Æthiopia, which produces hyacinthos, produces chrysolithos[3174] also, a transparent stone with a refulgence like that of gold. The stones of India are the most highly esteemed, as also those found among the Tibareni,[3175] provided these last are not of a mottled hue. The worst in quality are those of Arabia, the colour of them being turbid and mottled, and their brilliancy interrupted by cloudy spots: even too, when they happen to be limpid, they have all the appearance of being full, as it were, of a peculiar dust. The best stones are those which, when placed by the side of gold, impart to it a sort of whitish hue, and so give it the appearance of silver. When this is the case, they are set in a bezel that is open on either side; but when the stone is of inferior quality, a ground of aurichalcum[3176] is placed beneath.
CHAP. 43.—CHRYSELECTRUM.
Though it has now altogether gone out of use for jewellery, there is a precious stone known as “chryselectrum,”[3177] the colour of which inclines to that of amber;[3178] but only when viewed by a morning[3179] light. The stones of Pontus are known by their lightness. Some of them are hard and reddish, while others, again, are soft and of a soiled appearance. According to Bocchus, these stones are found in Spain as well; in a spot where, according to him, fossil crystal has been discovered, in sinking to the water-level for wells.[3180] He tells us also that he once saw a chrysolithos twelve[3181] pounds in weight.
CHAP. 44.—LEUCOCHRYSOS: FOUR VARIETIES OF IT.
There is also a stone known as “leucochrysos,”[3182] with a white vein running across it. To this class, too, belongs capnias;[3183] a stone also which resembles glass in appearance; and another which reflects a tint like that of saffron. These stones are imitated in glass, to such a degree of perfection, that it is impossible to distinguish them by the eye. The touch, however, detects the difference, the imitation being not so cold as the real stone.
CHAP. 45.—MELICHRYSOS. XUTHON.
To this class also belongs melichrysos,[3184] a stone which has all the appearance of pure honey, seen through transparent gold. India produces these stones, and, although hard, they are very brittle, but not unpleasing to the sight. The same country, too, produces xuthon,[3185] a stone much used by the lower classes there.
CHAP. 46.—PÆDEROS, SANGENON, OR TENITES.
At the very head of the white stones is pæderos;[3186] though it may still be questionable to which of the colours it in reality belongs. As to the name, it has been so much bandied about among other precious stones of conspicuous beauty, that it has quite assumed the privilege of being a synonymous term[3187] for all that is charming to the eye. Still, however, there is one[3188] stone in particular which fully merits all the commendation that might be expected for a stone with so prepossessing a name: for in itself it reunites the transparency of crystal, the peculiar green of the sky, the deep tints of purple, and a sort of bright reflex, like that of a golden-coloured wine; a reflex, indeed, that is always the last to meet the eye, but is always crowned with the lustrous hues of purple. The stone, in fact, has all the appearance of having been bathed in each of these tints, individually, and yet in the whole of them at once. There is no precious stone either that has a clearer water than this, or that presents a more pleasing sweetness to the eye.