“Then there is the process of veneer
ing other precious stones. A piece of
glass or crystal of the desired color and
appearance is taken as a body and a thin
covering of the genuine article is super
imposed so as to convey the impression
of being genuine. Sacha stone in a
setting ue-igned to cover up the deception
would make dupes of half the purohsers.
The danger of being taken in would
not. be so great were people better post
ed. Show a man a lot out on a piaire
and tell him it is worth SIOO a front foot
and he will laugh at you for presuming
upon his ignorance, but show him a
ruby or sapkire and tell him it is worth
SI,OOO and he will believe yon. The
masses know nothing about relative val
ue in gems, and the scope for deception
is enormous.
“Then as to quality of metal and work
manship. Tnere is jewelry in the mar
ket sold for solid gold which is so low in
purity that a respectable plate would be
far more preferable to the so-called
solid stuff. A certain amount of alloy is,
of course, necessary for durability, but
the gold that is actually manufactured in
to jewelry varies in purity all the way
from four to six carets fine to twenty.
Fourteen carats fine is the standard, but
there is an immense amount of ‘solid’
stuff sold annually, and a good share of it
is palmed off for the standard purity.
