Diamonds

“ The brilliant cut in diamonds is such an arrangement of the posterior facets, or cut faces of the jewel, that all light reaching them shall be thrown back and reflected, and thus impart an extraordinary brilliancy to the gem. ”

“ He sprang upright then—awake, sure: they were diamonds, those bits of glass, big celestial ones, not of earth, in hundreds; when he passed his hand along the meteorite he felt it leprous, octahedron, dodecahedron, large and small: if they were truly diamonds, he divined that their owner must be as wealthy as some nations. ”

“ And these diamonds, by sparseness of distribution, crystalline character, difference of tint, purity of colour, varying hardness, brittleness, and state of tension, have the story of their origin impressed upon them, engraved by natural forces—a story which future generations of scientific men may be able to interpret with greater precision than is possible to-day. ”

“ As the limpid or white diamond surpasses all other white stones in the power of its lustre and the magnificence of its fire, so do the colored diamonds outrank the emerald, ruby, sapphire, and other gems of like colors. ”

“ Jewelry, diamonds, pearls, emeralds, rubies, and all sorts of pretty things that are made of them, are as lawful and innocent objects of admiration and desire, as flowers or birds or butterflies, or the tints of evening skies. ”

“ Whether the diamonds are uniform, that is, all of equal size, or graduated around the neck with the largest centered in front, nothing should be allowed to interfere with the incomparable beauty of the gems. No medallions of precious metal should be allowed between. The one concern of the jeweler should be to achieve the flowing sequence of perfect solitaires, in one accordant interplay, a cascading river of brilliance and sparkle. ”

“ In this matter the poor onyx-stone holds its own triumphantly against the diamond; it is elevated to such a value by the hand of man, that it has been deemed worthy of the choicest setting—a setting in which diamonds are only used as auxiliaries to its beauty—its beauty, the genius of fine workers in past times. ”

“ These amazing, beautiful CORODITE diamonds positively match genuine diamonds in every way—same blazing flash and dazzling play of living rainbow fire. They, alone, stand the diamond tests, including terrific acid test of direct comparison. Life time experts need all their experience to see any difference. ”

“ This brooch and the diamonds are emblematic of your purity. The diamonds are the most durable and beautiful of all precious stones. They reflect all [Pg 274] the beautiful colors of the rainbow which reveals God's covenant with man. That is why the diamonds are used as an engagement ring, but few there are who know and understand the real meaning and live in accordance with it. You will ever reflect the beauty of the diamonds. Your love for Walter, which is the love I am sure never changes, will remain fixed as the mountain ranges. ”

“ Here, sparkling, gleaming, and sportively flashing their prismatic light, are diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds—all the precious stones which Nature has hidden in the depths of her mines—in as48 much profusion as if they were mere glass. They glitter like constellations in crowns, they flash in points of light from the ends of sceptres, they fall like sparkling raindrops upon the Imperial insignias and form arabesques and cyphers until they nearly hide the gold in which they are set. ”

“ What think you of nosegays, as large as those our young ladies take to parties, composed entirely of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and other precious stones, chosen to represent accurately the colors of various flowers?— The imperial crown, globular in shape, composed of diamonds, and containing in the centre of the Greek cross which surmounts it an unwrought ruby at least two inches in diameter? ”

“ I possibly cut a better figure in her eyes when rich, and at Paris, then when we were in Venice. We all know that diamonds have the strange power of fascination, and that they form an excellent substitute for virtue! ”

“ Opened on the table before them, the two cases exposed an array of jewels which would have brought a cry of amazement from many a man to whom diamonds and rubies, pearls and emeralds were a part of the day's work. ”

“ The precision and speed of his improvisation revealed him. He had twenty other diamonds like this one. He kept them for those Sundays when the sun comes up in the west. Of course—often! Some day he was going to melt a diamond and eat it. Then you sparkled all over in the dark, ever after. ”

