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PRECIOUS STONES.

praise be honestly given to modern garnet-work? Can we feel a genuine satisfaction either in the design, the execution, or the effect of a compound big carbuncle of eight lobes, with an eight-rayed star riveted into the midst of it, the aforesaid star being of hard, poor, glittering, much alloyed gold, and containing a number of irregular fragments of defective diamonds? The star soon gets loose, and later on the diamonds begin dropping out. But we will not pursue the history of the piece any further, and will refrain from calling attention to other obnoxious modes of using carbuncles, as in a ring with a sham gold knot on either side.

Orange and Yellow Stones.—Amongst orange and yellow stones we may assign the first place to the yellow zircon—a stone which is sometimes found of a hue which may be aptly described as that of transparent gold. Next to this comes the yellow sapphire, afterwards the cinnamon stone, or hessonite; and then we may place the rich sherry-coloured Brazilian topaz—that kind which yields when heated the finest rose-pink stones. Then the chrysoberyl follows, and, at some distance, the yellow beryl. Few colour combinations have been attempted with these yellowstones; puce-coloured spinels associate with the yellow sapphire very happily, but there are some enamels which answer equally well. Generally a design of pale bluish-grey enamel, with minor details wrought in buff and white, develops the richness of gold-coloured stones. Here mention should be made of the very rare gem, the spessartite of Ceylon. It is of an orange-red hue, and is of most fiery brilliance, but is very seldom met with in commerce. The North American spessartites are inferior.

Green Stones.—There are four green stones about which something ought to be said—the emerald, the tourmaline, the peridot, and the zircon. Some persons regard the green of the emerald as vulgar. It is too easy to construct a vulgar, coarse ornament out of emeralds, even if they be of fine quality. But the emerald, step-cut, and judiciously and quietly mounted, possesses a rich and refreshing