THE 
 
 AND 
 
 •> 
 
 HANDY REFERENCE BOOK. 
 
 NEW EDITION 
 
 WILLIAM REDMAN. 
 
 BRADFORD: 
 
 PRINTED BY BOTTOMLEY BROS., HOPE STREET, 
 
 1883. 
 
CoA >5 
 TjT 
 7 A fO 
 
 T9 S'3 
 
 THE GEnY CENTER 
 LIBRARY 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In compiling the following work, it has been our 
 aim to give real and useful information in as little space 
 as possible. We find that comparatively little is known 
 as to the true value of gold and silver articles, and their 
 marks, &c., though persons of wealth having an 
 inclination foi precious stones and jewellery, may, with 
 a little discietion, get supplied at reasonable prices 
 from then respective jewellers, now that competition is 
 so keen. In this, as in all other branches of business, 
 the best article will be found the most satisfactory in 
 the end, to both the dealer and the wearer. 
 
 bor the kind assistance rendered in the collection of 
 the matter for this brief work, the author gladly ac¬ 
 knowledges his obligation to Mr Robinson, of the 
 Goldsmith’s Company, and the Assay Masters of every 
 provincial Goldsmith’s Hall; also to the following 
 gentlemen who have kindly given consent for extracts 
 
 to be inserted from their valuable copyright works :_ 
 
 to Messrs. W. & R. Chambers, Edinburgh; Mr E. W. 
 Streeter, F.R.G.S., Bond Street, London, author of 
 “ Precious Stones and Gems to Mr W. J. Cripps, 
 M.A., F.S.A., London, author of “ Old English Plate,” 
 
4 
 
 its makers and marks, published by Mr Murray ; and 
 to Mr George E. Gee, Birmingham, author of “ The 
 Goldsmith’s Handbook,” and “The Silversmith’s. 
 Handbook.” 
 
 The question of Hall - Marking will be more 
 appreciated by all classes, the more it is understood, 
 because the public are better satisfied when they know 
 a thing is real, and will gladly pay moie than the 
 difference in cost. We find that Hall-Marked goods 
 are becoming more and more in demand ; it would be 
 a great mistake to abolish the Hall-mark, but a more 
 simple and uniform system throughout the United 
 Kingdom is desirable ; also the practice of foreign 
 watch-cases being sent to England to be marked, and 
 then returned and sold as English-made watches, with 
 cheap foreign movements in, is a system which un¬ 
 doubtedly places the English watchmakers at a 
 disadvantage, and ought to be alteied. 
 
 The lists of Date Letters will be found useful and 
 interesting, and Mr Cripps’ valuable work, and other 
 works on this subject, will, in future, be more than ever 
 esteemed. We trust the treaties on diamonds will be 
 found satisfactory, considering the size and price of the 
 book. Mr Streeter’s work on “ Precious Stones and 
 Gems ” is a masterpiece, and ought to be read by all in 
 the trade. “ The Goldsmith’s Handbook,” published 
 by Crosby, Lockwood & Co., Ludgate Hill, and “ Ihe 
 Hall-Marking of Jewellery ” by the same author, G. E* 
 Gee, Esq., are two capital works. 
 
 In conclusion, the compiler .of this work, will be glad 
 to be informed of any errors which may have been 
 
5 
 
 overlooked, (for though no pains have been spared to 
 make it as accurate as possible, the nature of the work 
 renders it extremely difficult to attain absolute accuracy 
 in every detail,) so that in the event of a future edition, 
 they may be rectified. 
 
 W. REDMAN. 
 
 Bowling Old Lane, 
 
 Bradford. 
 

DIAMONDS. 
 
 DIAMOND (corrupted from Gr. adamant, untamable,, 
 refractory), the most highly valued of precious stones, 
 and the hardest of all known substances. It consists of 
 Carbon (q.v.), a simple or elementary substance, 
 crystallised, and in its greatest purity. Diamonds are 
 commonly colourless and clear like water ; although 
 sometimes, from some slight foreign intermixture, they 
 are white, gray, yellow, green, brown, and more rarely 
 orange, red, blue or black. The lustre is adamantine 
 and very high ; the transparency perfect in specimens 
 perfectly free from foreign substances, the presence of 
 which, however, even in very small quantity, mars it, 
 and sometimes almost produces opacity. The D. 
 becomes positively electric by friction, but is not elec¬ 
 trified by heat, a test which sometimes serves to 
 distinguish it from the topaz. Its specific gravity is 
 about 3'6. Its primary form is a regular octahedron, 
 but it appears also in rhombic dodecahedrons ; and its 
 crystals often have curvilinear faces and edges. Its 
 structure is distinctly lamellar. It burns before the 
 
8 
 
 blow-pipe in air or in oxygen gas, combining with 
 oxygen to form carbonic acid. Its hardness renders i* 
 incapable of being scratched by any other substance, 
 and in cutting and polishing diamonds, diamond-dust is 
 employed. The estimation in which it is held as a 
 precious stone is due to its remarkable hardness, rarity, 
 and brilliancy. The art of cutting diamonds, although 
 long practised in India and China, was not known in 
 Europe till after the middle of the 15th c., when it was 
 discovered by Louis van Berguen of Bruges. Previous 
 to that time, diamonds were set without being cut, and 
 in that state they have often a rough, dull, and uneven 
 surface. Diamonds are indeed found not only in the 
 iorm of perfect crystals, but also in rolled grains ; and 
 they are obtained partly from alluvial soils and the 
 sands of rivers, and partly from rocks, chiefly a quartzy 
 sandstone or conglomerate, in which they are often 
 associated with gold. A number of localities in India 
 have long been celebrated as productive of diamonds, 
 particularly Golconda (q.v.) ; they are found also in 
 Malacca, Borneo, and other parts of the East ; nor 
 were any diamonds procured in any other part of the 
 world till the beginning of the 18th c., when they were 
 discovered in remarkable abundance in the district of 
 Serra du Frio, in the province of Minas Geraes in 
 Brazil. Previous to that time, diamonds found in 
 Brazilian gold mines had deen disregarded as mere 
 pebbles ; their nature became known in consequence 
 of some of them accidentally finding their way to 
 Europe. In 1829, they were discovered in the Ural 
 Mountains. They have also been found in Rutherford 
 
9 
 
 County, North Carolina ; in Hale county, Georgia ; in 
 the province of Constantine, Algeria ; and in Australia. 
 Diamond mines consist in general of mere diggings 
 and washings of alluvial deposits. In Brazil, the 
 method pursued is to rake the alluvial matter back¬ 
 wards and forwards on inclined planes, over which a 
 stream of water is made to run, till the lighter particles 
 are carried away, when large stones are picked out by 
 the hand, and what remains is carefully examined for 
 diamonds. The work is carried on by slaves, and 
 when a diamond of seventeen carats is found, the slave 
 who finds it is entitled to his liberty, Large diamonds 
 are comparatively rare among those of Brazil, all the 
 notable diamonds in the world being Indian. Brazil 
 produces yearly from 25,000 to 30,000 carats of diamonds 
 •of which, however, not more than 9000 caiats aie 
 •capable of being cut, the rest being either very small or 
 •of inferior quality. The small and inferior diamonds 
 are called Bort, and command a ready sale for then- 
 use in the arts, being pounded in a steel mortar, and 
 much employed in the form of diamond-dust by 
 lapidaries for Cutting and polishing diamonds and all 
 kinds of gems, and even for polishing rock-crystals foi 
 spectacles. Minute fragments or splinters of bort are 
 also used for making fine drills, which are used foi 
 drilling small holes in rubies and other hard stones to 
 be employed in watch-making, gold and silver whe- 
 •drawing, &c., and for piercing holes for rivets in China, 
 in artificial enamel teeth, &c. I he use of- small 
 diamonds by glaziers for cutting glass is well known. 
 The diamonds so used are uncut, and the}' aie so 
 
IO 
 
 mounted as to act upon the glass not by an angle, but 
 by a curvilinear edge of the crystal. The cut is only to 
 the depth of about one two-hundredth part of an inch, 
 but is sufficient to make the glass readily break in 
 accordance with it. 
 
 Diamonds are cut into various forms, but principally 
 into brilliants and rose diamonds. The brilliant cut is the 
 most expensive and difficult, but is also that which 
 best brings out the beauty of the stone: it has an 
 upper or principal octagonal face, surrounded with 
 many facets, and other things being equal, the greater 
 the number of facets the more valuable is the diamond. 
 
 1 he lapidaries of the Kast, however, sometimes 
 multiply facets to hide imperfections of the stone. 
 Rose diamonds have a flat base, above which are two 
 rows of triangular facets, the six uppermost uniting in 
 a point. Rose diamonds are made of those stones 
 which are too broad in proportion to their depth to be 
 cut as brilliants. Stones still thinner are cut as table 
 diamonds. 1 he art of sawing diamonds, when too thick 
 in proportion to their surface, was invented by a Dutch¬ 
 man- named Dalback, in the beginning of the 19th 
 century. 
 
 Ihe value of diamonds is variously estimated. The 
 rule generally given is to square the number of carats 
 the diamond weighs, and then to multiply by the price 
 of a single carat. Thus, a rough diamond of 12 carats 
 weight, one carat being estimated at £ 2, would cost 
 12 x 12 x 2=^288. The value of a diamond is much in¬ 
 creased by its being cut, although the actual weight i£ 
 diminished. Beyond a certain weight, no rule of ealeu- 
 
11 
 
 lation can be applied, owing to the limited numberjof 
 purchasers, and the most fabulous values have been 
 assigned to famous diamonds. The price of diamonds 
 is now less than it once was. 
 
 Diamond : 
 
 I, the Koh.i-noor; 2, Regent or Pitt Diamond; 3, Grand Duke; 
 4, 5, vertical and lateral appearance of the brilliant diamond; 
 6, 7, vertical and lateral appearance of the brilliant diamond before 
 being lecut ; 8, 9, vertical and lateral appearance of rose-cut 
 diamond ; 10, II, the table cut diamond. 
 
 There is a way of falsifying diamonds by joining an 
 under part of some other stone to an upper part of 
 genuine diamond. Some varieties of Sapphire, Hya¬ 
 cinth, and Topaz, are often passed off for diamonds,. 
 The first two may be distinguished by their greater 
 specific gravity,the latter by its becoming electric when 
 heated. Rock-crystal, and glass or ‘ paste’ imitations, 
 are lighter titan true diamonds, and less hard and 
 
12 
 
 brilliant. The best test of a genuine diamond is hard¬ 
 ness. Care must be taken, however, to avoid breaking 
 off its angles, in attempting to test it by scratching 
 other substances with it, as, notwithstanding its hard¬ 
 ness, it is somewhat brittle. 
 