“ These fine compositions, when formed of precious stones, show knots and interlacings for clasps, pendants, and earrings, in which diamonds are fully displayed in rose-cut forms. As models for objects not composed entirely of stones, we find seals, rings, bracelets and chains decorated with ribbons and bows mingled with monograms, and emblems, such as death's-heads. Together with these appear tasteful arrangements for enamel-work in the form of natural flowers of great charm and delicacy. ”

“ It looked like diamonds, rubies, emeralds; he could think of nothing beautiful which it did not resemble. ”

“ Van Loal whistled under his breath. "Diamonds are very difficult things to appraise with any degree of correctness, especially where there is any particular feature about them, either in size, colour, water, or cutting, that separates them from the ordinary category of such things. Is the Diamond to which you refer an ordinary one? ”

“ They are the lesser diamonds in a valuable collection of jewellery, where there are but few that are not of lucid excellence, and worthy of glistening in the diadem of Apollo, or the cestus of Venus. So indeed they have, for here are many subjects from ancient and modern poetry, and other literature, and from portraits of beautiful women. ”

“ The king of France's picture, set with four hundred and eight diamonds, I give to my daughter, Sarah Bache, requesting , however, that she would not form any of those diamonds into ornaments either for herself or daughters, and thereby introduce or countenance the expensive, vain, and useless fashion of wearing jewels in this country; ”

“ Said the old priest, “A diamond is a congealed drop of sunlight.” Now that is literally scientifically true, that a diamond is an actual deposit of carbon from the sun. The old priest told Ali Hafed that if he had one diamond the size of his thumb he could purchase the county, and if he had a mine of diamonds he could place his children upon thrones through the influence of their great wealth. ”

“ When perfectly pure a diamond is as transparent as a drop of the purest water, in which state it is known to you who live overhead as a diamond of the first water; and in proportion as it falls short of this perfection it is said to be of the second, third, or fourth water, till it becomes a coloured one. Coloured diamonds are brown, yellow, green, blue, or red, the deeper the colour the more valuable they are, though still inferior to those absolutely colourless. Many of my largest diamonds have fallen into the hands of man. ”

“ Some night, after dark, take all the diamonds you have—every one of them—and carry them into a dark room and spread them out, and see if they light up the room at all. I am sure that you will find that they do not. ”

“ As the diamond does not appear to have been known to the ancients and is not given in any of the lists of birth-stones before the last century, and as diamonds, like gold and platinum, may easily be used as accessories to other stones, would it not perhaps be better to omit the diamond from the list of the stones of the months, and rather use these gems as a bordering or other ornate addition to the stone of the month? ”

“ It was the twisty-twirly diamond ornament. A sort of knot—big diamonds in the middle and littler ones in and out. It is awfully pretty. I never saw diamonds sparkle so—you can see every colour in them when you look close, like thousands of prisms, you know. It had a case on purpose for it, and there were pins of different shapes and sizes, so that it could be a brooch, or a hair-pin, or a hanging thing without a pin at all.
Mums was pleased. ”

“ There was a watch in a gold hunting case, thickly studded with precious stones, and bearing in the center of its circle the initials of the late owner, set in diamonds, and which was suspended to a heavy gold chain. There was a snuff-box of solid gold encrusted with pearls, opals, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, amethysts and sapphires, in a design of Oriental beauty and splendor. ”

“ As great nuggets of gold have occasionally been found, so has a diamond been discovered large enough to make the greatest ruler pause to pay its price, and one which it took an entire country to give to that ruler who sways his sceptre over countries in which the world’s greatest diamonds have been found.
When the God of the Mines called his courtiers to bring him all known gems, he found them to be of all colors and tints, and of varying hardnesses, such as the ruby, emerald, sapphire, etc., etc. ”

“ Diamonds and precious stones are very common in this country, and a certain class seem to carry a large share of their worldly possessions showily displayed upon their persons. What the humbler class lacked in richness of material, they made up in gaudy colors, blazing scarfs, and imitation gold and silver jewelry. ”

