THE SUPPOSED DIAMONDS.
(To the Editor of the Erening Star.) Stb,—There is no apology .needed for once more referring to the crystals at your office which a few days ago were thought to be real dimonds. They are now known to be zircons, often called rough diamonds, and are composed of pure quartz and zirconia. The method of testing them is very simple. Take a crystal on a loop of platinum wire, and heat it to redness with carbonate of soda in the flame of a Bunsen burner. The whole melts into a transparent glass, which will dissolve in water. The silica is precipitated from the clear solution by hydrochloric acid, and after filtration the zirconia is precipitated from the filtrate by ammonia. The zircons are precious stones that are used in jewelling watches and in ornaments. The most esteemed specimens are the hyacinths, which are of a red color in nature; but when heated in a crucible with lime, they turn yellow, and are used are substitutes for the straw-yellow diamond.—Yonrs, &c, j.A.
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Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4436, 24 March 1883, Page 2 (Supplement)
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174THE SUPPOSED DIAMONDS. Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4436, 24 March 1883, Page 2 (Supplement)
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