 Some particular diamonds, from their unusual 
 magnitude, or from circumstances of their history, are 
 of such interest as to entitle them to notice. The 
 collection of the emperor of Brazil is said to contain an 
 uncut diamond—the Braganza diamond—of the enor¬ 
 mous weight of 1680 carats, or about 12 ounces; but 
 it is suspected to be only a fine colouress topaz.—The 
 largest diamond certainly known is that belonging to 
 the rajah of Mattan, weighing 367 carats. It is egg- 
 shaped, with an indented hollow near the smaller end. 
 Many years ago, the governor of Borneo offered for it 
 500,000 dollars, two war-brigs fully equipped, a number 
 of cannon, and a quantity of powder and shot. But 
 the rajah refused to part with it, the fortunes of his 
 family being supposed to be connected with it, and the 
 Malays ascribing to water in which it has been dipped 
 the power of healing all diseases. Next to this diamond 
 in size, ranks the celebrated Koh-i-noor (q.v.), once a 
 boasted possession of the Great Mogul, and now 
 belonging to the Queen of Great Britain. It weighs 
 279 carats ; but is said to have weighed in the rough 
 state 900 carats.—The Orlow diamond, belonging to 
 the Russian emperor, and which was once the eye of 
 an Indian idol, is said to have weighed, when rough, 
 779 carats, but is now cut, egg-shaped, and weighs 195 
 carats.—The Regent diamond, or Pitt diamond, which 
 
i3 
 
 weighs in its cut state 136I carats, is unrivalled in its 
 limpidness and its form, its diameter and depth being 
 nearly equal. It was found in Golconda, was brought 
 from India by an English gentleman named Pitt, the 
 grandfather of the first Earl of Chatham, and by him 
 sold to the Duke of Orleans for ^130,000. It decorated 
 the hilt of the sword of state of the first Napoleon, was 
 taken by the Prussians at Waterloo, and now belongs 
 to the king of Prussia—The Sanci diamond, weighing 
 106 carats, has a still more interesting history. It be¬ 
 longed to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, who 
 wore it in his hat, at the battle of Nancy, where he fell. 
 A Swiss soldier found it, and sold it to a clergyman for 
 a gulden. It passed into the possession of Anton, 
 King of Portugal, who was obliged to sell it, the price 
 being 100,000 francs ; and it shortly afterwaids became 
 the property of a French gentleman named Sanci, 
 whose descendant being sent as ambassador to Soleure, 
 King Henry III. required the diamond as a pledge; 
 but the servant who was carrying it to the King was 
 attacked by robbers on the way and murdered, not, 
 however, till he had swallowed the diamond. His 
 master, fully confident of his faithfulness, caused his 
 body to be opened, and found it in his stomach. This 
 diamond came into the possession of the crown of Eng¬ 
 land, and James II. carried it with him to France in 
 1688. Louis XV. wore it at his coronation. In 1835, 
 it was purchased by a Russian nobleman for half a 
 million rubles (80,000). The Sanci diamond is said to 
 have been the first diamond which was cut in Europe. 
 
H 
 
 EMERALDS. 
 
 EMERALD (Sp. esmeralda, Fr. emeraudc, Ger. 
 smaragd, Gr. smaragdos ; the name is originally Semitic, 
 or at least eastern, but the signification is unknown), a 
 mineral generally regarded by mineralogists as merely 
 another variety of the same species with the Beryl 
 (q.v.), with which it essentially agrees in composition, 
 crystallisation, &c., differing in almost nothing but 
 colour. The E., which, as a. gem, is very highly valued 
 owes its value chiefly to its extremely beautiful velvety 
 green colour. It is composed of about 67—68 per 
 cent, of silica, 15—18 of alumina, 12—14 of glucina, 
 and a very little peroxide of iron, lime, and oxide of 
 chromium. Its colour is ascribed chiefly to the oxide 
 of chromium which it contains. Its specific gravity is 
 2’577 —2-725. In hardness it is rather inferior to topaz. 
 The localities in which E. is found are very few. The 
 finest have long been brought from South America, 
 where they are obtained from veins traversing clay- 
 slate, hornblende slate, and granite, in a valley not far 
 from Santa Fe de Bogoto. Emeralds of inferior 
 quality are found in Europe, embedded in mica-siate 
 in the Henbach Valley in Salzburg. They are also 
 found in the Ural; and some old mines in Upper Egypt 
 have also been discovered to yield them, from which, 
 probably, the ancients obtained them. This gem, 
 known from very early times, was highly prized by the 
 ancients. Pliny states that when Lucullus landed at 
 Alexandria, Ptolemy offered him an E. set in gold, with 
 his portrait engraven on it. Many wrought emeralds 
 
have been found in the ruins of Thebes. Nero, who 
 was near-sighted, looked at the combats of gladiators 
 through an eye-glass" OtCE-,and concave eye-glasses of 
 E. seems to have been particularly esteemed among 
 the ancients. As a precious stone, the E. is rarely 
 without flaw. Its value also depends much on its 
 colour. A very perfect E. of six carats has been sold 
 for £1,000. 
 
 It appears not improbable that emeralds have been 
 found in the East, in localities not at present known, 
 but the name E. or Oriental E. is often given to a 
 very rare, beautiful, and precious green variety of 
 Sapphire (q.v.). 
 
 E. Copper is a beautiful and very rare E. Green 
 crystallised mineral, also called Dioptase, found only 
 in the Kirghis Steppe, and composed of about 39 parts 
 silica, 50 protoxide of copper, and 11 water. 
 
 GOLD. 
 
 GOLD.(symbol Au, atomic weight 99-6) has been 
 known and regarded as the most precious of the metals 
 from the earliest ages of the world, and has been 
 universally employed as a medium of exchange. 
 Although the quantity of G. which is found, when 
 compared with that of many other metals, is small, yet 
 there are few parts of the globe in which it does not 
 occur more or less abundantly. 
 
i6 
 
 In the native state, it occurs crystallised, the primary 
 form being the cube, or in plates, ramifications, ot 
 or nodules—popularly known as nuggets which some¬ 
 times are of very considerable size. It is almost 
 always alloyed with silver, and sometimes with tellurium, 
 bismuth, lead, &c. It sometimes occurs in small 
 quantity in metallic sulphides, as in galena, iron and 
 copper pyrites. 
 
 The extraction of G. from the substances with which 
 it is associated is effected more by mechanical than 
 chemical means. See below. 
 
 The following are its most important properties. In* 
 its compact state, it possesses a characteiistic yellow 
 colour and high metallic lustre, is nearly as soft as lead, 
 and is the most malleable of all metals. It can be 
 beaten into leaves of a thinness not exceeding -gutrfrotn 
 or, according to some authors, °f an ^ nc ^» 
 
 through which light passes witn a green tint ; one grain 
 may thus be distributed over 56 square inches of 
 surface ; and the ductility of the metal is so great, that 
 the same quantity may be drawn out into 500 feet of 
 wire. In its tenacity, it is inferior to iron, platinum, 
 copper, and silver; but a wire whose diameter is 0787 
 (or rather more than one-third) of a line (which is one- 
 twelfth of an inch), will support a weight of about 150 
 lbs. It fuses at about 2016 degrees, according to 
 Daniell’s pyrometer, and when in fusion, is of a bluish- 
 green colour. It is scarcely at all volatile in the heat 
 of the furnace, but by a powerful electric discharge, by 
 the concentration of the sun’s rays by a powerful burn¬ 
 ing-glass, or by the oxy-hydrogen jet, it is dispersed in 
 
i7 
 
 purple vapours. G. has very little affinity for oxygen ; 
 it undergoes no change on exposure to the atmosphere,, 
 and is unaffected by hydrochloric, sulphuric, or nitric 
 acid, or, in short, by any simple acid except selenic 
 acid ; nor do the alkalies affect it. It is, however, 
 dissolved by any mixture which liberates chlorine, its 
 usual solvent being aqua regia , which is generally pre¬ 
 pared by mixing i part of nitric acid with 4 parts of 
 hydro-chloric acid. Hydrochloric acid to which 
 binoxide of manganese has been added, acts equally 
 well, the G. in these cases being converted into a 
 chloride. This metal is one of the most perfect con¬ 
 ductors both of heat and of electricity. When 
 precipitated in a finely comminuted state, it is of a 
 brown colour; but when suspended in water, and 
 viewed by transmitted light, it appears purple. The 
 specific gravity of this metal is less than that of 
 platinum and iridium, ranging from 19-2 to 19-4, 
 according as it is fused or hammered. 
 
 The alloys of G., or its combinations with other 
 metals, are very numerous, those with copper and 
 mercury being the most important. Copper and G, 
 combine in all proportions without materially affecting 
 the colour of the latter, except that it is somewhat 
 redder. The density of the compound is less than that 
 of G., but the hardness is greater, and it is more fusible. 
 It is this alloy which is employed in our gold coinage, 
 11 parts of G., being combined with 1 of copper, with¬ 
 out which the coin would not be sufficiently hard to 
 stand the wear to which it is exposed. Hence British 
 standard G. contains 8-33 per cent, of copper. In 
 
i8 
 
 France, and in the United States, standard G. contains 
 io per cent, of the latter metal. Jewellers alloy their 
 G. with other metals, partly on economical grounds, 
 and partly for the purpose of evolving special tints. 
 Thus, red G. is obtained by combining 75 parts of fine 
 G. with 25 of copper ; green G., by combining 75 parts 
 of fine G. with 25 of silver; dead-leaf G., by com¬ 
 bining 70 parts of fine G. with 30 of silver ; water-green 
 G., by combining 60 parts of fine G., with 40 of silver ; 
 blue G., by combining 75 parts of fine G. with 25 of 
 iron. 
 
 Mercury and G. combine very readily, and yield a 
 white alloy, termed an amalgam, which is used in gilding. 
 In consequence of the readiness with which these 
 metals unite even at ordinary temperatures, mercury is 
 used for the extraction of gold. 
 
 As a general rule, the ductility of G., is much 
 impaired by alloying other metals with it, while its 
 hardness and sonorousness are increased. 
 
 Two oxides of G. are known—a protoxide, AuO, and 
 a teroxide, AuO s . Neither of these oxides can be 
 formed by the direct union of the elements, and 
 both of them are reduced by heat. The protoxide is a 
 dark-green or bluish-violet powder. It forms no 
 definite salts. It is obtained by the decomposition of 
 protochloride of G. with a solution of potash. The 
 teroxide is a brown powder, which is reduced, not only 
 by heat and light, but by many other reducing agents. 
 It combines more readily with bases than with acids, 
 and hence has been termed auric acid. We obtain it by 
 mixing a solution of terchloride of G. with magnesia or 
 carbonate of soda, and boiling. 
 
19 
 
 1 wo chlorides of G. are known, corresponding to the 
 oxides, viz., a protochloride, AuCl, and a terchloride, 
 AuC 1 3 . Of these, the latter is the most important: 
 it is obtained by dissolving G. in aqua regia, and 
 evaporating the solution to dryness, at a temperature 
 not exceeding 300 degrees, when we obtain this com¬ 
 pound, as a deliquescent yellowish brown or reddish 
 mass, which is soluble in water, alcohol, and ether, 
 with which it forms orange-coloured solutions. 
 
 The chlorides of many of the organic bases from 
 crystallisable double salts with the terchloride of G. ; 
 and these compounds are often employed to determine 
 the combining power of the organic alkali. 
 
 Metallic G. in the form of a brown powder is thrown 
 down from the solution of the terchloride by most 
 reducing agents. This reducing power of protosulphate 
 of iron is employed in the preparation of chemically 
 pure gold. 
 
 A bisulphide of G. is obtained in the form of a black 
 powder by passing a current of sulphuretted hydrogen 
 through a cold solution of terchloride of gold. ‘ If finely 
 divided gold be heated with sulphur in contact with 
 carbonate of potash, a double sulphide of gold and 
 potassium is formed ; it resists a red heat, and is very 
 soluble in water ; this sulphur salt is used for gilding 
 china, and produces the colour known as Buvgos. lustve .’ 
 —Miller’s Elements of Chemistry , 2d edit. vol. ii. p. 74. 
 
 Fulminating G., a compound known to the alchemists, 
 who (Basil Valantine, for example) formed solutions of 
 terchloride of G., occurs as a green powder, when 
 
20 
 
 prepared by immersing teroxide of G. (or auric acid) 
 in caustic ammonia. By modifying the mode of prepar¬ 
 ation, we obtain it of a brownish-yellow colour. From 
 Dumas’s analysis of the green powder, it seems to be 
 represented by the formula 2NH3, AuO s , the brownish' 
 yellow powder having a more complicated formula- 
 These powders detonate when rubbed, struck, or beaten,, 
 or when an electric spark is passed through them, with 
 a loud sharp report and a faint light, and they yield 
 nitrogen gas, ammonia, and water. None but pro¬ 
 fessed chemists should attempt to prepare them, in 
 consequence of their dangerous explosive character- 
 On one occasion, a drachm of fulminating G. introduced 
 into a bottle burst it as the stopper was being turned 
 round, in consequence of small particles of it having 
 adhered about the mouth, and both the operator’s eyes, 
 were destroyed by the projected fragments of glass. 
 
 The Purple of Cassius is an important gold compound. 
 It derives the name from its having been first described 
 by Andreas Cassius in 1685. 
 
 None of the salts of the oxides of G. are of sufficient 
 importance to require notice in this article. 
 
