possess a considerable degree of brilliancy, but are not to be compared with the diamond, for which, as the French authors assert, they have been often sold.
In preparing stones of this class for the purposes of jewellery, for instance, the sapphire or ruby, the first object to be considered is the intensity of color, which must alone regulate the proportion of the gem, and the sort of work that must be put upon it; taking it as a general rule that the beauty of all precious stones depends on the skill of the workman, for, as an inferior stone is much improved by the best workmanship, so is a fine and perfect gem deteriorated and rendered of little value, if finished by an inferior lapidary.
If a sapphire, ruby, or amethyst is very highly colored, the gem need not have the thickness or depth that a stone of less color
