Diamonds And Precious Stones A Popular Account Of Gems

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1876 edition. Excerpt: ...in contact with substances containing copper, and which has absorbed a sufficient quantity of them to colour the entire mass with a cerulean hue more or less deep. ENGRAVING UPON THE TURQUOISE. The low degree of hardness possessed by the turquoise probably deterred the ancients from often engraving on this stone, or, it may be, these specimens of antiquity have not been sufficiently durable to reach our time. In either case, there are very few engraved turquoises known. Caire, however, cites a few. In the Genevosio collection there is an amulet, convex on one side and flat on the other, showing upon one side an engraving of a veiled Diana holding two branches in her hands, upon the other a sort of sistrum, a star, and a bee: Greek letters are inscribed upon both faces. The cabinet of the Duke of Orleans contained two engraved turquoises; one representing Diana, with her quiver upon her shoulder; and the other, the elder Faustina. A turquoise in the gallery of Florence, nearly as large as a small billiard ball, is engraved with a head which is possibly that of Caesar, but more probably of Tiberius. The group which we have just examined comprehends a certain number of precious stones that may be easily confounded with each other, or with certain other gems of which we have yet to speak. As will be seen from the table at the end of the book, in which are briefly stated the general characters of precious stones, it is almost always possible to distinguish with tolerable facility those that at first sight might be confounded. Thus, the transparent and colourless corundum resembles the diamond, the aquamarine, the colourless spinel, and the quartz. Now the corundum has double refraction, and the diamond simple refraction; accordingly nothing...

Diamonds and Precious Stones: - A Popular Account of Gems containing their History, their Distinctive Properties and a Description of the most Famous Gems, Gem Cutting and engraving and the Artificial Production of Real and of Counterfeit Gems is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1874. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.