 Gold was, in all probability, one of the earliest dis¬ 
 covered of its metals. The fact of its being found 
 very generally distributed over the surface of the earth, 
 and that, too, in its simple metallic state, combined 
 with its beautiful colour, and many valuable properties, 
 would cause it very early to attract the attention of 
 man. Accordingly, we learn that gold was used by the 
 Hebrews, the Egyptians, and other ancient nations, for 
 much the same purposes as it is at the present day. 
 
21 
 
 Previous to the great Californian discovery in 1847, 
 Europe was to a great extent supplied with G. from 
 Mexico, Brazil, New Granada, Chili, and Peru in 
 North and South America ; a large quantity was also 
 obtained from Asiatic Russia, and the islands of the 
 Indian Archipelago ; the east and west coast of Africa 
 furnished a less but still considerable quantity. All 
 these countries still produce G., but their total yield, 
 including Europe, is only about one-forth that of Cali¬ 
 fornia and Australia. 
 
 The most famous mines in Europe are those of 
 Hungary and Transylvania, which produce annually 
 about ^300,000 worth of this metal. Piedmont and 
 Spain are almost the only other European countries 
 where G. is worked ; but it is found in all districts 
 where the rivers flow over primary rocks, though rarely 
 in sufficient quantity to repay the expense of working it. 
 
 G. has been found in several parts of the British 
 Islands. The most productive district yet discovered 
 was that of Wicklow, in Ireland, where, towards the 
 •close of the last century, the stream-works were pro¬ 
 secuted for some time with considerable success. In 
 Scotland, the Leadhills, on the borders of Dumfriesshire, 
 •as well as the Plighlands of Perthshire, have at various 
 times produced G. ; so also have Cornwall and Devon¬ 
 shire in England, and, at the present time, a small 
 ■quantity is being obtained from North Wales. 
 
 First among the celebrated gold discoveries of recent 
 times, in point of date, though not in importance, come 
 those of Eastern Siberia, where extensive auriferous 
 tracts were discovered in the governments of Tomsk 
 
22 
 
 and Yeniseisk in 1842. The quantity obtained in these 
 eastern regions raised the annual produce of the Russian 
 empire to three, and ultimately to four millions sterling 
 —more than triple its former yield. Concerning Russia, 
 it may be well to remark that an examination of the 
 auriferous deposits of the Ural Mountains led Sir 
 Roderick Murchison, in 1844, on comparing their rocks 
 with those brought home by Count Strzelecki, from 
 Australia, to predict the presence of G. on the latter 
 continent. Subsequent discoveries, as is well known, 
 have proved the accuracy of this conclusion in a very 
 remarkable degree. 
 
 The rich gold region of California was discovered in 
 September 1847. Mr Marshall, the contractor for a 
 saw-mill on the estate of Captain Suter—a Swiss 
 emigrant, settled on the banks of the Sacramento River 
 —detected particles of G. in the sand of the mill-race, 
 and on further examination, it was found that valuable 
 deposits existed throughout the bed of the stream. In¬ 
 telligence of the discovery soon reached the town of 
 San Francisco, whose scanty population at once 
 abandoned their usual occupations to join in the exciting 
 search for gold. The supply was soon found to be 
 abundant over a large area ; it occurred in the tributaries 
 of the Sacramento as well as in the bed of the river 
 itself, in old water-courses, and on the sides of the hills. 
 Emigrants quickly poured in from all parts of the 
 American continent, and ere long from Britian,. 
 Germany, and other European countries, till the pop¬ 
 ulation of San Francisco alone rose from under 200 in 
 1845 to 40,000 in 1858. At first, it was thought that 
 
23 
 
 the supply of G. from this region would soon fail, but 
 it would appear by later researches to be far from 
 being easily exhausted, as the supply, though now 
 apparently decreasing, continued for several years at 
 upwards of ^13,000,000 per annum. 
 
 In 1851, before the excitement, of the Californian 
 discovery had time to subside, the world was startled 
 by the announcement of another, or rather by a series 
 of others, of not less importance, in Australia. It is a 
 curious fact that not only Sir. R. Murchison, as stated 
 above, but also the Rev. W. B. Clarke, a native geologist, 
 had pointed out the likelihood of G. being found in the 
 eastern chain of the Australian mountains, several years 
 before the value of the gold-fields near Bathurst was 
 discovered by Mr Hargreaves in April 1851. This dis¬ 
 covery was no sooner made, however, than several other 
 places in Bathurst and the adjoining counties were 
 found to contain rich deposits; so that, before many 
 months had passed, 6000 persons were employed at 
 these diggings. In August of the same year further 
 discoveries of G. were made at Ballarat, in Victoria, 
 which excelled in richness those of the Sydney district; 
 and these in turn, were soon surpassed by fresh 
 discoveries in the Mount Alexandra range. During the 
 climax of the excitement created by the Victoria gold¬ 
 fields, the number of diggers rose to upwards of 20,000, 
 withdrawing for a time the great mass of the population 
 from Melbourne and Geelong. 
 
 The modes of working adopted at the first start of 
 the diggings were neccessarily rude and wasteful; the 
 fortunes of the gold-seekers, too, were of course very 
 
24 
 
 variable under such a system, many of them having 
 made large profits—as much, in a few instances, as a 
 thousand pounds and upwards in a single week—but 
 many more met with nothing but disappointment. A 
 more systematic plan of mining, however, has now 
 been introduced, by which the auriferous deposits are 
 more completely worked out, and the labour of the 
 miners rendered less precarious. Notwithstanding this, 
 the annual produce of the Australian colonies has now 
 {1862) fallen to about ^8,000,000, only two-thirds of 
 what they produced a few years ago. In the Interna¬ 
 tional Exhibition of 1862 there was a gilded pyramid 
 10 feet square at the base and 45 feet high, representing 
 the mass of gold exported from Victoria between the 
 1st October 1851 and the 1st October 1861. Its weight 
 in solid gold would have been 26,162,432 ounces troy, 
 which, taken roundly at £\ per ounce, gives its value 
 as £104,649,728. The produce of California since the 
 discovery of its gold-fields in 1847, up to the present 
 time, may be estimated at about 37,500,000 ounces, 
 and its value at ^"150,000,000. 
 
 Since the two great gold regions of California and 
 Australia became known, three new ones of considerable 
 promise have been discovered—one of them in British 
 Columbia, the value of which was proved in 1858, 
 although previously it was to some extent known to 
 the Hudson’s Bay Company ; another is being success¬ 
 fully developed in Nova Scotia; and a third in the 
 province of Otago, in New Zealand, the recent accounts 
 from which are very encouraging. It would appear 
 that there is a great similarity between the general 
 
25 
 
 rock systems and auriferous deposits of this region and 
 those of Australia. Before passing from the subject of 
 recent gold-fields, it is worth noting that, a few years 
 ago, Dr Livingstone, the African traveller discovered 
 G. near Tete on the Zambesi—a district which may be 
 found to be rich in the precious metal, when more 
 deliberately surveyed. Its position is remarkable as 
 occuring in the centre of a coal-field. 
 
 The annual produce of G. in the whole world at the 
 present time is somewhere between 30 and 40 millions 
 sterling. Wherever G. is found, its origin can generally 
 be traced to quartz veins in the primary or volcanic 
 rocks, such as granite, gneiss, porphyry, clay-slate, or 
 greenstone. As these rocks become decomposed by the 
 action of the weather, portions of the auriferous veins 
 are carried down by streams and floods, and so find 
 their way into the deposits of sand, clay, and shingle 
 in river beds, and in the gullies and flats of hills. 
 Many auriferous drifts are of great thickness, formed 
 by long-continued wasting of the rocks of neighbouring 
 hills, and therefore require mining to a considerable 
 depth. G. for the most part is found in small grains, 
 •or scales, called golddust; some of it, however, in 
 pieces, or nuggets of considerable size. The largest yet 
 met with was found at Ballarat in 1858, called ‘ The 
 Welcome;’ it weighed 2166 oz., and its value was 
 ^8376, 105. 10 d. A good deal of the Mexican and 
 European G. is obtained from auriferous pyrites ; that 
 is, the sulphuret of iron, copper, or arsenic, with the G. 
 disseminated through it. 
 
26 
 
 Nearly all the metals except G. are found, for the 
 most part, at least, as ores chemically combined with 
 oxygen, sulphur, or other substances; and they there¬ 
 fore require to be separated by chemical processes. 
 Gold ores, if we may use the term, generally only 
 require to be mechanically treated by the processes of 
 crushing, stamping, grinding, and washing. The 
 amalgamation process, however, is resorted to when 
 G. occurs in a state of fine division. 
 
 i he crushing-mill consists of two large cast-iron 
 cylinders or rollers revolving in some directions, which 
 break the ore into small pieces, as it passes through 
 between them. To reduce it further, a stamping-mill 
 is used with iron shod piles of wood, or sometimes with 
 stampers entirely of iron, wrought by an axle with pro¬ 
 jecting cams after the fashion of flint-mills and beetling, 
 machines. To pulverise it still further, any form of 
 grinding-mill is used, but the grinding surfaces should 
 be of iron or of some hard rock like granite. The 
 pounded ore is finally sifted and washed by machines,, 
 which vary in shape and mode of working but they all 
 consist essentially of sieves, to separate the larger from 
 the smaller particles, and an inclined table or frame 
 across which a stream of water flows. The gold 
 particles, on account of their greater specific gravity,, 
 remain at the head of the board, and the quartz and 
 other impurities are carried forward and separated by 
 the current. 
 
 By the above treatment, the greater part of the G. is- 
 extracted, but there still remain minute particles in- 
 
2 7 
 
 visible to the naked eye mixed with the gangue; indeed, 
 some auriferous soils contain all their G. in a state of 
 extreme division. To recover this, the ore is partially 
 concentrated by washing, and then an amalgam is 
 made ; that is, it is mixed with mercury, which has the 
 power of seizing on and dissolving the gold particles,, 
 however minute. The mercury is afterwards distilled 
 off in a cast-iron retort, leaving the G. nearly pure. 
 
 To give some idea of the quantity of G. used in the 
 arts, of which very little can be recovered, it may be 
 stated that in the United Kingdom some 30,000 ounces 
 in the shape of leaf gold, 10,000 ounces in the electro¬ 
 plate and other processes of gilding metals, and about 
 the same quantity in gilding and making colours in the 
 pottery districts, are annually consumed. 
 
 The quantity of G. poured into England during 
 recent years has been immense. 
 
 What has become of it all is often matter of surprise.. 
 Much has been sent out to the mint, and much sent to 
 foreign countries for their gold coinage. In France, 
 Belguim, the Netherlands, and Italy, all large sums are 
 now being paid in G. instead of silver as formerly. 
 That the continued influx of G. is gradually heightening 
 prices in the United Kingdom is sufficiently obvious- 
 The current price of standard gold is about £3, 175. 6d. 
 
 
28 
 
 JASPER. 
 
 JASPER (Gr. iaspis), a mineral generally regarded 
 as one of the varieties of Quartz (q. v.), and distinguish¬ 
 ed by its opacity, owing to a mixture of clay or other 
 substances with the silica of which it is chiefly composed. 
 There are many kinds of J., some of them of one colour, 
 as brown, red, yellow, green, white, blue or black, and 
 some variously striped, spotted, or clouded with different 
 colours. J. is a very abundant mineral ; it is found in 
 veins and embedded in masses in many rocks, some¬ 
 times appears as a rock of which whole hills are formed, 
 and is very common in the shape of pebbles. It has 
 been prized from the most ancient times for ornamental 
 purposes, as it takes a high polish. Many kinds of it 
 are very beautiful ; and it can often be obtained in 
 pieces of large size, so that it has been much used not 
 only for rings, seals, and other small articles, but for 
 the decoration of palaces. One of the best known kinds 
 of J. is found in Egypt, and is therefore called Egyptian 
 Jasper. It is generally yellow, prettily mixed with 
 brown.—J. with very distinct stripes is called Ribbon 
 Jasper .—The kind called Porcelain Jasper is rather rare, 
 it is often full of minute holes, or is cracked in all direc¬ 
 tions. It is regarded as a kind of natural porcelain, 
 formed by the action of fire. 
 
