Coal as an ornament in jewelry is being used in Japan. According to the " Horological Journal, " only the hardest and most perfect of the bits are used, and the workers in coal from whom the jewellers obtain their supply make a practice of saving for them certain pieces, often not more than two or three of the required quality being found each day. Of course, this black diamond jewelry is very inexpensive, but at the same time it is pretty and a novelty as well. A very general use made of these pieces of coal is for ornamental settings in the headsof sticks and umbrellas; they are used in combination with silver or brass rims, and sometimes shells and tiny pieces of brass are worked into the general design with an effect that is distinctly Japanese. Ornamental corkscrews with pieces of coal set into the handle are novelties that serve as souvenirs of Japan, and necklaces, rings, trinkets and chains are also manufactured with settings of black diamonds. A curious trinket purchased by a recent traveller in Japan was a link chain cut out of solid black coal, each link being perfectly formed. Although the tools used are of the rudest construction, the process of attaching these bits of coal is not a difficult one as done by the Japanese. After grinding out the base to the necessary size it is covered with a coating of an elastic cement, also a Japanese product, and the piece of coal is inserted. When the composition hardens, the coal is very firmly held in place.