“ Small pebbles of crystal are often collected in the vicinity of London, as Bagshot, &c.. which, on account of their cutting glass, and shining when polished, are called diamonds.—We have also Irish and Cornish diamonds belonging to the same class. ”

“ The substances accompanying diamonds, and considered good indications of them, are bright bean-like iron ore, a slaty flint-like substance, approaching Lydian stone, of fine texture, black oxide of iron in great quantities, rounded bits of blue quartz, yellow crystals, and other materials entirely different from anything known to be produced in the adjacent mountains. Diamonds are by no means peculiar to the beds of rivers or deep ravines ”

“ And even now it is fully twice the size of any diamond of which we have ever heard. You young gentlemen will admit that it must be the house of an exceedingly prosperous person where bulky door knobs were composed of single diamonds. ”

“ “Fair flower of Palestine,” replied the outlaw, “these pearls are orient, but they yield in whiteness to your teeth; the diamonds are brilliant, but they cannot match your eyes; and ever since I have taken up this wild trade, I have made a vow to prefer beauty to wealth.” ”

“ And albeit that men find good diamonds in Ind, yet nevertheless men find them more commonly upon the rocks in the sea and upon hills where the mine of gold is. And they grow many together, one little, another great. ”

“ Their heads were dress’d wth much haire and Long Locks full of Diamonds—some perfect Peakes of bows of Diamonds as was the Countess of Pembrook,—their heads so dress’d as a space Left for their Coronets to be set, all ye rest is filled wth haire, Jewells and gold, and white small Ribon, or Gold thinn Lace, in form of a peake, and gold gause on their rowles, they have also Diamond necklaces and jewels on their habitts. ”

“ It was this—that in a far land, where diamonds are as thickly strewn as the venomous serpents and other deadly perils which render it difficult to come at them, the daring merchants who seek these precious stones employ a cunning stratagem. ”

“ No substance in the Mineral Kingdom displays in miniature such beautiful variety of regular solids as the Diamond, which are as captivating to the connoisseur, as the finest brilliant can be to the wearer. ”

“ I have shown that a diamond is the outcome of a series of Titanic earth convulsions, and that these precious gems undergo cycles of fiery, strange, and potent vicissitudes before they can blaze on a ring or a tiara. ”

“ With the greatest possible care will I show how I set about making tints for diamonds, and give likewise a number of instances, on various exceptional occasions, that I have come across in diamonds of great importance: it is only owing to experiences such as I have passed through that one is able satisfactorily to show the great difficulties that stand in the way of those who wish to make them fine settings. ”

“ Among the extraordinarily lavish uses of gold and gems is a golden globe twenty inches in diameter, turning on a frame of solid gold. The stand and meridian are of solid gold set with rubies. The equator and elliptic are of large diamonds. ”

“ Diamonds are of most value, They say, that have pass'd through most jewellers' hands. FERDINAND. Whores by that rule are precious. ”

“ From Pliny and other historians we gather that at various periods considerable superstition has existed with regard to diamonds, such as that if one is powdered it becomes poisonous to a remarkable degree; that gifts of diamonds between lovers—married and unmarried—produce and seal affection ”

“ Coloured stones would be quite wrong; diamonds are too hard; pearls give just the right note of purity and softness. I suppose you have realised that with the exception of one ring, you wear no other gems. ”

“ A perfect diamond must stand the tests for purity, faultlessness, and transparency, and when these are carefully applied to the stone perfect gems will be found to be very rare.
As we have said before, the diamond is the foulest of gems, and is exceedingly liable to be injured by faults, such as are described in the technical terms of the jewellers as ashes, gray spots, rusty places, flaws, cavities, fissures, veins, feathers, foreign bodies, wavy and vitreous spots. Very few diamonds can stand the test of the microscope and be pronounced perfect. ”