Gems Notes and Extracts Augusto Castellani, Mrs. John Brogden 1871

EMEEY. 211Oriental emery is nothing but granular corundum,that is, an aluminate whose specific gravity is 4, andwhich, when analysed, yieldsAlumina .. .. ..86Silex 3Iron .. .. .. 4Waste 7By some it is called adamantine spar, and is found inChina, Bengal, and Ceylon in large octahedrons, which,under a given angle of luminous rays, reflect bluishlight, but are generally opaque.The best comes from China, and contains moreoxidized iron than that from Bengal. When pulverised,it scratches some gems, but not the diamond.The Western granular corundum, or Western emery,is rarely found in crystals ; it is more frequentlydisseminated in grains, like sand.Although excessively hard,it is less so than theOriental. Its colour is black grey, reddish grey, orbluish grey.It is seldom transparent, yet some of itsvery fine particles shine brightly.The Western emery, which must not be confoundedwith the granite, magnetic iron, and the compact redhematite, is found in Italy, Germany, and Spain, atSmyrna, in the island of Xasso, at Jersey and Guernsey.That kind which is found in Saxony lies between thestrata of mica and steatite. It is united with a greatquantity of iron, from which cause it is often attractedby the magnetic needle.