Leisure hours among the gems

by Augustus C. Hamlin

The Crown of England possesses some large and beautiful colored rubies, but they are probably spinels. The large one standing in the centre of the Maltese cross on top of the British crown is probably a spinel, but nevertheless of great beauty. It is also a gem of considerable historic interest, if we can believe the traditions that cluster around it, and it is believed to be the identical stone given to the famous Black Prince of England, by King Pedro of Castile, after the battle of Najara. Tradition also asserts that King Henry V. of England wore it in the front of his helmet, in the bloody battle of Agincourt, about a hundred years later. Its earlier history seems to be lost. Perhaps this is the identical ruby given in 1360 to Rudolph II. of Austria by the Queen Dowager of France. When Peter the Great visited England he gave one of the members of the royal family a very beautiful ruby which he carelessly took from his vest pocket. The last message sent by Mary, Queen of Scots, before execution to the Duke of Guise was accompanied with a beautiful ruby ring, as proof of the credibility of the messenger.

The King of Burmah is said to possess an immense ruby of wonderful beauty, of the size of a pigeon’s egg, but there is no authentic record of it. Tavernier mentions a ruby of 50 karats and another of 17¹⁄₂ karats, which he saw in possession of the King of Visapour; but as all gems of fine red color were then classed as rubies, we are ignorant of their nature. Among the numerous articles of loot obtained by the French in the sack of the Summer Palace at Pekin, was the necklace of the Emperor of China. This celestial jewel was formed of green jade stones of delicate color, perforated and strung upon a cord, to the centre of which was attached a monster red stone, of the nature of which we are not informed. It has been stated that the East India Company has the largest specimen of red sapphire known, but we are unable to vouch for the statement. The largest ruby seen in India by Garcia was of twenty-four karats weight. Chardin, however, describes a magnificent one among the crown jewels of Persia, in the year 1666. This matchless gem was as large as a hen’s egg cut in half, and was of superb color. On its superior face the name of “Chaic Sophy” had been engraved by one of its former possessors.

The Crown of Russia possesses the finest and most valuable collection of rubies in the civilized world. Some of them are of enormous size and are probably spinels, but they are nevertheless of great beauty and value. The degree of color gives the true value to the gem, no matter what its composition may be, if its hardness is equal to quartz. Among the red gems of lesser size there are undoubtedly red sapphires of value, but we have no positive details concerning them. In fact, all of the red stones of fine hues are classed as rubies without regard to their nature. The famous ruby placed under the cross in the Russian crown of Anna Ivanovna is said to have been bought at Pekin by the Russian ambassador for 120,000 roubles. It is indeed a wonderful gem, and is one of the marvels of the mineral world, whether its material be corundum, tourmaline, or spinel. It is now known that the Chinese have mines of rubies in the mountains of the Province of Yu-Nan, and it is possible that this gem may have come from that locality. The tourmaline deposits of Nertschinsk, which yield gems of splendid red hues, are not far distant from Pekin, and those mines may claim the honor of producing this rare stone.

The throne of gold, called by the Persians Takdis, was supported on feet formed of rubies. One of the seal rings of Chosroes II. was a pink ruby, with the legend engraved upon it, “Riches are the source of prosperity.” The fifth seal ring was a red ruby, bearing the legend, “Splendor and prosperity.”

The flowers, composed of the finest gems afforded by the mines of India, and placed by Shah Jehan on the tomb of his beautiful wife, in that wonderful mausoleum, the Taj Mahal, were the most precious ever made. The roses of these garlands were made of the finest rubies; and the leaves were composed of emeralds, which were made to glisten with diamond spray. The screen which was built around the tomb was carved from marble, and as delicately wrought as a veil of lace; and along its borders, lilies, tulips, roses, and other beautiful flowers, composed of precious stones, were inlaid in the marble.

The tomb of Mahomet, at Medina, must contain some superb gems and works of the goldsmith’s art. Here is to be seen that masterpiece of embroidery, the veil of Kunderas, which is composed of inwrought pearls and various precious stones of the value of ten millions of rupees. The faithful relate, that when the rays of the morning sun glance over it, its wonderful beauty seems enhanced by invisible influences. The famous sympathetic ruby of the sacred Kaaba, now preserved in the temple at Mecca, and believed to have fallen from the heavens at the beginning of the world, is undoubtedly an aerolite. The fiery red hue which it exhibited when traversing the sky, coming from unknown space, gave rise to the tradition of its being a latent ruby whose gleams of beauty had been temporarily suspended.

The yellow variety of sapphire is quite common, and exhibits many of the finest shades of yellow; but they are generally very faint in tint and often like the lemon in hue. They are exceedingly liable to imperfections, and especially to that opalescence which so often disfigures the red sapphire. Fine specimens, therefore, possessing transparency and beauty of color, are rare gems. But when it does occur in perfection, it forms a magnificent gem, which is only surpassed by the yellow diamond and zircon. Its rich golden hues, with soft and satin-like flashes, are far superior to the Brazilian topaz.

The Museum of Natural History in Paris possesses one of the finest yellow sapphires known. It is a wonderfully lustrous gem of fine color, and measures nearly an inch in length by half an inch in breadth. There is also in the same cabinet a strange gem which was once placed among the crown jewels of France. It was mentioned in the famous inventory of 1791, as a singular corundum of 19²⁄₁₆ karats weight, and of 6,000 francs value. It had been polished in the form of an elongated oval, and exhibited the remarkable appearance of being deep-blue at the extremities and yellow in the centre. This singular distribution of color is not often seen in fine specimens, although it is frequently met with among the inferior. We have also had the pleasure of examining another large gem, cut into the form of a brilliant, whose diagonal corners were blue and yellow, and yet, such was its play of dichroism, that light reflected through these two colors produced but a faint tinge of green.

This double arrangement of coloring is sometimes seen with blue and red sapphires, or yellow, blue, and white; but we have learned of but one fine gem displaying the red and yellow. Several of the transparent crystals from North Carolina exhibit the two hues in the same crystal; and we have seen one that was actually red, yellow, white, and blue. But the specimen was not sufficiently perfect to form a gem. Sometimes the yellow hues are of a greenish cast, and then they resemble the finest of the golden chrysoberyls, or they may approach the more verdant shade of the peridot. It is said by the antiquaries that none of the collections of ancient Greek and Roman engraved gems possess a single specimen in yellow sapphire. This singular absence may be partly accounted for by its rarity in perfection, and also from its liability to appear pale when set in gold.

In the French casket of gems, in the year 1791, mention was made of a superb yellow sapphire of 27¹⁴⁄₁₆ karats, two of 13 karats each, and one of 11 karats, all of which were valued at 8,900 francs. The beautiful specimen now exhibited in the Cabinet of Minerals, in the Garden of Plants at Paris, which is of the purest and richest color, joined with wonderful lustre, is supposed to be the gem mentioned above among the crown jewels. The French amateur and writer on gems, Caire, once possessed a remarkable and charming yellow sapphire of the great weight of twenty-nine karats. Its former Hindoo owner had seriously impaired its beauty by drilling a hole in one extremity for the purpose of suspension; and had also engraved on its sides inscriptions in Arabic, which were probably condensed quotations from the Koran to preserve the possessor from harm.