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 Author 
 
 Title 
 
 Imprint 
 
m PACTS 
 
 
 " ABOUT - 
 -PRE-CIOUS- 
 
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 ^TOAieS 
 
 
 A 
 
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 TMEODORe A KOliiM CSO/N 
 
 ^ JEWELERS 
 
 j6 twbnty-third ^t.,west 
 
 ^ AlEWYORK, -^ 
 
 30B20)J 
 
^~Ii^' object of this little book may 
 '''^fesssr^ ^ be stated in a few words. 
 
 We desire to place in the hands of our 
 customers, in compact form, a few im- 
 portant facts regarding precious stones 
 with the rules which should govern 
 their wise selection. Larger works on 
 this subject may be found in libraries, 
 but the coveted hints are. usually 
 buried in scientific matter, and the size 
 of the volume is out of all proportion 
 to the needs of the reader who wishes 
 to be guided in purchasing, rather than 
 instructed in historical or technical 
 lore. 
 
 When it is considered that there is 
 scarcely a home where jewels of one 
 sort or another — all rep^senting a 
 
moneyed value — are not to be found, 
 the subject assumes an immediate im- 
 portance. It must be remembered 
 that there is always a double argu- 
 ment for the accumulation of precious 
 stones: first, their decorative, and 
 secondly, their permanent value. On 
 the one hand they are objects of beauty, 
 of sentiment, and of genuine pleasure 
 both to wearer and beholder. But on 
 the other hand they are never to be 
 regarded otherwise than in the light 
 of a simple investment. From their 
 extreme portability and absolute value 
 (with but slight fluctuation), they are 
 properly classed by many conservative 
 persons with government bonds. The 
 interest on the investment is the 
 pleasure of their possession and use ; 
 it is as if the interest was spent semi- 
 annually for dress or other entertain- 
 ment. The investment, however, as 
 
such, is in reality more safe than a 
 Government bond, for in times of 
 revolution or political trouble — the 
 times when values are most dis- 
 turbed — jewels (as a form of portable 
 and certain wealth) have alwa3-s risen 
 in price. Thus in Paris during the 
 French Revolution, diamonds doubled 
 in value. Many a safe investor to-day 
 makes a practice of keeping jewels in 
 his family in case of financial emer- 
 gency, in view of the extreme uncer- 
 tainty of business operations. 
 
 It seems almost unnecessary to state 
 that jewels should never be purchased 
 of unknown parties, and it is equally 
 important that all such transactions 
 should be conducted only with a firm 
 of the very highest reputation for 
 business integrity. 
 
 The integrity of the dealer, however, 
 fully established, his judgment is an 
 
important matter. This must be 
 based on long experience, close obser- 
 vation, and an intimate knowledge of 
 every detail of the subject carefully 
 revised to date. These are essentials 
 which are of the utmost importance to 
 the purchaser in many instances. For 
 example, the price of colored stones 
 and pearls is removed from the com- 
 mon category and only accurate judg- 
 ment can safely dictate their worth ; 
 the rarity of a gem is always a factor 
 in its price of which only the expert 
 can properly judge. 
 
 Emerson's maxim is in point here : — 
 ' ' He who would bring back the wealth 
 of the Indies must take with him the 
 wealth of the Indies." You cannot 
 secure value without cost. 
 
 With these general remarks let us 
 pass to the consideration of the pre- 
 cious stones separately in more detail, 
 
classiiiying thecn under three heads : — 
 (a) diamonds; (b) rubies, emeralds, 
 sapphires and other colored stones: 
 (c) pearls. 
 
 Tt^lE DIAMOND 
 
 gem, surpassing all others 
 in brilliancy, is found 
 in all colors — white, yellow, orange, 
 red, pink, brown, green, blue, black 
 and opalescent. The light yellow and 
 brown hues are comparatively com- 
 mon ; the decided colors are extremely 
 rare; only one deep-red diamond has 
 ever been found. The colors most in 
 demand are perfect white, bluish 
 white, and deep golden yellow. 
 
The diamond is simply a crystal of 
 pure carbon, and as such is safe from 
 all injury by acids or alkalis, and is 
 infusible. 
 
 Diamonds formerly came in large 
 numbers from India, later from Brazil, 
 and now come chiefly from South 
 Africa. 
 
