In Search Of The Precious Stone

Albert Ramsay (Albert Ramsay & Co, 1925) writes:

Man’s interest in gems has not been confined solely to their use as medium of ornament. The ancients invested them with certain talismanic qualities, a belief which has spanned the intervening centuries and which even modern science has failed to dispel entirely, as attested by the popularity of birth stones.

Jewels have been found in the tombs of pre-historic peoples, extinct long before the civilization of the Incas, of the Pharaohs or of the Montezumas prospered, and ever since, men have toiled and fought,stolen and lied for them.

Springing from a line of lapidaries as I do, the attraction which precious stones hold for me, unlike my fondness for olives, is a matter of heredity rather than an acquired taste. At the age when my playmates were reading fairy tales i was vividly devouring volumes about gems. I clung with breathless interest to every word of the tales of privation, adventure and romance which my uncle wove about the dull-colored little stones he brought home. As, under my brother’s masterful hand, they shed their rough coats and were transformed into scintillating globules of crystallized color, my admiration of the miracle was tempered by my envy of the skill which had made it possible. I impatiently awaited the time when I too might take my place at the wheel and conjure forth the charm and beauty which nature had so subtly concealed within the lifeless pebbles. At last the fated day arrived, when I was twelve years of age. Under the guidance of my uncle, I cut my first opal.

The initial estimate I formed of my ability as a cutter was destined to a depreciatory revision when I had learned more about the intricacies of the craft. A gem in the rough is to a lapidary what a plot is to a writer—both must be treated in the manner best calculated to accentuate their good points. The skilled artisan should not only be capable of recognizing the inherent possibilities of a stone but he must also be able to bring them out. The fact that each stone has its own peculiarities leads to a appreciation of the versatility which is necessarily one of the qualifications of an expert lapidary.

My experience and the years progressed apace and I became proficient in my chosen calling. In the application of my profession that spark of romance which had been responsible for my childhood interest in stories of travel was fanned into a consuming flame by the opportunities for adventure which the search for the gems I handled daily would afford. The stones which intrigued me most were the black opal, the sapphire, the star sapphire, the ruby, the cat’s eye and the emerald, all of which are accorded prominent niches in the fashion salon of the present day.

The black opal had been discovered but a short time previous in Australia and the popularity which greeted it was the last straw. I could resist the lure no longer and accordingly set out upon a quest and ultimately carried me to Australia, Siam, Burma, Ceylon and many other far and unfrequented corners of the globe.

Embarking in England I had an interesting and eventful voyage, nearly around the globe, to Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, on the southeastern coast of the island continent. Walgett, four hundred miles to the northward, was an outpost of civilization, and there the railroad ended. From that point it was necessary to proceed on horseback. The sixty mile journey to Lightning Ridge, where the black opal mines are located, was made amid the myriad wonders of the Australian bush. The horses picked their way with difficulty through the tangled undergrowth which clutched viciously with thorny fingers at man and steed. The plume-like fronds of the fern trees quivered and the cabbage palms swayed listlessly in the gentle breeze. Scattered over the terrain, beeches and cedar stood out above the surrounding brush like beacons above a rolling sea. Rabbits and other small game scurried frantically to cover and birds rose in flocks from beneath the horse’s hoofs, uttering shrill cries of protest against our incursion. At rare intervals man’s battle to wrest a living from the land was evidenced by sheep farms, nestling amid the dense tropical scrub. This district, one of the most delightful in Australia, was still untrammeled by the march of the empire.

In Search Of The Precious Stone (continued)