Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo13amer (find matches)
Year: c1900-(1918) (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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Portion of fresh-water clam shell holding a cluster of pearls. Pearls of the greatest value are satiny in surface, pearly white in color, and almost ideally perfect in symmetry. Such pearls command the highest value. The pearls in the Morgan collection number 2442. The series includes a large number collected in different parts of the United States to illustrate varying forms and colors important, embracing magnificent blue gems, one weighing 308\ carats from Ceylon; another of 98;i carats from Alabaschka; a round blue stone of 120 carats from Ceylon; another great topaz of 600 carats, faultlessly cut, comes also from Ceylon. It is the masterpiece of cutting of one of the greatest lapidaries who has ever lived in India, as is also the biue Ceylon stone of 308£ carats. The yellow and pink topazes from Minas Geraes are superb; one of a deep yellow weighing 61 carats, and a darker one, more brownish yellow, 46; carats. Then there is a splendid triangular, sherry-colored stone, weighing 16§f carats from Ceylon; a beautiful pink specimen of M^ carats and another of 49/^ carats from Ouro Preto, Minas Geraes, Brazil. A great pale amber-colored stone of 193; carats is from Cheyenne Mountain, El Paso, Colorado; there are also specimens from Australia and other localities. In the quartz series among the rock crystals, Spanish topaz, and rose quartz, there are many fine specimens — notably the two crystal balls from Mokelumne Hill, Calaveras Co., California. The one of 5; inches diameter weighing 6.3 pounds is flawless; the other of 7; inches diameter with a weight of 8.17 pounds, is a large piece of crystal containing numerous natural markings. There are wonderful ex- amples of seals and other ornaments cut by the famous lapidaries of the Ural Moun- tains and by Chinese lapidaries of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as well as vases and snuffboxes by the expert lapidaries of the Nahe Valley in Germany. The amethyst series is fully as complete and contains many unique gems, such as a great group of crystals from Upper Providence, Pennsylvania, and a carved hand of Buddha from Japan. There may also be seen a large hexagonal gem, three sectors white and three sectors purple, and a magnificent royal purple gem of 142-^'V carats from the Ural Mountains. Some large and superb gems come from North Carolina; Deerhill, Maine, and other localities. The garnets are represented in their full range of color — red, purple, honey-color, brown, green and black. A remarkable series of spessartite comes from Amelia Court House, Virginia, several dozen gems weighing from one carat to the great gem of 96TV carats. The two finest found in this locality weigh respectively 33T5ff and 36;; carats and are unique in size, perfection and color. We have already noted the hyacinth cameo, engraved with a bust of Christ in profile, said to have been in the Vatican collection. A garnet bowl engraved with Indian designs weighs several ounces, and a small dish, cut from garnet found at 165

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