 - - 
 
 
29 
 
 RUBY. 
 
 RUBY, a gem much prized, and only inferior in value 
 to the diamond, or perhaps also to the sapphire. It is 
 regarded by mineralogists not as a distinct species, but 
 as a mere red-coloured variety of Sapphire (q. v.) or of' 
 Spinel. The Balas R. is rose-red. The Almandine R.. 
 is tinged with violet or brown. The finest red rubies 
 are generally known as oriental rubies, and are indeed 
 brought from the East, chiefly from Ceylon, and the 
 Burman empire. The best generally come from the 
 neighbourhood of Syriam, in Pegu. In Ceylon, rubies- 
 are found in remarkable abundance in alluvial deposits, 
 which have been searched for them for ages, whilst the 
 natives seem never to have thought of digging in the 
 rock of the mountains; but Dr Gygax found innumerable 
 small rubies, in a state of decomposition, falling to 
 powder, in a state of stratum of gray granite with iron 
 pyrites and molybdena; and Sir James E. Tennent 
 thinks that mines might be opened with confidence of 
 success. Sir Alexandria Burnes, describes a ruby-mine 
 at Badakshan, in Bactria. Tavenier states that the 
 throne of the great Mogul was adorned with 108 rubies, 
 of from ioo to 200 carats each. The king of Arracan 
 is said to have possessed a R. in the form of a six-sided 
 prism, about an inch in diameter, terminated by a six- 
 sided pyramid. But the greatest R. ever heard of was 
 that possessed by the king of Ceylon, which, according 
 to Marco Polo, was a span in length, as thick as man’s 
 arm, and without a flaw. Kubla'i Khan sent an am¬ 
 bassador to demand this R., offering the value of a city 
 
3 ° 
 
 as its price ; but the Ceylonese monarch refused to sell 
 it. What has become of it is not known. 
 
 -<—- 
 
 SAPPHIRE. 
 
 SAPPHIRE, a gem excelled in value by no precious 
 stone except diamond, and regarded as a variety of 
 Corundum (q. v.), highly transparent and brilliant. It 
 is sometimes colourless, and the colourltss kind, called 
 White S., is sometimes sold as diamond. It more 
 frequently exhibits exquisite colour, generally a bright 
 red or a beautiful blue ; more rarely, gray, white, or 
 green. The red variety is the Oriental Ruby (q. v.) of 
 lapidaries; the blue is that commonly called S.,'and 
 which has received this name from ancient times. It 
 is found crystalised, usually in six-sided prisms, termin¬ 
 ated by six-sided pyramids ; and is sometimes found 
 imbedded in gneiss ; but it more frequently occurs in 
 alluvial soils. It occurs at Bilin in Bohemia, and 
 Expailly in Auvergne, but more abundantly in some 
 parts of the East. Ceylon is famous both for its rubies 
 and its sapphires, the latter being the more abundant. 
 They occur with garnets and other minerals, in a 
 stratum of water-worn pebbles firmly imbedded in clay, 
 in which there are occasional lumps of granite and 
 gneiss. But nothing has yet been done to seek for 
 them in their original situation in the mountain rocks. 
 A piece of S., which was dug out of the alluvium within 
 
a few miles of Ratnapoora in 1853, was valued at up¬ 
 wards of ^4000. The S., was one of the stones in the 
 breastplate of the Jewish high-priest. Among the 
 Greeks, it was sacred to Jupiter.—The name Girosal S. 
 is given to a beautiful variety with a pinkish or bluish 
 opalescence, and a peculiar play of light. The Chatant 
 S. has more pearly reflections. The Astevia S. has in 
 the midst of it a star of six bright rays, resulting from 
 .its crystalline structure. 
 
 THE WORKING OF PRECIOUS 
 
 STONES. 
 
 The qualities for which Precious Stones are most 
 prized, viz., lustre, transparency, refraCtion and disper¬ 
 sion of light, are to some extent visible even in their 
 rough state ; but in order to enhance these advantages, 
 and render them more attractive, the stones must be 
 subjected to artistic cleaving, grinding, and polishing. 
 
 The cleaving, grinding, and polishing appertain to 
 the art of the lapidary, whose aim is so to manipulate 
 the rough stone, as to produce regular, or symmetrical 
 and smooth surfaces, called facets. The subsequent 
 cutting of designs or mottoes in the polished stone 
 belongs to the engraver. 
 
 It does not appear that the Ancients understood the 
 art of the lapidary so well, or, at any rate, valued it so 
 highly as we do. They preferred weight to brilliancy, 
 
3 2 
 
 and size to effectiveness. They would have been 
 horrified to sacrifice eighty carats of a stone weighing 
 186 carats, merely to enhance its effectiveness as a gem. 
 Accordingly, we see that they were generally content to 
 rub down the angles, polish the surfaces, and retain the 
 fanciful shapes each stone possessed when discovered.. 
 In 1407 dimond cutting made great strides under Her¬ 
 mann, an able artist. The Duke of Burgundy gave a 
 magnificent dinner at the Louvre to the King of France 
 and his Court, and the noble guests received eleven 
 Diamonds set in gold ; the value has been computed at 
 ^117 18s. sterling. These gems were but imperfectly 
 cut, and yet with the intention and obvious effect of 
 heightening the play of light, and thus rendering the 
 gift more gratifying to the guests they were intended 
 to honour. 
 
 In the inventory of the French Crown Jewels, in 
 1774, there is only one, with the number 349, to which 
 the name “ tenth Mazarin ” is given. This was a four- 
 cornered Brilliant, with somewhat obtuse angles, of 
 pure water, weighing sixteen carats and valued at £ 2000. 
 
 Amsterdam has been one of the centres of the Dia¬ 
 mond trade, and remains to the present day the principal 
 seat of diamond-cutting. It is said that out of 28,000 
 Jewish inhabitants of Amsterdam, 10,000 are in some 
 way or other connected with this business. 
 
 1—DIAMOND DUST. 
 
 The Diamond, the hardest of all known bodies, can 
 only be manipulated by means of Diamond in form of a 
 fine powder. This powder is prepared generally from 
 
33 
 
 faulty Diamonds and from the refuse in cleaving and 
 cutting ; which, being put into a mortar of hardened 
 steel, is beaten until it is fine enough for use. This 
 powder in 1876 was worth from 8/- to 10/- a carat; it is 
 now much cheaper. 
 
 2— CLEAVING OR SPLITTING OF DIAMONDS. 
 
 The cleaving or splitting of Diamonds serves a double 
 purpose : firstly, that of removing faulty parts or spots 
 from the stone ; and, secondly, bringing out the facets 
 in rough. 
 
 3— CUTTING AND POLISHING OF DIAMONDS. 
 
 Ihere are three distinct operations in the cutting of 
 Diamonds, namely, splitting, cutting and polishing. They 
 form distinct branches of the trade. 
 
 By the operation of cutting, the natural crust of the 
 diamond is removed, and the stone is formed into the 
 shape required. In order to cut a diamond, 2 stones are 
 employed, which are fastened into two sticks, the tops 
 being filled with cement, into which each diamond is 
 inserted, leaving exposed the part to be cut. The 
 workman, who has leathern gloves on his hands, as well 
 as leathern stall on his right thumb, takes a stick in 
 each hand, and leaning them against two upright pieces 
 of iron, fastened on the edge of the cutting bench, rubs 
 the two diamonds together until he has produced a flat 
 even surface (which is a facet), instead of the concaved 
 or convex form of the natural stone. The dust or dia¬ 
 mond powder which falls is received in a square box, 
 containing oil, and the powder is burnt before being 
 
34 
 
 used, to free it from the particles of cement that become 
 mixed with it. 
 
 By this means two facets are cut on two different 
 stones at the same time. During the cutting, the 
 workman examines the facets by means of moistening 
 the stone with the tongue, first taking care to remove 
 any powder with a camel-hair pencil. When the facet is 
 formed, the cement is heated, and the diamond taken 
 out, and replaced so as to expose a different surface 
 until the cutting is completed. It must be understood 
 that by this operation only the general outline of the 
 form is made. 
 
 A stone which would have, when quite completed,, 
 fifty-eight facets, including the table andculet, receives 
 in cutting only eighteen, eight of which are the surfaces 
 of an octahedron or double pyramid, and are formed by 
 taking away eight edges or angles of these eight surfaces,, 
 one for the whole table, and one for the culet. The 
 next process is polishing the diamond, by which the 
 remaining facets are formed. 
 
 The grinding and polishing of Diamonds are effected 
 on flat wheels, propelled by steam power, which make 
 about 2000 revolutions per minute. 
 
 4 —CUTTING OF PRECIOUS STONES GENERALLY. 
 
 This section embraces the cutting of all Precious and 
 and Semi-precious Stones used for ornaments, except 
 the Diamond. The lapidary arranges his work much 
 in the same manner as the diamond-cutter, but he uses 
 other means for the cutting and polishing, according to 
 
35 
 
 the nature of the stone to be worked. These special 
 means will be noticed under each particular stone. 
 
 5—THE FORMS OF PRECIOUS STONES. 
 
 The beauty of a finished stone depends so much upon 
 the form and position of its facets, that a moderately 
 fine stone, well cut and polished, is of far greater value 
 than a large one less artistically worked. It happens 
 sometimes that the lapidary receives a stone of very 
 unfortunate shape ; his duty will, therefore, be to take 
 all possible care to preserve its size ; and, hiding its 
 faults, give it such a form as shall send it forth with the 
 greatest weight and beauty. 
 
 6—PRECIOUS STONES AS OBJECTS OF 
 COMMERCE. 
 
 The trade in Precious Stones is much more important 
 now than formerly before the discovery of America, 
 India was the great emporium. 
 
 It is calculated roughly, that the value of the Precious 
 Stones found in the island of Ceylon is ^10,000 yearly. 
 
 The Dutch East India Company formerly received the 
 rough stones in packets, sealed with their special seal. 
 
 These packets were sold by auction, without being 
 opened. Often from £2000 to ^3000 were paid for one 
 packet, and the buyer was very rarely wrong in his 
 purchase. 
 
 In the trade of Precious Stones, the colored stones 
 stand far behind the Diamond ; insotauch, that this 
 stone alone represents 90 per cent., and the others 
 altogether only 10 per cent, of the quantity on sale. 
 
36 
 
 Apart from the class to which the stone belongs, the 
 price is determined by its beauty, the quality and play 
 of color, brilliancy, purity, rarity, the perfection of the 
 cutting, and above all, its weight. This last quality 
 increases the price considerably, as the most beautiful 
 stones are generally found in small pieces. 
 
 At the Leipzig Easter Market, some years ago, Dia¬ 
 monds fell suddenly 50 per cent, owing to Don Pedro 
 having paid the interest of the Brazilian State Debt to 
 England in Diamonds instead of money, and thereby 
 caused a glut in the market. In 1836 the price again 
 rose. In 1848, in consequence of the Revolution in 
 France, it fell greatly. From that year until 1865 the 
 value of Diamonds seemed to have increased at about 
 the rate of 5 per cent, per annum. Then, at the end of 
 the Civil War in America, it sprang up suddenly 25 per 
 cent. At the end of the Franco-German war of 1871 it 
 rose another 10 per cent., and during the next two years 
 there was a gradual rise amounting to 20 per cent, but 
 their value has again considerably declined. 
 
 Notwithstanding the great hardness of the Diamond, 
 it is so brittle that it can be reduced to Tesseral-shaped 
 grains by a heavy pestle in a mortar. 
 
 Hardness is the best test of the genuineness of a 
 Diamond. If a mineral cannot be scratched or cut by 
 Ruby or Sapphire, it can only be a Diamond. The 
 officers of the “Junta Diamantina,” in Brazil, test the 
 genuineness of two rough Diamonds by rubbing them 
 together close to the ear, when, if they be real, they 
 make a peculiar creaking or grating noise, which the 
 long experience of the testers easily recognises. 
 