 The brilliancy of a diamond depends 
 very much upon its cutting. The 
 most desirable form of cutting is the 
 "brilliant," which with many modifi- 
 cations as to size and proportion is in 
 general a shape as of two pyramids 
 united at their bases, the upper one 
 having a large plane surface, and the 
 lower terminating almost in a point. 
 The line of division is called the 
 "girdle." The best proportion is 
 when the "culet" or lower table (be- 
 low the girdle) is exactly twice as deep 
 as the "crown" or table (above the 
 
girdle). The number of "facets," or 
 faces, varies, but in the most perfect 
 cutting there are 5S; a general aver- 
 age is from 42 to 74 facets. The 
 "brilliant'' is a very recent form of 
 cutting. Formerly diamonds were un- 
 evenly cut in long and square shapes, 
 and such stones, however valuable, 
 cannot compare with the modern round 
 stone in brilliancy or beauty. 
 
 The value of a diamond is in in- 
 creasing ratio as its size increases. 
 For example, a perfect diamond of one 
 carat being worth $150.00, one of two 
 carats would be worth three times as 
 much ; but one of ten carats would be 
 worth fully one hundred and ten times 
 as much. A diamond without flaw or 
 tint of any kind is called a diamond 
 of 'OciQ first water. 
 
 There are an immense number of 
 imitations of the diamond and pur 
 
chasers should avoid taking any risks 
 whatever. It must be borne in mind 
 that Jewelers are alwa^^s unwilling to 
 appraise the value of stones from out- 
 side dealers. Color and brilliancy 
 cannot be carried in the memory; 
 these qualities can only be judged by 
 a side-by-side comparison. We urge 
 our customers not to hesitate at any 
 time to ask us to send gems to any 
 address on approval, for examination 
 and close comparison with the offer- 
 ings of other dealers similarly sub- 
 mitted. Our selections are made with 
 extreme care, our avenues of purchase 
 are exceptional, and our prices quality 
 always C07isidered, are very close to 
 actual cost. 
 
 '-'m^^a^^. 
 
THE RUBY. 
 
 The most valuable of all corundums ; 
 fine rubies in sizes of one carat and 
 over are from 3 to lo times more 
 valuable than diamonds of similar size 
 and quality. Value is a question. — 
 first of clearness and color, next of 
 size, lastly of perfect formation. 
 
 The hue most desired is known as 
 "pigeon's blood" and is the color of 
 arterial blood. Clearness is important ; 
 examine a ruby carefully for. clouds 
 or milky spots. Cracks or slight de- 
 fective flaws are of less importance, as 
 perfection in a ruby is rarely found 
 and color and brilliancy areconsidere'. 
 more essential. 
 
The color may vary from light rose 
 to deep crimson, and is not infre- 
 quently of a pink or purplish tint. 
 Less common are brown and magenta 
 tints. 
 
 The ruby is extensively imitated. 
 The Brazilian Ruby (^Yhich is topaz), 
 the Cape Ruby (which is a garnet), 
 and spinels, hyacinths, quartz, and 
 tourmalines are constantly sold as 
 rubies. The true ruby will scratch 
 the topaz and garnet, is lighter than 
 the hyacinth, and heavier than quartz 
 or tourmaline. Chemical counterfeits 
 are happily too expensive if well made. 
 Other imitations- known as "recon- 
 structed" rubie.^ lack brillianc}^ and 
 can be easily detected under a micro- 
 scope. At the London Exposition of 
 1862 two large rubies were shown 
 r.niontr the iewels of Oueen Victoria, 
 
which later examination proved to be 
 simply spinels. 
 
 Rubies are full of the sentiment of 
 the East; they are supposed to pre- 
 serve the health and spirits of the 
 wearer. The supply of rubies since 
 the days of Solomon has steadily 
 diminished, and a perfect ruby is now 
 exceedingly rare. Among the gems 
 now on exhibition at our warerooms 
 is a genuine rub}^ probably of Siam-ese 
 or Burmese origin, not of great size, 
 but of such perfect form and depth 
 and life of color that it is worthy of a 
 visit from all who care to see what a 
 valuable ruby really is. 
 
 THE EMERALD. 
 
 One of the most highly prized of 
 gem-stones when transparent and of 
 line color. It should be of the hue of 
 
fresh grass in the spring. It is very 
 rare to find an emerald without a flaw. 
 The stone is very light^in weight, and 
 imitations may usually be detected by 
 the scales. "False Emeralds," so 
 called, is fluor spar (made into vases 
 and ornaments) and is slightly lumi- 
 nous in a dark room. 
 
