Major Edwards High School - Mesa Yearbook (West Boylston, MA)

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THE FASCINATION OF In reeding the histories of various precious stores no- th e superstitions regarding them, one finds many curious ana interesting facts. These superstitions, together with the iridescent beauty of precious stones, lend a certain mysterious fascination to them that has caused all races of men to value them 30 highly. They have been found in all parts of the world, in the polar regions as well as in tropical countries, the slight variations in stones coming from different localities oeing accounted for by geological rather than geographical conai- tions. Amon. precious stones, the diamond is the universal gem stone. The rainbow-hued rays of refracted light which are so admired in the cut stone are the result of the diamond cut- ter’s shill. Oftentimes, when cut, a diamond must oe -reauly reduced in size in order to eliminate flaws, a fact that is brought out by the history of the famous diamond, the Kohinur. This, an Indian stone, was of unusual sice when first crudely cut, but when it was brought to England, in 1850, its lob carats were reduced to 102 carats by recutting Jnf ortunatn.ly , instead of enhancing its beauty, the recutting destroyer its former uniqueness. Many strange superstitions have become attached to certain precious stones The agate, for example,- was thought to have the power of guarding the wearer from ail dangers ana also o be a cure for insomnia. Amber was one of the first stones to be used in the form of ornaments. In ancient times there were many belieis as to its composition. One poetic belief was, that amber was toe essence ? the irilliaA rays of the setting sun congealed in the sea and then cast upon the shore. Another oeliei, non known to be true, was, that it was an exudation from certain trees. Talismans carved from amber in the form of curious animals were thought to be particularly e tie c 1 1 v t .

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THE FASCINATION OF PRECIOUS STONES 2 For centuries, jade has been the favorite adornment of the Chinese, because they believe it will transmit to the body something of its secret virtue when worn or carried. There is a Chinese legend of a youth who, in pursuit of a multihued butterfly made his way into the garden of a wealthy inannarin. Instead of being punished for his accidental visit, the youth became acquainted with and married the mandarin ' s daughter. Hence, the form of a butterfly curved from jade is a symbol o successful love, and Chinese bridegrooms present jsdo butter- flies to their brides. As is the case with many of the precious stones, the ruby is thought to be a safeguard against any dangers. However, the owner must not wear a ruby simply as an ornament, he must insert it in his flesh. It was believed that a ruby worn in. thi 3 way would protect the owner from weapons of battle. This superstition may have its foundation in the iact that many . daring soldiers have passed unscathed through great perils in war. Diamond dust was once thought to be very poisonous. Various records tell of cases in which diamond dust was admini... t-?re as a poison. While Benvenuto Cellini, the celebrated artist, % was imprisoned, he suspected his enemies of planning to poison him. Since he held the belief of his time that diamond dust was poisonous, he was terrified one d-y to behold white, shiny particles in his noonday meal. He at once prepared himself to die, but suddenly it occurred to him that he should test the hardness of these particles, and he was overjoyed to fine, that he could crush them between his knife end the etone winnow 3ili. After his release, Cellini learned that his enemy had given a diamond to a gem-cutter to grind to dust so that it might oe placed in Cellini ' s food. Being very poor, the gem- cutter nept the diamond and substituted a variety oi quartz. There are a fee? exceptionally fine jewels of v,or.ld-v:ide fame about which remarkable stories have been tola. On uiory concerns a necklace of find diamonds tiiai» w as or ere a u. XV as a present to Madame Dubarry. Before it was comp.: vv. ■, Louis XV died, and the jeweler faced ruin unless he coula Find another purchaser. He solicited the young Queen aarxa Antoinette, but she refused it, saying that tho country needed iriy es more than diamonds. The luckless jeweler travel ea chrou.;hout Europe trying to sell the necklace to royalty, but wi thou o success. After ten years of annoyance cy the jeweler s a u tempts to sell his necklace to her, Marie Antoinette became lurious and commanded him never to bring it to h r agaii , A cardinal who had been in disgrace with Marie Antoinette and wished to be restored to favor, accepted the aid of Madame de la Motte, a woman of the vampire type. She told the cardi- nal that the Queen coveted this diamond necklace greatly and that his disgrace at court would end if he would lend the Queen enough money to buy it. This assurance was confirmed by letters bearing the forged name of the Queen, Maaame do la mo e