37 
 
 Black Diamonds of great beauty are occasionally 
 supplied by Borneo. These are so adamantine that 
 ordinary Diamond-dust makes not the smallest im¬ 
 pression upon them ; and they can only be ground or 
 polished by using their own dust for the purpose. 
 
 CAPE OR SOUTH AFRICAN DIAMONDS. 
 
 Rather more than ten years ago, it happened that a 
 child of Mr. Jacobs, a Dutch farmer, settled at the Cape, 
 amused himself by collecting pebbles from the neigh¬ 
 bourhood of the farm, near Hopetown. At first sight 
 there might seem nothing remarkable in this circum¬ 
 stance, for pretty pebbles were to be had in plenty near 
 the neighbouring river. One of the stones, however, 
 was sufficiently bright to attract the keen eye of the 
 mother, though she regarded it simply as a curious 
 pebble, and gave it little more than a passing glance. 
 It was afterwards examined by several eminent men, 
 who pronounced it a genuine Diamond weighing 2i T 3 u 
 carats, and sold for ^500. Such is the history of the 
 discovery of the first Cape Diamond, a discovery, 
 which being soon followed by others, led to the devel¬ 
 opment of the great Diamond fields of South Africa. 
 
 A Dutch boer, named Tan Wyk, who occupied a farm¬ 
 house in this locality, was surprised to find Diamonds 
 actually embedded in the walls of his house, which had 
 been built of mud from a neighbouring pond. This led 
 to examination of the surrounding soil, wherein Dia¬ 
 monds were found. On deepening the digging, Dia¬ 
 monds were still brought to light ; nor did they cease 
 when the bed-rock was at length reached. Such was 
 
38 
 
 the origin of the now famous Du Toit’s Pan, South 
 Africa. 
 
 A Diamond of pale yellow tint, weighing 112 carats, 
 was brought to Prof. Tennant by an old student, and 
 yielded a brilliant of 66 carats. Again, a stone of 1 24 
 carats was found at Du Toit’s Pan, by Messrs. Stevens 
 and Raath, on July 21,1871. But the largest South- 
 African Diamond yet discovered is the famous 
 “ tewart ” which was consigned to Messrs. Pittar, 
 Leverson & Co. It weighed in its rough state 288! 
 carats (nearly two ounces troy), and is the largest ever 
 found in South-Africa, and, according to the best 
 authorities, was only exceeded in size fey three others 
 in the world. It is of a light yellow color, beautifully 
 crystallised. 
 
 Information has just come to hand of the finding of 
 amother large Diamond—the second in weight and 
 dimension yet discovered in South Africa. It was 
 found on a claim at Du Toit’s Pan, where Diamond¬ 
 digging has been very successful. Several beautiful 
 stones, of 50 carats each, have been discovered there ; 
 the one of 244 carats, being of a light off colour, may, 
 by careful manipulation, prove a worthy gem. It is 
 free from flaws, but is not of first quality. The value 
 df the claims in these South African mines has risen 
 enormously during the last twelve months (1878). 
 
 Ground that was originally sold at £50 for twenty 
 square feet is now realizing many thousands of pounds. 
 
 Private advices from the fields, just to hand, announce 
 the sale of two-quarter claims for ^"20,000 ! and that 
 other claims have also been disposed of for similar sums. 
 
39 
 
 BRAZILIAN DIAMONDS. 
 
 Above 2,000 people flocked in the beginning of the 
 year 1839 to search for Diamonds. For many years the 
 result was successful, but only at the cost of much 
 labor. 
 
 The profit made in Minas-Geraes was very consider¬ 
 able. In the first twenty years 144,000 carats were 
 found annually. 
 
 In 1772 the Government first worked the mines on 
 its own account. Rich as the find was, the cost was 
 enormous, for every carat cost the Government from 
 fifteen to eighteen shillings. 
 
 Up to 1850 the Province of Minas-Geraes had yielded 
 about 5,844,000 carats of Diamonds, valued at 
 ^"9,000,000. 
 
 If, in addition to this, we consider the contraband 
 trade at the beginning of this century, estimated at 
 ^"2,000,000, the worth of Diamonds found in Minas- 
 Geraes would be about £1 1,000,000. I he yield of these 
 mines differs from that of the Bahia mines in shape and 
 color. The form of the stones is more regular, while 
 the color is more uniform in its greenish tints, less, i ■£ 
 at all, vitiated by any yellow reflection. 
 
 Diamonds were found also in other parts of Brazil, 
 especially in the inland provinces. 
 
 Large Diamonds are very rarely found. It has been 
 •estimated that in ten thousand specimens rarely more 
 than one weighing twenty carats is met with, while 
 possibly eight thousand of one carat, or less, may be 
 discovered. In 1851 a diamond weighing 120^ carats 
 
40 
 
 was discovered at the source of the Patrocinho River, 
 in the province of Minas-Geraes, 
 
 Somewhat later, on the Rio-das-Belhas, the laborers 
 came upon a stone of 107 carats weight, and in Chapada 
 upon one of 874 carats. The largest, however, which 
 has been discovered of late years is that called the 
 Stai of the South, which weighed 254 carats before 
 it was cut. 
 
 The discovery of these Precious Stones proved in 
 1746 a great curse to the poor inhabitants on the banks 
 of the Diamond Rivers. Scarcely had the news of the 
 discovery reached the Government ere they tried to 
 secure the riches of these rivers for the Crown. To 
 effedt this the inhabitants were driven away from their 
 homes to wild, far away places, and deprived of their 
 little possessions ; nature herself seemed to take part 
 against them : a dreadful drought, succeeded by a 
 violent earthquake, increased their distress. Many of 
 them perished, but those who lived to return on the 18th 
 May, 1805, were benevolently reinstated in their rightful 
 possessions. 
 
 Strange to sa^, on their return the earth seemed 
 strewn with Diamonds. After a heavy shower the 
 children would find gold in the streets, and in the 
 biooks which traversed them. The little ones would 
 often bring in three or four carats of Diamonds. One 
 negro found a Diamond at the root of a vegetable in 
 his garden. Poultry, in picking up their food, swal¬ 
 lowed Diamonds, so that their viscera required search¬ 
 ing before being disposed of. 
 
4 1 
 
 The profit of the Diamond seeker is a very uncertain- 
 quantity. While one person may find at one spot in a 
 river 1440 carats, another, like the Spaniard Simon, 
 may seek four years, with the help of 200 slaves, and 
 obtain only 7,000 carats. The comparatively large 
 wages demanded by laborers induce employers to limit 
 the number employed as soon as the product of the 
 finding is diminished. 
 
 The number of diamond-seekers gradually dwindled 
 to between five and six thousands ; but up to the end of 
 the year 1849 there had been as many as 932,400 carats 
 of Diamonds obtained from the Chapada of Bahia. 
 
 This rich field is about eighty miles long and forty 
 miles broad. The total produce from the entire Brazil 
 Diamond district was calculated up to the year 1850 to 
 exceed 10,000,000 carats. In the year 1851 the produce 
 appeared to be increasing; but in 1852 it was evidently 
 on the wane. 
 
 The estimated value of Brazilian Diamonds from 1861 
 to 1867 was about ^"1,888,000. 
 
 INDIAN DIAMONDS. 
 
 The largest and most celebrated found in India is 
 that described by Tavernier as the “ Great Mogul.” 
 
 In its rough state it weighed 787^ carats, but was 
 reduced by cutting to 297 carats. 
 
 Since the year 1818, Sumbulpoor has been under 
 British rule. In that year a Diamond was found which 
 weighed 84 grains, and although of only the third quality 
 was sold for 5,000 rupees. 
 
42 
 
 COLORED DIAMONDS. 
 
 The Brazilian mines, although yielding many colored 
 Diamonds, are not known to have produced a single 
 example of the dark blue variety. The same remark 
 applies to the South African mines, which have not as 
 yet given to the world either a green or a blue specimen. 
 
 The first mention we have of a Blue Diamond in 
 Europe refers to a stone then considered unique. It 
 weighed in the rough 1124 carats, was bought by 
 Tavernier in India in 1642, and was sold to Louis XIV. 
 in 1668. 
 
 RED DIAMONDS. 
 
 The true Red Diamond is valuable “ according to 
 the glorious beauty of its perfection.” 
 
 GREEN DIAMONDS. 
 
 The history of the finest specimen of a Diamond of 
 this color may be not uninteresting. Twenty years ago 
 this stone was obtained for £200. Some years after 
 it was sold for £300. Subsequently it passed into 
 the possession of a jeweller in Bond Street, who 
 sold it to an American for ^600. Mr Charles Drayson 
 is now its owner; should it be again transferred it 
 would probably be purchased to enrich the regalia of 
 one of the great European courts. 
 
 DIAMONDS OF UNWONTED COLOUR. 
 
 His Grace the Duke of Wellington possesses a very 
 fine Black Diamond, weighing 12^ carats, which was 
 valued in 1869 at £ 183 15s. In the “ Hope Collection,” 
 
43 
 
 exhibited in 1851, were three Brilliants of unusual 
 tint—one pink, cushion-shaped, the weight of which 
 was 28 cai»ats ; the second, lilac-hued, of oval shape, 
 weighing 11 carats ; and a third of an apricot color, or 
 a mixture of peach and orange. 
 
 CELEBRATED DIAMONDS. 
 
 The “ Braganza ” now among the Portuguese State 
 Jewels, is a gem, ranked as a Diamond, of the size of a 
 hen’s egg weighing in its rough state 1680 carats, and 
 valued at £58,350,000. 
 
 Another celebrated Brazilian Diamond, weighing 
 1384 carats, is among the treasures of the King of 
 Portugal, It was found in 1775 by a negro, a few miles 
 north of the Rio Plata, and as a reward he obtained his 
 freedom and a yearly income of ^50. 
 
 PRICE OF BRILLIANTS. 
 
 In addition to the universal experience that excep¬ 
 tionally large and pure Brilliants are as matters of 
 competition in value altogether abnormal, yet there is 
 a further element of uncertainty introduced into the 
 market arising from the extension of the Diamond 
 fields. To what limit this may eventually influence 
 the price of Diamonds, or whether the demand may not 
 still exceed the supply, it is difficult to forecast. The 
 
44 
 
 following table may be a fair guide to approximate 
 values of smaller stones :— 
 
 Diamonds below two grains— 
 
 Inferior from . ^3 to £5 per carat, finished 
 
 Medium » . £S to £7 „ 
 
 Good » . £7 to £10 „ 
 
 Fme » . £\oio£i'z „ 
 
 ROUGH DIAMONDS. 
 
 It is difficult, nay imposible, to quote a standard price 
 for Rough Diamonds. The remark universally applic¬ 
 able is that the value must vary immensely according 
 to size and quality. 
 
 
 PRICES, SIZES, AND WEIGHTS OF DIAMONDS. 
 
 Cut Medium Quality. (Workmanship not included.) 
 
 £ 
 
 8. 
 
 d. 
 
 Carats. 
 
 £ 
 
 S. 
 
 d. 
 
 Carats. 
 
 l £ 
 
 S. 
 
 d. 
 
 Carats 
 
 8 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 I 
 
 242 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 Si 
 
 l8oO 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 15 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 *4 
 
 288 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 6 
 
 3200 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 20 
 
 12 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 If 
 
 338 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 6i 
 
 5000 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 25 
 
 rs 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 if 
 
 392 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 7 
 
 7200 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 3 ° 
 
 . 18 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 45 o 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 7 i 
 
 9800 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 35 
 
 21 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 if 
 
 512 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 
 12800 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 40 
 
 24 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 if 
 
 578 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 H 
 
 16200 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 45 
 
 28 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 
 648 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 9 
 
 20000 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 5 ° 
 
 32 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 722 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 9 i 
 
 24200 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 55 
 
 50 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 800 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 10 
 
 28800 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 60 
 
 72 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 3 
 
 882 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 IO-i 
 
 338 oo 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 65 
 
 98 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 3 i 
 
 968 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 11 
 
 39200 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 70 
 
 128 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 4 
 
 1058 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 Hi 
 
 51200 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 80 
 
 162 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 4 i 
 
 1152 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 12 
 
 64800 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 90 
 
 200 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 5 
 
 1250 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 I2i 
 
 80000 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 100 
 
45 
 
 THE FOLLOWING TABLE IS FROM MR H. 
 EMANUEL’S WORK ON DIAMONDS. 
 
