corundum, USA.12, North Carolina.12, Montana.12, gems

Kunz reviews the production, discovery, and trade of precious stones during 1900, with particular attention to developments in the United States. He discusses diamonds and the international diamond industry, corundum gems, including the increasingly important sapphire deposits of Montana, and a wide range of other gem materials, including emerald, beryl, chrysoberyl, garnet, tourmaline, turquoise, quartz, opal, jade and nephrite. The report records new discoveries and mining activity at American gem localities, developments in cutting and marketing, notable specimens, and contemporary production and import statistics, while also surveying important foreign sources and developments in the world gem trade. Of particular historical interest are Kunz’s observations on the expanding American precious-stone industry at the beginning of the twentieth century and his documentation of contemporary gem deposits, production, values, and commerce.