The dazzle, the glitter, the romance of gemstones and
jewelry—who can resist it? The Big Four
of precious gems…diamonds sapphires and emeralds and rubies. The whole shimmering galaxy of semi-precious
stones in all the colors of the rainbow.
Peridots and amethysts and tourmalines and citrines
and…and...and... The mystery, the allure, the thrill of finding something so
beautiful, so rare, cannot be overstated.
Small wonder then, that gems and jewelry are a staple in romance
novels. I am a gemologist by trade, and
thought it would be fun to review some romance novels that focus on gems and
jewelry.
Going straight to my keeper shelf, I found seven novels by
Elizabeth Lowell/Ann Maxwell about gems.
According to her website (www.elizabethlowell.com) she started
publishing in 1975 and began using the Maxwell name in 1982. All told, she has written seventy novels in
several different genres. Most important for our purposes, she does her homework with
respect to the gemology.
The Diamond Tiger, originally published in 1992, is one of
my favorites. What did I love so much
about it? First, we have a competent,
successful, independent heroine who isn’t pushy about it. Then, of course, there’s a fantastically
strong, capable, untamable hero.
Yum. And Australia. (I’m fascinated by Australia, but will
probably never go there because I’m terrified of snakes, of which they have an
excessive assortment.) And finally, the
frosting on the cake, we have diamonds.
Alluvial diamonds, which in my imagination are fist-sized, rounded
chunks of fabulousness. What’s
not to
love!
My guess, and it’s only a guess, is that the event that
sparked this story was the 1925 discovery of alluvial diamonds in Namaqualand
in Africa by Dr. Hans Merensky.
PLOT: Erin, a
successful photographer, inherits a (lost) diamond mine in Australia. (Yes. Australia has diamonds.) She hires Cole, a mysterious geologist, to
help her find the mine, not knowing that he actually owns half of it. They go to Australia, where they run afoul of
diamond cartel operatives and end up on foot in the Outback.
DISCLAIMER: In the
interests of accuracy, let me point out at the start that nowhere does the
author say or imply that the diamonds were fist-sized. That was entirely my own wishful thinking.
THE TEXT: Maxwell
introduces the diamonds on the first page of chapter one when the hero gets his
first look at them. “Light rippled and
shifted as nine translucent stones tumbled over one another with tiny
crystalline sounds.” “The first
impression was of large, very roughly made marbles…” In this first encounter with the diamonds,
Cole is shown nine uncut diamonds by his ex-partner, Wing. In this scene, Lowell establishes the size (large
marbles) and origin (roughly made spheres, i.e. alluvial, which means the
diamond crystals were carried by a stream and rounded by knocking into each
other and rocks) of the gems. She goes
on to note that the ‘marbles’ feel slippery and are heavy for their size. Cole exhales on a clean, chipped part of the
stone, but no moisture collects on it.
(This is a valid indentifier.)
On page two, Cole uses one of the crystals to scratch a
piece of lead crystal glass. I haven’t
been able to find a hardness for lead glass, but any diamond will scratch any
glass.
Finally, Cole uses his loupe (a 10x magnifier used by
gemologists and geologists) to examine the stone. He is particularly impressed by the
refraction (the way the stone interacts with light) and by the color. This stone is described as the intense green
of a river pool and a pool of intense emerald light.
In a discussion with Wing, Cole explains that the diamonds
are alluvial, and the two discuss the possible origin of the stones, with Cole
arriving at the conclusion of an unknown location in Australia.
THE GEMOLOGIST’S TAKE:
Large marbles, alluvial, slippery, heavy, no moisture--all these are
characteristic of diamonds. Moving on,
it would be hard to get a fine scratch with a rounded stone. If he did achieve a scratch, it would be hard
on the presumably expensive goblet. So
yes, she’s right about diamond scratching glass, but the test might not work as
described. As for refraction, the reason diamonds are cut the way they are is
to increase refraction and thereby maximize the brilliance of the stone, but
the way diamond interacts with light is distinctive enough that my answer is
yes, she got it right.
The color. Well. Green diamonds are usually greyish or
yellowish green. I was prepared to state
that natural green diamonds were never that intense a green. However, according to the Gemological
Institute of America, intense deep green color in a diamond is extremely rare,
which makes it sound possible. So my
answer is...maybe.
As for determining a diamond’s source, yes. Cole’s statements were somewhat generalized
but correct. With today’s sophisticated
analytical techniques, it could be possible to be even more specific.
Skipping over a few hundred pages of diamond industry
politics, action—and sexual attraction—we find Cole and Erin stranded in the
Outback without water, food, transportation, or weaponry. Fortunately, they’ve been left to die, so the
latter is not an urgent problem. At the
time.
THE TEXT: The rainy
season begins, providing the water they so desperately need. Once thirst is slaked, they notice that there
is no run-off, which leads them to a cave.
It proves to be the entrance to the diamond ‘mine’, actually a
cave. They explore even though there is
danger of flooding in the tunnels now that it’s raining. Cole stops at a pothole in the rock of the
tunnel floor and scoops out the pebbles that have collected there...and finds a
diamond. Further exploration leads them
to ‘God’s Own Jewel Box’, a pothole filled with tins full of diamonds, diamonds
her grandfather had collected. Mission
accomplished, but safety not yet achieved.
(The final thirty or so pages make for a suspenseful conclusion.)
DID SHE GET IT RIGHT?
Well, yeah. I’d have to say that
over-the-top as this part of the book is, the gemological and geological
details are believable. Diamonds would
collect in potholes as rainy-season waters flooded through the tunnels and
rooms of the cave, just as gold nuggets collect in above-ground streams.
It’s a beautiful fantasy with a happy ending. Enjoy!
I surely did, and it’s on my keeper shelf.
