the flame of fire, the sapphire reflects the blue of the heavens, the emerald pictures the depth of the sea, but the diamond is a dew-drop dew-drop laden with sunbeams, the most poetic creation of an organic nature. Every moment it llashes u new c lor now blue, now red, now royal purple, now golden yellow, says Home and Country. In the rough that is, just as the stone has been washed out of the clay and broken loose from the ore a diamond dia-mond presents the appearance of a crystal pebble, somewhat pointed at each end. It usually appears to be of a brownish hue but now and again n ray of light will seem to leap from the very heurt of the stone. From this rough form of the gem the diamond cutter decides what the shnpe of the finished jewel is to be. Itshouldbe the aim of the diamond cutter to preserve pre-serve this octahedral character of the gem. To accomplish this the rough stone is rirst split or chipped. The operation is a most dillicult one. requiring an insight into the character of each individual stone. There are hardly two gems that run be treated in a precisely similar manner. K very , diamond has a thorough individuality , and must be trviited accordingly in i order to obtain the best results. The "splitting"' is accomplished by fixing I the gem in a block" of cement, nfter which the u ugles must be split off in accordance with t he direction of the crystallization. Flaws are also taken out in this operation and the diamond given its future shupe. 1 The diamonds must highly prized are the Indian and Itnrilian stones. They I are gem-rally of the purest white, the j most complete tru iisnarency "water" j and the most brilliant "lire." I |