 Our stock of Emeralds is always 
 large, whatever the demand, and we 
 solicit a critical comparison of our 
 prices with those of the leading 
 jewelers. 
 
 THE SAPPHIRE. 
 
 Exactly the same stone as the ruby, 
 but different in color and less rare; 
 hence less valuable, especially in the 
 larger sizes. When of fine quality it 
 is very nearly as valuable as a diamond 
 of the same size and quality. The 
 choicest shades of color are the blue 
 
tints of the cornflower and a rich 
 velvety blue. It is an added advantage 
 if the color is equally brilliant by arti- 
 ficial light. Male sapphires (so caUed) 
 are the deep-colored stones: light- 
 colored ones are female sapphires. 
 
 The prevailing sapphire of commerce 
 is of a bluish hue. The sapphire is 
 found, however, in other shades of 
 color as follows : 
 
 Green Sapphire, or Oriental Em- 
 erald. 
 
 Purple Sapphire, or Oriental Ame- 
 thyst. 
 
 Yellow Sapphire, or Oriental Topaz. 
 
 Light Green Sapphires, or Oriental 
 Aquamarine. 
 
 Greenish yellow Sapphire, or Ori- 
 ental Crysolite. 
 
 Aurora-red Sapphire, or Oriental 
 Hyacinth. 
 
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 The name " Oriental" is prefixed to 
 distinguish the corundum from the less 
 valuable mineral of the same color. 
 The color, if a corundum, is usually 
 less strong and deep, but the stone is 
 much more brilliant, rare and valuable. 
 
 "Star" sapphires (so-called) are 
 extremely rare ; the}- are so cr3'stalized 
 as to exhibit by reflected light a bright 
 six-pointed star. 
 
 THE TURQUOISE. 
 
 Color, blue or greenish blue, with a 
 waxy lustre, and opaque. The choicest 
 hue is a clear, deep sky blue. In value 
 it ranks below the ruby, diamond, 
 emerald and sapphire, but it is never- 
 theless highly prized and a most 
 valuable additional color among gems. 
 
 The best turquoises are the Ameri- 
 can. There are numerous other 
 varieties, notably the Persian and 
 
Egyptian, but they usually fade in 
 color and turn green from exposure to 
 light. 
 
 There are numerous counterfeits in 
 turquoises : — Odontolites are cut from 
 fossil teeth of animals and will yield 
 to a file or to nitric acid; "recon- 
 structed'' turquoises will quickl}^ 
 darken in color if put into water; 
 artificially colored turquoises can be 
 tested by a drop of ammonia on the 
 back of the stone which will leave a 
 green spot. 
 
 The popularity of the turquoise has 
 recently been greatly heightened by 
 the discovery of new mines in this 
 country which produce a stone of 
 exceptional color which will 7iot fade 
 U7ider a7iy exposure. We have some 
 of the finest specimens of these new 
 turquoises now on exhibition at our 
 establishment, and they can safely be 
 
trusted to hold their exact color. The 
 great objection hitherto to this jewel 
 has been its liabilit}^ to change in 
 color, but this difficulty has now beeu 
 wholly overcome. 
 
 THE OPAL. 
 
 This vStone was formerly believed 
 to confer magical virtues upon its 
 wearer, but a later superstition re- 
 versed this. It is easy to trace these 
 beliefs to the nature of the stone, 
 which, being soft, was easih?- scratched, 
 and then appeared to have lost its 
 color. To-day, however, opals are 
 very highly prized. The finest speci- 
 mens are those from Hungary and 
 Australia ; Spanish-American opals 
 are, as a rule, inferior. 
 
 The best known varieties of opals 
 are ( i ) precious or noble opals (highly 
 valued), showing brilliant changeable 
 
color reflections ; (2) fire opals, show- 
 ing fire-like reflection; (3) common 
 opals, whose colors are milk white, 
 bluish white, green, red, etc., but 
 without any fire or reflection; (4) 
 semi-opals, very opaque ; and (5) hydro- 
 phanes, transparent under water. 
 
 The opal is rapidly gaining a marked 
 ascendancy in popular favor, and the 
 demand to-day for good opals cannot 
 be filled although the mines are 
 worked to their utmost capacity. As 
 this little volume goes to press we are 
 in expectation of an interesting in- 
 voice of opals, soon to arrive at our 
 warerooms. Notice of their arrival 
 will be sent to any of our customers 
 on request. 
 