 A brilliant weighing £ 
 
 a carat 
 
 Value in 1865 . 
 
 ... £5 IOS 
 
 Value in 1867 . 
 
 £6 0 
 
 3 
 
 9 9 9 9 4 - 
 
 of a carat 
 
 ... £9 
 
 IOS 
 
 £11 
 
 0 
 
 
 a carat 
 
 ... £18 
 
 os 
 
 ... £21 
 
 0 
 
 
 carats 
 
 ... £28 
 
 os 
 
 - £35 
 
 0 
 
 „ » ii 
 
 » 
 
 ... £38 
 
 os 
 
 ... £45 
 
 0 
 
 )} 
 
 > > 
 
 ... £48 
 
 os 
 
 ... £ S 5 
 
 0 
 
 >> >> 2 
 
 9 9 
 
 ... £65 
 
 os 
 
 ... £80 
 
 0 
 
 >> >> 
 
 9 9 
 
 ... £70 
 
 OS 
 
 ... £90 
 
 0 
 
 ,* 55 2 i 
 
 9 9 
 
 ... £88 
 
 OS 
 
 ... £110 
 
 0 
 
 >> »> 2 i 
 
 9 9 
 
 ... £100 
 
 OS 
 
 ... £120 
 
 0 
 
 >> 5 > 3 
 
 9 9 
 
 ... £125 
 
 OS 
 
 ... £140 
 
 0 
 
 > j > > 3 i 
 
 99 
 
 ... -£135 
 
 OS 
 
 ... £150 
 
 0 
 
 >> 3 i 
 
 9 9 
 
 ... £150 
 
 OS 
 
 - £i 75 
 
 0 
 
 >> >> 3 } 
 
 99 
 
 ... £175 
 
 OS 
 
 ... £190 
 
 0 
 
 >> > > 4 
 
 9 9 
 
 ... £220 
 
 OS 
 
 ... £220 
 
 0 
 
 j) >> 4 i 
 
 9 9 
 
 ... £230 
 
 OS 
 
 ... £240 
 
 0 
 
 >> 4 i 
 
 9 9 
 
 ... £250 
 
 OS 
 
 ... £300 
 
 0 
 
 j) 
 
 9 9 
 
 ... £280 
 
 OS 
 
 ... £330 
 
 0 
 
 >> > j 5 
 
 99 
 
 ... £320 
 
 OS 
 
 • •• £350 
 
 0 
 
 "The least defect, want of (or over) 
 
 spread, or 
 
 faintest tinge of 
 
 any 
 
 colour, reduces these values considerably. 
 
 --- 
 
 RUBIES. 
 
 In this our day fine Rubies under half a carat— 
 
 If English cut, cost from. £\ to £10 
 
 If Indian cut ,, . £i to £ 4 
 
 Those over a carat in weight are, according to the 
 quality, worth from £*io to £100 per carat : but no 
 definite price can be given as a guide to the purchaser. 
 
 The two most important Rubies ever known in Europe, 
 were brought into this country during the year 1875. 
 
 One was a dark-colored stone, cushion-shape,weighing 
 37 carats, the other, a blunt, drop shape, of 47 t l carats. 
 
46 
 
 It was deemed advisable to have these stones recut 
 and the work was entrusted to Mr. James N. Forster, 
 of London, who recut the stone of 37 carats to 324^, and 
 the one of 47 carats to 38 T 9 g. They were much improved 
 thereby, and competent judges pronounced them the 
 finest stones of their size yet seen, their color being truly 
 magnificent. The smaller stone of the two, it is affirmed 
 was sold abroad for above £10,000 ; the larger one, it is 
 stated, found a purchaser on the Continent at £20,000.. 
 
 The fact of two such fine gems appearing contem¬ 
 poraneously is unparalelled in the history of Precious 
 Stones in Europe. 
 
 SAPPHIRES. 
 
 The value of Sapphire stones is very much determined 
 by special circumstances and, like the Diamond, its 
 color, purity, and size are taken into consideration 
 when fixing the sum to be paid. Fine Sapphires under 
 the carat in weight, if English cut, vary from £4 to £12 ; 
 if Foreign cut, £2 to £5 ; those of a carat weight, £12 
 to ^"25. Sapphires do not necessarily, like the Ruby,, 
 rise in price, as they increase in size. 
 
 The most important Sapphires known in Europe are 
 two magnificent stones exhibited in the London 
 Exhibition of 1862, and also in the Paris Exhibition of 
 1867. The larger is a stone of a somewhat oval form, 
 of a dark, slightly inkey, color, free from defects. It 
 weighs about 252 carats, and was cut from the rough 
 by Mr Loop in 1840. The other, although a smaller, 
 is a richer colored stone. It was brought to this 
 country from India (Indian cut) in the year 1856. 
 
47 
 
 In its original form it presented a mis-shapen stone 
 weighing 225 carats, with a large yellow flaw at the 
 back, which marred the stone by casting a green 
 reflection into it. It was placed in the hands of Mr J. 
 N. Forster, who re-cut it, removed the defeats and made 
 it a splendid gem of 165 carats. This is by far the 
 finest Sapphire of its size in Europe. It has recently 
 been sold in Paris, and is estimated to be worth from 
 £7,000 to £8,000. 
 
 EMERALDS. 
 
 One of the most celebrated Emerald mines of the 
 Tunka Valley is that of Muzo, 5 degrees 39.50 N. lat¬ 
 itude, and 76 deg. 45 W. longitude (from Paris). N.N.W. 
 of Bogata. It was discovered by Lanchero 1555, but 
 the Spaniards did not commence working it until 1568. 
 
 It is now worked by a company, who pay an annual 
 rent for it to the Government, and employ 120 workmen. 
 
 The value of an Emerald depends greatly upon its 
 color ; for example :— 
 
 A light color, almost white, is worth 5/- 
 Lightest geeen ... ... ... 20/ 
 
 A fair body of color ... ... 100/ 
 
 Good color, with flaws, from £10 to £15 
 Pure color and clear, ... £20 to £30 
 
 Very fine dark color, velvety, and 
 
 without flaws, as high as to £60 
 
 a carat 
 >> 
 
 J) 
 
 >5 
 
 
 This last, however, is very rare. Perhaps there is no 
 stone which suffers more than the Emerald from 
 inequality of structure, color and transparency, clouds 
 
4 8 
 
 and spots. Fashion greatly influences the value of the 
 Emerald. 
 
 SPINEL AND BALAS RUBIES. 
 
 In the inventory of the French Crown 
 
 Jewels, in the 
 
 year 1791, we find the following:— 
 
 
 One Spinel Ruby of 56! carats ... 
 
 ^2,000 
 
 One ,, 
 
 4t » 
 
 ^12 
 
 One ,, 
 
 3 ! » 
 
 ^12 
 
 One Balas Ruby 
 
 20# „ 
 
 £\oo 
 
 One ,, 
 
 I2f „ 
 
 £120 
 
 At the present time small 
 
 stones range from. 5/- to 10/- a carat 
 
 Medium stones, of fair color 20/- to 40/- ,, 
 
 Large stones .60/- to 100/- ,, 
 
 Specimen stones attain even a higher value. 
 
 Balas, called Balais Ruby, are pale-red, or rose-red 
 gems, with a tinge of blue appearing at the angles of the 
 octahedron, which gives them a milky kind of shimmer 
 and depreciates their value. The color is due to 
 chromic acid. The Balas Ruby varies much in price; 
 for example, a dark-rose of 18 millimetres, square-cut, 
 and polished as a Brilliant, pure and lustrous, will sell 
 for £12, while a pale-rose of like size will be worth 
 sixteen shillings only ; its value depends entirely on the 
 demand and the charactor of the stone, occasionally a 
 fine specimen of five carats will relize £50. 
 
 THE GARNET. 
 
 New varieties of Garnet have recently come into the 
 market from Siberia: in color a beautiful green, very 
 brilliant, and unlike any stone already known. 
 
49 
 
 Another closely resembles the Burmese Ruby in color. 
 It is found in the interior of Mexico, but is obtained 
 with difficulty. Lapidaries were at first unable to 
 determine, by mere cutting, the nature of this stone, 
 for no Garnet had ever been seen in Europe possessing 
 a color so closely approaching that of the Ruby. 
 
 PEARLS. 
 
 In America, and since the beginning of the 17th 
 century, the Pearls of California have been rivals of the 
 treasures of Panama. Hundreds of poor Indians are 
 now employed in California as divers. On the coast of 
 Columbiathe Pearls are of a peculiar and beautiful lustre, 
 and on the south side of the island of Cuba the product is 
 similar to that of the Persian Sea. On the coast of New 
 Jersey, Pearls were discovered by a farmer, who, fishing 
 for oysters, found in one of them a large Pearl; this 
 stimulated fresh adventures, which have been rewarded 
 by the discovery of large pearls, of fine quality. 
 
 Of late years Pearls have been discovered in Australia, 
 and fine specimens have been shipped to England. 
 
 The Empress Eugenie had presented to her a neck¬ 
 lace composed of Pearls found in the Fiji Islands, 
 which was valued at several thousand pounds. 
 
 It is computed that out of 20,000,000 oysters 
 4,000,000, or one-fifth, contain Pearls. 
 
 The Romans called the large ball-shaped Pearls 
 “Uniones”; the pear-shaped Pearls “ Elenchi and 
 the half-ball shape “ Tympania.” Those which 
 possessed the most beautiful white color received the 
 name of Exaluminate Margarita. 
 
50 
 
 Pompey, the Conqueror of Pontus and Syria, found 
 in the palace of Mithridates, a priceless collection of 
 Pearls, which formed the foundation, in later years, of 
 a museum in Rome. In his third great triumph against 
 the Asiatic princes, 61 years b.c., he took thirty-three 
 crowns of Pearls. After this period the Pearl luxury 
 became quite a furore in Rome. The philosopher 
 Seneca spoke very sharply against the Roman women 
 for wearing so many Pearls. He declared that they 
 would not bend, nor give obedience to their husbands, 
 until double or treble the value of their own settlements 
 was dangling from their ears. Roman ladies wore 
 necklaces of Pearls which cost £8,000. Ornaments for 
 the breast, for dresses, ladies’ shoes, and bracelets were 
 also profusely covered with costly Pearls. Julius 
 Caesar presented to Servilia, mother of Marcus Brutus, 
 a magnificent Pearl which he obtained as booty in 
 Egypt, the value of which was estimated at ^39,600. 
 
 Another famous Pearl, in possession of the Egyptian 
 queen, Cleopatra, was, after her death, presented by a 
 Roman ambassador to the Emperor Septimus Severus 
 for his wife ; but he, it has been stated, to rebuke the 
 ever-increasing tendency to luxury, ordered it to be 
 sold for the good of the State. No purchaser, however, 
 could be found for it at its estimated value, whereupon 
 the emperor had it cut into two pieces, and made into ear¬ 
 rings for the image of the goddess Venus, which was in the 
 Pantheon, saying that the Empress would be setting a 
 very bad example to his subjects if she wore in her ears 
 things too valuable to be paid for. 
 
