Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 March 1911 — BUY GEMS FOR CORONATION [ARTICLE]

BUY GEMS FOR CORONATION

Jewels Rise in Price From 20 to 25 Per Cent In Nine Months— Will Go Higher.

London. —Buy your Jewelry for the coronation now, for in a short time it will cost you more.

Every kind of precious stone, with the exception of the ruby and opal, has risen in price from 20 to 25 per cent, during the last nine months. “The reason for the rise is,” a wellknown Jeweler said recently, “that the Americans have recovered from their recent slump and are buying every fine Jew'el they can lay their hands on. “At the present moment we are paying from 26 to 30 per cent, more for diamonds. Consequently, a stone costing £IOO a year ago cannot be bought now for less than £125 or £l3O. “Sapphires have risen 20 to 30 per cent., and the other stones, with the exception of rubies and opals, are correspondingly higher. The artificial stones keep the prices down. Opals went out of fashion after Queen Victoria died. -v “Finding that the precious stones are so much higher in price, people are buying the semi-precious stones, such as the amethyst, topaz, peridot, tourmaline and green garnet. As a result, these stones, Which a few years ago could be had for 4s to 6s, are now worth £2 to £2 10s.

"Comparing the prices of stones today with those of ten years ago, the percentages of rises are very much

greater. Emeralds today are fetching prices then undreamt of. A fine stone would have been worth £IOO then would ooet £3OO now. “Pearls, Queen .Mary's favorite stone, also fetch enhanced prices. Some of the finer specimens are four times the price they were ten years ago.”