 THE SPINEL. 
 
 Only within the last century has 
 spinel been discovered to be not a 
 
corundum, and thus many reputed 
 rubies and sapphires have proven to 
 be red and blue spinels. 
 
 Spinels are exceedingly close to the 
 very precious gems in appearance. 
 They are of various shades ; red spinel 
 is the most valuable color and closely 
 resembles the ruby. Ruby spinels of 
 one carat or larger are rare and valu- 
 able. Other colors are blue, green, 
 yellow, brown, black and white, the 
 latter being often confounded with 
 the diamond, though less brilliant. 
 As secondary stones, or in combi- 
 nation, spinels are highly effective. 
 They are only surpassed in hardness, 
 beauty and brilliancy by the diamond 
 and the corundums. 
 
 Much may be learned of spinels by 
 a visit to our warerooms and a careful 
 examination of our large stock, com- 
 prising nearly all colors in many 
 
shades. Sapphirine, rubicelle, and 
 balas ruby are only other names for 
 spinel. 
 
 THE GARNET. 
 
 This stone is found in many va- 
 rieties, differing in color, composition 
 and weight. The red varieties are 
 most common, but violet, brown, 
 yellow, green and white garnets are 
 not altogether rare. A carbuncle (so- 
 called), is any garnet cut with a 
 smooth, rounding top. 
 
 Bohemian garnets are dark blood- 
 red in color and in the larger sizes 
 verjT- valuable. ■ Demantoides (often 
 falsely sold as olivines ), Cape rubies, 
 American rubies, cinnamon stones, 
 and almandines are all varieties of 
 earnets. 
 
THE TOURMALINE. 
 
 Of all minerals, this precious stone 
 has the largest alphabet of names and 
 colors; it is always, however, readily 
 distinguished from other gems by its 
 electrical properties when heated. It 
 crystalizes in three, six, and nine-sided 
 prisms, often of great size, and of 
 marvelously beautiful color groupings 
 — as for example, red with a blue or 
 green border, brown with a border of 
 old yellow, and many interej.ting and 
 more confusing blendings. 
 
 Familiar varieties are achroite, 
 colorless ; rubellite, pink or red ; indi- 
 colite, blue; and aphritite (or schorl), 
 black. There are also green (Brazilian 
 emeralds), purple (Brazilian sapphires), 
 and yellowish-green (Ce^don cryso- 
 lites ). Transparent varieties are more 
 highly prized than the opaque stones 
 
and the red, blue green and harlequin- 
 colored tourmalines, if really fine, are 
 quite valuable. 
 
 THE TOPAZ. 
 
 This gem is transparent or nearly 
 so, and yellow (Saxony), white (Si- 
 berian), green, (aquamarine), pale 
 blue (Brazilian sapphire), pink (Bra- 
 zilian ruby), or colorless (slave's 
 diamond). The latter variety when 
 pure and cut in facets, closely counter- 
 feits the diamond ; in fact the ' ' Bra- 
 ganza," (the great diamond of Portu- 
 gal ) is supposed to be a white topaz. 
 
 False topaz is simply yellow quartz, 
 and lacks in brilliancy. Beryl and 
 crysolite are often used to imitate 
 topaz. 
 
 THE AflETHYST. 
 
 This stone varies in color from light 
 to dark tones of purple and violet. 
 
The price of amethysts is much in- 
 fluenced b}^ fashion ; at times they are 
 exceedingly valuable, but at the 
 present writing fine specimens can be 
 secured through us for very little 
 money. 
 
 THE BERYL. 
 
 (Emerald, Aquamarine, Cat's-eye, 
 Alexandrite.) 
 
 A green beryl is an Emerald ; a 
 transparent pale-green or a light sky- 
 blue beryl is an Aquamarine, and a 
 golden-3'ello\v beryl is a Chrysoberyl, 
 which latter class are in their turn 
 divided into Cat's-eyes, Cymophanes, 
 and Alexandrites. 
 
