Here Comes Treble: All That Glitters
...Leon poured rich, red wine into sparkling glasses, while our friend set up a bright spotlight at one end of the table, then opened an old cigar box which contained ranks of tiny envelopes. As he opened them, they revealed a collection of exquisite garnets...
Isabel Bradley is dazzled by a collection of gem stones which were assembled from all parts of the world over many decades.
To read more of Isabel's polished words click on Here Comes Treble in the menu on this page.
Glittering between my finger and thumb was a magnificent silver topaz, wide at the top, tapering to a deep point. I could have gazed into its clear depths forever.
Our guest gently took the stone between the tines of his tweezers and returned it to its carefully labelled envelope. From the next, he took a square-cut, polished gem, gleaming alternately silver, yellow and brown as he twisted it in the light. Then another of a different colour and another, each more rare than the last.
They were part of a collection that our neighbour, a keen lapidarist, recently acquired.
Leon poured rich, red wine into sparkling glasses, while our friend set up a bright spotlight at one end of the table, then opened an old cigar box which contained ranks of tiny envelopes. As he opened them, they revealed a collection of exquisite garnets. The first was large and square-cut. Other stones followed, all large, varying in shape and moving from dark, brownish-red to clear, shimmering pink. Each was masterfully faceted to reflect the greatest amount of light, showing the stone at its best. “These,” we were told, “are collectors’ items; they must remain together. They are far too good to be set in jewellery!”
Being a woman and a lover of jewellery, I could picture each priceless piece as part of a pendant or a ring, adorning a beautiful woman – or even worn by me! However, I didn’t argue.
We were next shown even more valuable stones. There was a ‘star’ sapphire from Sri Lanka. It gleamed milky white, with three shining lines floating across its surface, forming a pale star at the junction. Throughout the collection were several similar gems of differing colours. Unlike jewels in shops, these were polished but not faceted – domed stones that contained those gleaming, shifting lines, creating a pale star at the heart of each stone.
From the boxes emerged rubies, cut and uncut, and emeralds of varying sizes. There was a number of synthetic jewels: these man-made, perfect stones contained no flaws, no inclusions, just the perfect chemical compound which comprises similar jewels found in nature. Their colours were truer than those of natural stones, their cuts perfectly symmetrical; they were dazzling.
Among the collection were several ‘paste’ or fake jewels, made from coloured glass. We were assured that from a collector’s perspective, these enhanced the collection: green, blue and red glass, cut to look like emerald, sapphire and ruby crystals, displayed side by side with the genuine articles; it was difficult to tell paste from true.
This incredible collection, took over a hundred years to assemble; each owner in turn travelled the world, visiting gem sellers from Brazil to Ceylon, New York to Moscow. Fortunes were spent on the most exquisite, interesting and valuable gems available in each exotic destination. The stones were carefully catalogued, sorted by colour.
We gazed in awe, dazzled and dazed by the variety and magnificence before us.
The gem-stone collection that we marvelled at that night is exceptional. It belongs in a museum – a collection to be appreciated and enjoyed by as many people as possible for generations to come.
Until next week, “here comes Treble!”
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