Four Treasures Reference Database
Record No. 8083
Observations sur des Cristaux trouvés parmi des Pierres de Ceylan, et qui Paroissent Appartenir à l’espèce du Corindon, vulgairement Spath Admantin
Observations on the crystals found among the stones of Ceylon, and which appear to be a variety of corundum, commonly called adamantine spar
Journal Article
Haüy, R.J. (1799) Observations sur des Cristaux trouvés parmi des Pierres de Ceylan, et qui Paroissent Appartenir à l’espèce du Corindon, vulgairement Spath Admantin. [Observations on the crystals found among the stones of Ceylon, and which appear to be a variety of corundum, commonly called adamantine spar] Mémoires de la Société d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris, Vol. 1, pp. 55–58.
Sinkankas/Born No.: NIS/NIB | Language: in French | RWHL
gems, corundum, history.1, chemistry.2, Sri Lanka.12
An early crystallographic study by René-Just Haüy of crystals found among gemstones from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) which he recognized as belonging to corundum, then commonly termed adamantine spar. Haüy examines their crystal forms and physical characters and uses crystallographic evidence to establish their relationship to the corundum species. The paper belongs to the period in which stones previously distinguished largely by color, appearance or trade name were being brought together as varieties of the same mineral through crystallographic and physical analysis. It is an important contribution to the early scientific classification of corundum and to the recognition of the mineralogical relationships among the gem materials of Ceylon.