 All these are familiar stones and it 
 is always possible to secure fine speci- 
 mens of them at our establishment. 
 Alexandrites are now ver}^ much in 
 demand and good specimens of from 
 
one to four carats are very quickly 
 seized ; the demand exceeds the supply. 
 Cat's-eyes are very extensively imi- 
 tated in quartz, but the imitation 
 always lacks the brilliancy and high 
 polish of the genuine. The true 
 Crysoberyl or Oriental Cat's-eye has 
 a bright band of light (usually white) 
 running through the centre; in the 
 finer specimens it is clearly defined 
 and in the centre of the stone. The 
 stone itself may be in shades of yellow, 
 brown, green or black. 
 
 All varieties of beryls except em- 
 eralds are usually very brilliant by 
 artificial light. 
 
 THE MOONSTONE. 
 
 This beautiful stone is a clear feld- 
 spar, colorless or tinted very slightly, 
 with plays of light resembling the 
 pearl. Large quantities are cut like 
 
whole pearls for necklaces or brooches, 
 and are in active demand. Size 
 greatly affects their value, however, 
 and the smaller balls are not at all 
 expensive. 
 
 THE PEARL. 
 
 The value of a pearl depends upon 
 three thmgs: — first, its form (which 
 in order of value must be round, pear- 
 shaped or exactly oval); secondly, its 
 lustre (or "orient," so-called); and 
 thirdly, the purity of its color (any 
 yellow or gray tinge greatly lowering 
 its value, although pearls of decided 
 colors are rarer and often more valu- 
 able than the pure white.) 
 
 It is of course assumed that the 
 outer surface must be perfectly 
 smooth, without spots, wrinkles or in- 
 dentations. A rough, oddly-shaped 
 pearl is called a baroque. 
 
A pearl should have the suggestion 
 of transparency and imist Jia^'e the 
 peculiar "orient" or lustre, without 
 which even the finest form and color 
 of pearl has but little value. The 
 "orient" in the pearl exactly corre- 
 sponds to ' 'brilliancy" in the diamond ; 
 without it there is no charm. 
 
 Black pearls are the most valuable, 
 then pink and yellow; any of these 
 decided colors in a perfect pearl 
 greatly enhances its cost. 
 
 Pearls are steadilj^ increasing in 
 price ; they cost now from two and a 
 half to three times as much as they 
 did ten 5'ears ago, and there is every 
 indication of a continuance of this 
 advance in price, as the demand in- 
 creases much faster than the supply. 
 A pearl which could have been bought 
 for $1,000 m 1883 is now easily worth 
 from $2,500 to $3,000. 
 
Much that is interesting may be 
 learned about pearls during a half 
 hour spent in our establishment at 56 
 West 23d Street, and the object of 
 this book would not be attained if we 
 neglected to say before closing that it 
 will give us pleasure to exhibit many 
 precious stones to any reader of this 
 little volume. We especially desire 
 to emphasize the fact that visitors are 
 always cordially welcome, regardless 
 of any intention to purchase. 
 
 THEODORE A. KOHN & SON. 
 
 CONCERNING MOUNTINGS. 
 
 We make a specialty of odd, rare 
 and interesting mountings. While 
 the intrinsic value of a gem is always 
 independent of its setting, it is never- 
 
theless through the setting in a 
 marked degree that its value is re- 
 vealed. The most intelligent class of 
 purchasers never disregard the ele- 
 ment of mounting. There is practi- 
 cally no limit to the number of stjdes. 
 and the service which we are enabled 
 to render to our customers in this 
 connection is correspondingly large. 
 We will always willingly advise upon 
 the most effective method of mounting 
 any particular stone, and an exami- 
 nation of our stock will offer many 
 additional suggestions. 
 
 To those executing their purchases 
 at our establishment we can offer : — 
 
 Fh-st : The advantage of a choice 
 from one of the most exclusive assort- 
 ments of precious stones in this city. 
 
 Secondly : Accurate and complete 
 information and the benefits of expert 
 guidance in all purchases. 
 
Thirdly : Consistently low prices. 
 
 Our avenues of selection are ex- 
 tensive and intending buyers may be 
 assured of finding here at all times a 
 large and exclusive collection, com- 
 prising all varieties of precious stones 
 in original and artistic mountings. 
 
 Apart from our customers, we 
 welcome strangers who visit our es- 
 tablishment without any intention to 
 purchase. It is a pleasure to exhibit 
 rare stones to those who can appreciate 
 their beaut3\ No visitor is ever urged 
 to purchase. 
 
 THEODORE A. KOHN & SON. 
 
 $1^ 
 

 m 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 014 522 842 6