Panama-Pacific International Exposition

The Novagems
from Todd Vol. 2, Chapter 63, page 345
"AND THERE WAS LIGHT"

    Easily first among these spectacles came the Tower of Jewels and the 54 searchlights which from roofs and other elevations flooded it with light. The 435 foot structure was hung about, on gallery and column, on cornice and rostrum and conquistador's shield and sculptured ornament, with 102, 000 "novagems," which were the "exposition jewels," and which made a spectacular feature that was not less than startling.
    The "jewels" were of the finest quality of glass, of high refractory power, cut and polished in Bohemia, where this work is a household industry. The last consignment of 5,000 narrowly escaped being held in Austria by the war, but finally arrived at New York in a neutral ship.
    They varied in size from 21 to 47 millimeters diameter (.833 to 1.86 inches), were cut like diamonds, and were backed by small mirrors and hung on brass hooks so that they trembled in the breeze. They were of different colors and by day refracted all the hues of the spectrum... ruby and emerald like a humming bird's throat, or sapphire, or white, or the pale yellow jonquils, or delicate aqua marine.
    The 20 foot armillary sphere surmounting the Tower was incrusted with "emeralds," and belted in a slanting circle with "diamonds." Columns were decorated in white brilliants, with ruby bands, and horizontal cornices were picked out with yellow and amber topaz.
    When the 54 searchlights were turned on the Tower and the flickering "novagems" caught the beam, splintered them into millions of colored lances and dartled them all over the grounds and the nearby heights of the city, the effect was at once dazzling and delicate beyond all power to describe.
    "Novagems" decorated the "star figures" that surmounted the colonnades of the Court of the Universe, and they too reflected the searchlight beams.

Note: Todd's account makes no mention of the sale of the Novagems after the Exposition closed.

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