Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 January 1899 — Diamonds Are Alive. [ARTICLE]

Diamonds Are Alive.

Tlie rather startling statement is made that diamonds are alive. It is certain that some precious stones are affected by the health of the wearer. “Pearls and opals are both said to grow dull through the ill health of her by whom they are worn, and the turquoise Is said to become pale from the same cause; whale I have heard, and on excellent authority, though it Is a fact I can hardly credit, of a ruby, ring which on the hand of an invalid went paler and paler until on the patient’s death the stones lost their color entirely. Pearls are extraordinarily sensitive to the condition of the skin on which they rest. An example of this fact Is shown by an episode of which an acquaintance of my own was the heroine. She greatly desired to possess a pearl necklace, and her husband bought a very beautiful one. A month or two afterward, however, the pearls began to lose their luster, and be took the necklace back to the jeweler who sold it to him. The salesman admitted the deterioration. ‘You are quite right,’ he said; ‘but the truth is that your wife cannot wear pearls next her skin. Let her maid wear the necklace for a few weeks, and the pearls will regain their brilliancy.’ A pearl dies as actually as a flower, though Its life is a great deal longer, and all its color and brilliancy disappear. Its average life is. Impossible to estimate, as some pearH are known to be hundreds of years old; but it is probable that the life of others Is far shorter.”-