Page:A treatise on diamonds and precious stones including their history Natural and commercial.djvu/101

 stone, and afterwards the value of the various parcels. His next object is to estimate the expense of making them into brilliants &c. the loss of weight in cutting, and the price they will probably sell for, when manufactured, and estimates their value accordingly.

may here be observed that the commerce of rough Diamonds, is almost exclusively in the hands of respectable Jews; and, to the credit of that people, it should be added, that their dealings in them are liberal; they estimate the real value of the article. and offer the fair trade price; and I may state from my own experience in numerous transactions with them, that they rarely make any alteration in price, either in purchasing or selling.

lots of rough Diamonds are frequently brought by gentlemen from Brazil or India, and are offered by them to jewellers, who seldom venture to purchase, except at very in-