Page:A treatise on diamonds and precious stones including their history Natural and commercial.djvu/100

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DIAMOND.

or separates them^[1] into various sets according to their size. Those stones which are bad colored, yeiny, and round, are laid apart; then the large stones are separated, weighed, and carefully examined. Each of the lots is then weighed, and lastly the inferior stones. He calculates the separate value of each large

↑ When the lot is large, for the purpose of more easily separating the greater stones from the smaller, the merchant has small sieves or boxes of tin, with numerous holes punched in them. One sieve, for instance, will suffer all Diamonds to pass through, which do not weigh two carats, retaining stones of that weight and larger. Another sieve, will suffer those to pass which are below a carat and a half, or a carat, and so of the rest. Thus the whole bolsa is divided into sets of stones which are nearly of equal weight.

A bolsa of Diamonds rarely contains any individual stones above four carats; all that exceed that weight being generally sold alone. Such lots may, on the average, be estimated at from forty to fifty shillings per carat. If they contain many stones not fit for manufacturing, (technically called turn out), they may be worth the lowest of the above-mentioned prices; and if very fine, they may sell for a few shillings above the higher price.

[1] When the lot is large, for the purpose of more easily separating the greater stones from the smaller, the merchant has small sieves or boxes of tin, with numerous holes punched in them. One sieve, for instance, will suffer all Diamonds to pass through, which do not weigh two carats, retaining stones of that weight and larger. Another sieve, will suffer those to pass which are below a carat and a half, or a carat, and so of the rest. Thus the whole bolsa is divided into sets of stones which are nearly of equal weight.

A bolsa of Diamonds rarely contains any individual stones above four carats; all that exceed that weight being generally sold alone. Such lots may, on the average, be estimated at from forty to fifty shillings per carat. If they contain many stones not fit for manufacturing, (technically called turn out), they may be worth the lowest of the above-mentioned prices; and if very fine, they may sell for a few shillings above the higher price.

[1]