5i 
 
 The Romans used also to decorate their temples 
 and dwelling-houses with Pearls, and ladies used to 
 hire them for their own personal adornment at great 
 festivals, so that the Margaritarii, or Pearl Merchants, 
 drove a flourishing trade by the loan of Pearls. The 
 wife of Caligula wore, in her parure, Pearls to the 
 value of £ 28,000. Nero distributed Pearls lavishly 
 among his favourites ; and it is stated that Claudius 
 dissolved Pearls in a very strong acid, which he gave to 
 his guests. Pearls are frequently found of grotesque 
 shapes, and are generally used as caricatures in works 
 of art. There is a very large collection of such in the 
 Green Vaults at Dresden—one, a Spanish Court dwarf 
 of the time of Charles II., made out of a Pearl the size 
 of a hen’s egg. One of the largest known in Europe 
 was called “ La Peregrina Incomparable.” It weighed 
 126 carats, and was pear-shaped. Gongibus of Calais 
 brought it from India in 1660. When laid before 
 Philip IV., King of Spain, he said—“ How could you 
 concentrate your whole fortune upon so small a thing ?” 
 To which the merchant replied—“Because I knew that 
 the world held a King of Spain who would buy it of me.” 
 The gem is now in the possession of Princess 
 Youssopoff, and has been valued at 16,000. Another 
 large Pearl of the form and size of a pigeon’s egg, 
 weighing 134 grains, came from Panama ; it belonged 
 to Philip II., of Spain, and was valued at ^10,000. The 
 Emperor Rudolph II. possessed one of 180 grains, and 
 Napoleon I. had one nearly as large. The Pearl 
 which the King of France gave to Madame de 
 Maintenon, and which was offered for sale in 1819, 
 
52 
 
 weighed hi grains. The Pearl belonging to the Shah 
 of Persia is above an inch in diameter, and in 1633 
 was valued at ^"64,000 ; and that in possession of the 
 Sultan of Muscat at £32,000. The Crown Prince of 
 Germany gave a necklace of thirty-two Pearls, valued 
 at £20,000 to his bride, the Princess Royal of England. 
 It should be borne in mind that all the values just 
 quoted are relative values, and that much larger sums 
 are represented by these figures. The finest white 
 Pearl ever seen in this country was sold for £2,600. 
 It weighed 115 grains, was perfectly round in shape 
 and of brilliant sheen. During the past year (1878) 
 another Pearl, weighing 114 grains, was in the market ; 
 the two were exhibited in the Paris Exhibition, and 
 are now in the possession of the Baroness Alphonse de 
 Rothschild. No European regalia contains such a 
 pair ; they are thought to be unique. 
 
 --- 
 
 DIAMONDS. 
 
 AN EXPLANATION OF SOME OF THE TERMS 
 MADE USE OF IN DESCRIBING THEIR 
 MAKE AND FINISH. 
 
 The Bezils are upper sides and corners of the 
 brilliant, lying between the edge of the table and the 
 girdle. The Collet is the small horizontal plane or face 
 at the bottom of the brilliant. The Crown is the upper 
 work of the rose, which all centres in the point at the 
 top, and is bounded by the horizontal ribs. The 
 
53 
 
 Facets are small triangular facets or planes, both in 
 brilliants and roses. In brilliants there are two sorts ; 
 show or skill facets, and star facets. Skill facets are 
 divided into upper and under. Upper skill facets are 
 wrought on the pavilions, and terminate in the girdle; 
 Star facets are wrought on the upper part of the besil, 
 and terminate in the talfile. The Girdle is the line 
 which encompasses the s'tone, parallel to the horizon, 
 or which determines the greatest horizontal expansion 
 of the stone. Lozenges are common to brilliants and 
 roses. In brilliants they are formed by the meeting of 
 the skill and star facets on the bezil; in roses, by the 
 meeting of the facets in the horizontal ribs of the 
 crown. Pavilions are the under sides and corners of 
 the brilliant, and lie between the girdle and the collet. 
 The Ribs are the lines or ridges which distinguish +he 
 several parts of the work, both of brilliants and roses. 
 
 THE PERFECTIONS AND IMPERFECTIONS OF 
 DIAMONDS. 
 
 Here it may be proper to observe, that what is com¬ 
 monly called the “ first water ” in Diamonds means the 
 greatest purity and perfection of their complexion, 
 which, as previously stated, must be like a drop of the 
 clearest spring water. When any species of Diamond 
 falls short, more or less, of that perfection, it is 
 expressed by saying it is of the “ second ” or “ third ” 
 water, &c., till a stone may properly be called a coloured 
 one. To speak of a stone imperfectly coloured and 
 containing any other defects, as a stone of a “ bad 
 water” only, is very improper, as it does not convey 
 
54 
 
 an idea of the particular colour or defects belonging 
 to it. 
 
 METHOD OF VALUING WROUGHT 
 DIAMONDS. 
 
 An example is here given to show in what manner 
 the value of a manufactured or wrought Diamond of 
 one carat is to be found, upon the principle advanced. 
 Suppose rough Diamonds to be valued at £2 per carat, 
 the weight of such stones must be doubled, on account 
 of half being lost in working them, which is considered 
 their original weight, making two carats ; then multiply 
 the weight of each stone by itself, which squares it and 
 makes four ; lastly, multiply the four by two, which 
 produces eight Pounds, which is the value of one carat 
 wrought or polished, and is equal to the value of rough 
 Diamonds of two carats, out of which it is suposed to 
 be made. This single instance is here given to show 
 the value of rough Diamonds in the price of wrought 
 ones. As a further explanation of the rule of valuing 
 them, and previously to offering any other, it is to be 
 observed that although two Pounds is laid down as the 
 general price of rough Diamonds, it is to be understood 
 that rough Diamonds differ in their value according to 
 their different degrees of perfection, and according to the 
 loss of weight they may be supposed to sustain in being 
 truly wrought, as it is well known that some will lose 
 more than others, from their ill form and other defects 
 that may attend them. 
 
 FIRST INSTANCE. 
 
 To find the value of one of five carats the weight must 
 be doubled, on account of half being lost in working. 
 
55 
 
 that replaces its original weight and makes ten carats ; 
 then multiply by ten, that squares its weight and makes 
 ioo carats; and lastly, ioo must be multiplied by two 
 Pounds, the price of one carat, which produces £200, 
 and is the value of a wrought stone of five carats, the 
 price of the Diamond when rough. 
 
 SECOND INSTANCE. 
 
 To find the value of one of 5! carats, the weight 
 doubled, ioi carats ; next reduce that weight in the 
 foregoing manner, that makes every carat in the stone 
 worth £20 1 os ; so first multiply by £20, that bungs it 
 to £200, then multiply ten carats by ten shillings, that 
 makes 100s. or five Pounds ; next add the value of one 
 fourth of a carat at the rate of £20 10s, that makes 
 £5 2s 6d ; lastly, cast up these three sums, the total 
 will be £210 2s 6d, and is the value of the stone rough 
 or wrought. 
 
 THE METHOD OF VALUING WROUGHT 
 DIAMONDS, EXCLUSIVE OF ROUGH ONES. 
 
 As instances have been given of two different 
 methods of attaining the value of wrought Diamonds, 
 in which cases the value of rough Diamonds of double 
 their weight have been jointly considered, they being 
 supposed to be made from such rough Diamonds, three 
 instances of manufactured Diamonds of the same 
 weight will be offered to show in what manner their 
 value may be found, exclusive of any regaid to rough 
 ones ; and as the last method appears to be shortest, 
 and more easy to be understood, that method will be 
 made use of on this occasion. This is to be known by 
 
56 
 
 applying the price they bear manufactured, so far as 
 has been known, viz:—that as rough Diamonds are 
 valued at two Pounds per carat, a wrought Diamond 
 of one carat is worth eight Pounds ; so to find the 
 value of a stone of that degree of goodness, whatever 
 number of carats are contained in such diamonds, 
 each carat is to be valued at eight Pounds, and what¬ 
 ever sum they make must be multiplied by the weight 
 of the Diamond. The instances are as follow : 
 
 FIRST INSTANCE. 
 
 To find the value of such Diamonds of five carats 
 weight, reckon every carat at eight Pounds, that makes 
 £40: so every carat is to be valued at £40, then 
 multiply five by £40, that produces £200, and is the 
 value of such a Diamond. 
 
 SECOND INSTANCE. 
 
 To find the value of 5 a carats, at the rate of eight 
 Pounds per carat, multiply five by eight, that makes 
 40 ; then add to that the value of a of £8, that is one 
 Pound, so the value of every carat is £41 ; then 
 multiply five by 41, that makes £205 ; next add the 
 value of i of £41, that makes £5 2s 6d. These two 
 sums cast up produce £210 2s 6d, and is the value of 
 the Diamond. 
 
 ON THE VALUE OF PEARLS. 
 
 These jewels are next in importance to the sapphire 
 or ruby, and the finest kinds are perfectly round, which 
 fits them for necklaces, bracelets, jewels for the hair, 
 &c. ; but if a Pearl be of a large size and shape of a 
 
By arrangement with the publishers, Messrs. 
 Crosby Lockwood & Co., 7 , Stationers' Hall 
 Court, London, the author is enabled to insert 
 in this edition the following article : “ Gold ; its 
 various qualities and alloys," from Mr G. E. 
 Gee's valuable copyright work, “ The Goldsmiths' 
 
 Handbook." 
 
57 
 
 pear, it is not reckoned an imperfection, for it may be 
 suitable for drops for ear-rings, solitaires, and many 
 other jewels ; their complexion must be of a milk-white, 
 not of a dead and lifeless hue, but of a clear and lively 
 hue, free from stains and roughness,—such are of the 
 highest value. The only rule for valuing them is by the 
 square of their weight, as in the case of diamonds. 
 
 GOLD. 
 
 ITS VARIOUS QUALITIES AND ALLOYS. 
 
 Fine Gold is too soft to stand the wear and tear of 
 ordinary use, hence arose the necessity for the incor¬ 
 poration of some other material to give it increased 
 hardness. The following table gives the relative 
 value of the different carats, and the proportion of 
 alloy to be added, taking 24 as the unit of fine gold :— 
 
 Qualities of Gold. 
 
 L 
 
 S 
 
 d 
 
 Alloy to be added 
 
 24 carats. 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 O 
 
 None. 
 
 22 ,, 
 
 3 
 
 17 
 
 II 
 
 2 carat 
 
 20 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 IO 
 
 4 ,, 
 
 18 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 6 „ 
 
 G 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 G 
 
 9 
 
 14 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 13 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 °i 
 
 11 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 12 ., 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 14 
 
 6 „ 
 
 1 
 
 u 
 
 IOi 
 
 IS 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 16 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 9i 
 
 i7 
 
 The above value represents the ounce troy, and is 
 quoted at the mint price of purchase. The purchasable 
 
58 
 
 price of fine gold from refiners will be a little higher 
 than that given in the above table, on account of the 
 expenses in refining; in large quantities, say over io 
 ozs., it will cost from £\ 5s 3d to £\ 5s 6d per ounce. 
 In smaller quantities, it will cost from £\ 5s 6d to £\ 
 6s per ounce ; therefore, if 1 oz. of fine gold be 
 required, it will cost £\ 6s nett, from all houses. 
 
 In judging of a piece of work of alloyed gold, the 
 value (if with a view of sale) must not be calculated 
 merely upon the amount of fine gold the piece of work 
 contains ; for, in that case, the calculation as to the 
 real value will be wrong and misleading; because 
 in the alloy there is a certain proportion of silver, and 
 as this metal is rather expensive, a loss would occur by 
 the transaction. For example, if we take the proper 
 proportion of fine gold existing in an ounce of 18-carat 
 gold, at the mint value as given in the table, £ 3 3s gd, 
 to obtain that amount of gold from the refiner in the 
 best market it will cost £3 4s 3d (the increase being 
 due to the expenses in refining), in order to produce 
 that fine state of division required for alloying. Now, 
 in order to produce 18-carat gold 5 dwts. or 6 carats of 
 alloy, must be added to the quantity of fine gold of the 
 above value ; if we say half silver and the other half 
 copper, at the lowest trade price it will cost gd : so to 
 practically produce an 18-carat alloy of gold it will cost 
 £3 5s per ounce to the manufacturer of jewellery before 
 he actually introduces it into his workshop. All other 
 alloys should be calculated after the same manner, and 
 we should say an ounce of 8-carat gold is worth £1 10s. 
 
