Newspapers / West Craven Highlights (Vanceboro, … / Dec. 1, 1988, edition 1 / Page 4
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I i PA' K 4 - WEST CRAVEN HIGHLIGHTS - DECEMBER I. 1988 Gems, Gems Nature’s Beautiful Accidents |{> \I4 Kl M4U:SKI( It s about as bi^ as a (tern can be and still tit on a ring. The nearly liB-caiat C’lialk Kinerald is said to have the ultimate color for such a gem - a brilliant, transparent green. While this emerald’s his- toiy may not he as well known as (be Mope Diamond's, there is a -eitain notoriety surrounding it lust the .same. 'I'he emerald reputedly is one of a set of earrings worn by Cleopatra and was once the prop- eity of an Imlian maharajah. .Mim- recently, it belonged to the Wife of a Wasington. D.C.. finan- ciei. Mrs. O. Roy Chalk. Several years ago, Mrs. Chalk woie her emerald ring to a recep tion at the White Mouse during a state visit by Britain's Queen Kli- /abeth II Afraid her emerald might )utshine the Queen’s jewels. Mrs. Chalk tactfully iwisti’d the ring around her fin ger to Imle the gem in her palm. Shortly after that episode, the emei ald img was donated to the Smithsonian Institution, where it now -sits on display in the Hall of (Jems at the National Museum of Natuial History. The Chalk Kmerald is in good company. The legendary Hope Diamond, an extraordinary blue diamond weighing 45.5 carats, is nearby. So is the Logan Sap phire. Weighing 423 carats, the Logan is about the size of an ex tra-large hen’s egg and one of the largest blue sapphires know to exist. Another neighbor is the Rosser Reeves Ruby, quite likely the world's finest star ruby. According to John White, cura tor in charge of the National Gem Collection. “The Smithsonian's gem collection is probably the best publicly exhibited gem col lection in the world” Aside from the crowd-gathering aspect. White says, “it’s perfectly reason able. and in fact traditional, the natural history museums to dis play gem collections, since gems arc cut and polished bits of minerals. “There are close to 9.000 pieces in the Smithsonian’s gem collec tion.’’ he says, “but they’re not all on display. Typically, the most ’important’ gems arc on exhibi tion. In our case, that's about 2 percent of the collection. White hastens to note, howev er. that the national collection of gems is not mainly jewelry. “The vast majority of c'xhibited gems are unset, f^aceted pieces that best illustrate the desirable char acteristics of each type. Set gems are displayed only if the jewelry is historically important or its beauty is greatly enhanced by the setting.’’ The National Gem Collection celebrated its lOOlh anniversary in 1984. “But it wasn’t until 1958 when the new gem and mineral hall opened that the collection experienced spectacular growth, ” White says. That was also the year the Smithsonian received the Hope Diamond. Tlie public’s imagina tion was captivated and. shortly afterward, the institution re ceived the Vetlesen collection of carved Chinese jade objects— one of the finest private collec tions of carv’cd jade in existence. “Over the next few years." While says, “the gem collection grew from being merely a very fine public exhibit to one of great sta ture." To Jeff Post, the Smithsonian’s associate curator of mineralogy, gems are “the best crystals from dilTerent types of minerals. To be useful as a gem. a mineral must have characteristics such as beauty, brilliance, durability and rarity. The harder a gem is. the larger and more perfect the crys tal, and the more intense its hue and tint, the more valuable the speicinen” There are about 3,000 different known minerals found in the Karth’s crust, each a natural sub stancehaving a definite chemical composition and specific physic al characteristics by which it can be distinguished from others. “Several hundred kinds of | mineral species account for the most familiar minerals.’’ Post says. “Of those, only a couple dozen, including quartz and feld spar, make up the vast majority of the Karth’s crust. Fewer than a hundred mineral species are tra ditionally used as gems." Some gems, such as pearls, coral and amber, technically are not miner als; rather, they are derived from living organisms. There are a number of reasons why most mineral crystals do not make good gemstones. “Some are too rare," Post explains. Tourmaline crysttls such as this one contain sever?! colors, and different /o colored gemstones may be ait from them. (See GEMS. Page 5) AI Chaney’s 1928 Ford 'lYi-Motor, nicknamed the “Tin Goose,” is the world's oldest flying metal air plane. It is the only one of nine such planes that hasn’t been relegated to a museum. It was first pi loted by Charles A. Ling- bergh and is the only air plane ever to fly Henry Ford. The 55-year-oId Chaney brought the Tri- Motor into Washington last month as part of a barnstortning tour of the United States. (Ric Carter photos)
West Craven Highlights (Vanceboro, N.C.)
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