59 
 
 The use of 22-carat gold as our national standard of 
 value for the coinage is well known, but a few additional 
 particulars will not be irrelevant to that branch of the 
 subject upon which we are now entering. Gold coins, 
 when first introduced into the currency of England by 
 Henry III., were of fine gold, that is to say 24 carats. 
 Edward III. was the first English king who used gold 
 coins of an inferior standard, in the form of 6s pieces, 
 nearly equal in size to the present sovereign, and con¬ 
 sisting of 23! carats. A coin called a noble followed, 
 worth 6s 8d. Edward IV. reduced the standard to that 
 of 18 carats. The next change was made by Henry 
 VIII, raising it to 22 carats. From that time until the 
 reign of Queen Elizabeth the currency underwent 
 various changes ; but it was then again fixed at 22 
 carats, and it has so continued with about one exception 
 down to the present time. All English gold* coins are 
 nominally and intrinsically worth the sums they 
 represent. This is so when they leave the Mint, and 
 have not been subjected to the wear and tear of 
 circulation. 
 
 Besides the standard fineness for coins, there is also 
 a legal weight, fixed according to the regulations of the 
 Mint. Thus in England a pound troy of the standard 
 metal is worth ^46 15s, so that if a single pound troy 
 of standard gold were taken to the Mint to be coined, 
 after forty-six sovereigns and one half-sovereign had 
 been manufactured out of it, a portion of gold of 
 the value of 5s, not used up in the coins, would remain. 
 The same quantity will coin 44-I guineas, of the value 
 of 21s each ; hence the value of standard gold is £3 17s 
 1 id per ounce. 
 
6o 
 
 The coinage of gold is conducted with great exact¬ 
 ness by the officers of the Mint, with respect to weight ; 
 and the extreme accuracy with which they are 
 compelled to work will be shown by the following 
 extract from the first schedule of the Coinage Act 
 1870. 
 
 The imperial weight in grains only is here given : 
 
 Coin. Weight. Remedy. 
 
 Sovereign ... 123-27447 0-20000 
 
 Half-Sovereign 61-63723 o-ioooo 
 
 The standard fineness for gold coins is n-i2ths fine 
 gold and i-i2th alloy, or millesimal fineness 916-666, 
 the remedy being millesimal fineness 0-002 = i*5ooth of 
 a grain, ihe guinea is of the same standard as the 
 sovereign in fineness, but differs in weight, hence its 
 value of 2is. A guinea weighs 5 dwts. 94 grs. ; and 'a 
 sovereign 5 dwts. 3igrs. and a fraction of a grain ; of 
 which 4 dwts. 22f grs. and 4 dwts. 17 grs. respectively 
 are fine gold. Since the reign of George III. guineas 
 have not been coined for circulation. There is also a 
 difference in the colour. Guineas look yellow, while 
 the modern sovereign shows a deep red tint. This 
 denotes an alloy of silver in the former, and one of 
 copper in the latter. Our gold coins are now always 
 alloyed with copper, with the exception of those 
 manufactured by the colonial mint at Sydney, in 
 Australia, for which silver is employed. These can 
 easily be distinguished from English coins by their 
 greenish-yellow cast, even without a close inspection of 
 the impression of the die, which is slightly different upon 
 the obverse side ; whilst upon the reverse, besides other 
 
6i 
 
 distinctive features, it has the word Australia stamped 
 upon it. 
 
 Twenty-two-carat gold, besides being made into coins, 
 is very largely used in the manufacture of wedding 
 rings, which must be of this quality. So keen is the 
 competition in this branch of industry, that a wedding 
 ring may now be purchased from the manufacturer for 
 a very little above its real value in gold. 
 
 Wedding-ring makers have to pay a duty upon their 
 manufaoture of 17s per ounce, i-6th being remitted for 
 loss in finishing; because it is compulsory that this 
 quality should, when made into wedding-rings, be Hall- 
 Marked, and this has to be done when the articles are 
 in a half-finished state; therefore, for every six ounces 
 you pay for five, and so on. For this reason it is usual 
 to melt down the coin of the realm, and for more pur¬ 
 poses than one it is an advantage to wedding-ring 
 manufacturers to do so, for they can then depend upon 
 the quality, and also effect a saving of from 4d to 5d 
 per oz.—a gain to a large firm not to be lost sight of, in 
 these days of eager competition. Twenty-two-carat 
 gold is also used in the manufacture of mourning-rings, 
 but to a more limited extent than the above. In some 
 instances, watch-cases are made of 22-carat gold ; but 
 English watch-cases more commonly consist of 18-carat 
 gold. Watch-cases (English) bear the mark of Gold¬ 
 smith’s Hall as a guarantee of their quality, and are 
 manufactured duty free. 
 
 In Ireland 20-carat gold is a legal standard, and has 
 been so from the year 1784, in the reign of George III. 
 
62 
 
 This standard was established, principally, to 
 encourage the manufacture of watch-cases and jewellery, 
 it being at that time illegal to manufacture articles of 
 this description inferior to 22-carat gold. 
 
 Wedding-rings, if of 18-carat gold, or of the 
 higher standard to which we have already referred, 
 must pay duty upon the manufacture of 17s per oz. 
 i-6th part, as. usual, being remitted for waste in 
 finishing. It is compulsory that these articles should 
 be hall-marked, and bear the stamp of the properly 
 authorised officials of the town in which they are made. 
 
 COLOURS OF GOLD. 
 
 Yellow &old —pure or fine gold, 24 parts. 
 
 Red Gold —fine gold 18 parts, copper 6 parts. 
 
 Green Gold —fine gold 18 parts, silver 6 parts. 
 
 Blue Gold— fine gold 18 parts, iron 6 parts. 
 
 WhiteJGo.lI.— fine gold 12 parts, silver 12 parts. 
 
 According to the provisions of the Assay Act of 1854, 
 15-carat gold can now be assay-marked- as a guarantee 
 of proper fineness, but it is not compulsory unless re¬ 
 quested by the purchaser. There is no duty on its 
 manufacture, neither is there on that of 18-carat gold 
 into chains, studs, lockets, charms, fancy rings, &c. 
 Purchasers of 15-carat goods should beware of an 
 inferior quality of gold introduced into the trade and 
 called 15-carat, bearing a stamp something similar to 
 the hall-mark ; however, this is not the hall-mark, but 
 the private mark of the manufacturer. Nevertheless 
 the general public who are conversant with the prices 
 at which these articles are sold, will at once see that 
 
63 
 
 this is not done with the intention of representing the 
 quality as equal to 15-carat, by a glance at our table of 
 values for the various qualities. We shall now give an 
 account of the different qualities in general use. 
 
 Thirteen-carat gold is called common when speaking 
 of coloured golds, for the reason that it is about the 
 lowest quality that can be conveniently coloured to look 
 rich and beautiful. A slightly inferior quality (121- 
 carat) can be coloured, but 13-carat is about the usual 
 kind employed in all respectable coloured-gold houses. 
 In Birmingham a very large quantity of gold is 
 weekly employed in manufactures of this quality. 
 
 Some firms manufacture nothing else. It is largely 
 made into chains, lockets, pins, studs, sleeve-links, 
 solitares, pendants, braclets, rings, brooches, and 
 filigree ornamentation. In fact, almost every article we 
 can mention has it in some part of its composition. If 
 the reader were to take a walk down any of the principal 
 streets in Birmingham, viz., New Street, Bull Street, or 
 High Street, the vast majority of articles of coloured 
 gold jewellery exhibited in the shops that met his eye 
 would be of this quality, and marked as 15-carat fine 
 gold. The retail purchasers are, of course, in most 
 instances, ignorant of the true value of gold and the 
 art of alloying, and some, on the representations 
 of the shopkeepers, who often know no better, believe 
 that they are buying full 15-carat gold of the proportion 
 expressed in the Act of 1854. It is a difficult matter 
 too, even in this enlightened age, in which the secrets 
 of the goldsmith’s craft are freely and openly expressed, 
 to convince them of the error of their belief. Some 
 
6 4 
 
 manufacturers profess to have secrets in the art of pro¬ 
 ducing good colours for their wares ; and there is, no 
 doubt, a motive for this, namely, the producing a 
 demand for the articles of special firms, well known for 
 excellence of finish, over all others. To understand 
 perfectly the art of alloying gold and silver is of very 
 great importance, and an advantage to manufacturing 
 goldsmiths, besides having a tendency to produce 
 profitable results, more than anything (if the practical 
 part be understood properly) connected with the art of 
 the goldsmith. 
 
 Twelve-carat gold is the best of the bright golds, and 
 is so called to distinguish it from the coloured ; although 
 any of the qualities that are described in speaking of 
 coloured gold may be made bright by a little variation 
 in the mixture of alloy. The demand for articles in this 
 gold is not at present of an extensive nature ; no doubt 
 because the finish of coloured looks more costly and 
 beautiful. No gold inferior to 12-carat will colour 
 to present that appearance which characterises the 
 higher qualities. Twelve-carat gold finished bright has 
 a fine rich sparkling appearance, and when the work¬ 
 manship is good is very imposing ; it is a good quality 
 to work upon, being tolerably soft and ductile, as well 
 as possessing good malleable properties. The quality 
 generally manufactured is a little under the standard 
 fineness, and therefore cannot be hall-marked. Gem,, 
 fancy, and other rings, when made at the full-standard 
 quality, bear the government stamp as a guarantee of 
 its purity. 
 
65 
 
 Ten-carat gold sustains all the characteristics of the 
 former quality, both as regards facility of manufacture 
 and finish ; there are no hall-marks for this kind of gold, 
 and it is very seldom manufactured fully up to the 
 standard, unless specially asked for. A large quantity 
 of goods is made of this quality in Birmingham. 
 
 Nine-carat gold is regularly manufactured into all 
 kinds of bright goods, and this quality, when made 
 fully up to the standard of fineness, is hall-marked. 
 The demand for it is largely increasing. It is chiefly 
 •employed in the manufacture of keeper and fancy rings. 
 
 A good trade has recently sprung up in the manufac¬ 
 ture of solid gold chains of this class of gold. After all, 
 the quality which is most extensively employed in 
 every possible description of manufacture, is usually 
 below this standard, probably it is about carats ; 
 and if properly alloyed will stand the aqua test perfectly 
 well. Nine-carat of properly alloyed gold will stand more 
 than ordinary treatment from the hands of the workman, 
 and may be touched and removed from the annealing 
 pan while still red hot, without injury to any subsequent 
 manipulation of it ; it may also be quenched at any 
 degree of heat in pickle or water, if any advantage is 
 likely to accrue from it; but we strongly object to the 
 continuous quenching of gold alloys at every subsequent 
 process of annealing—partly because every time the 
 metal is quenched in sulphuric acid pickle a portion of 
 alloy in these low qualities is dissolved. 
 
 This improves the quality of the gold, by which the 
 manufacturer does not receive any benefit, but is 
 
66 
 
 actually a loser. 
 
 Nine-carat alloys, if alloyed with too much spelter,, 
 will not present the characteristics we have just named 
 in respect to treatment ; if shaken or touched while hot, 
 they are very brittle and difficult to work ; consequently 
 they take longer in working, and therefore the same 
 quantity of goods cannot be produced in a given time 
 with these alloys, as with those we have just described. 
 The great point in the manufacture of gold articles 
 should be to get the greatest amount of real work out of 
 the smallest amount of material, so as to make the least 
 possible waste or scrap for remelting ; for this reason 
 we say that the alloys which mostly tend to this object 
 are the best for jewellers to use in their manufactures. 
 
 Eight-carat gold is sometimes used in the manufac¬ 
 ture of jewellery, and is often styled 9-carat, in 
 some of the workshops where this quality is somewhat 
 extensively employed. In order to stand the aqua test 
 it must be alloyed with more silver than ordinary 
 g-carat gold, and when finished appears rather paler to 
 the eye; this may be a partial guide as to quality, but 
 not always a sure one. 
 
 Seven-carat Gold is generally termed common Gold, 
 and is about the lowest quality manufactured. 
 
 Gold chains of this quality are now very seldom 
 made. It is mostly used by Locket makers in cheap 
 work, where the backs and fronts are gold, and the 
 edges, &c., are plated. The common alloys of gold 
 
a 
 
 67 
 
 have a much lower fusible point than those of 
 superior quality. 
 
 COINING. 
 
 First of all, the gold is sent from the Bank of England 
 to the Mint in ingots of about 180 oz. each. Every 
 ingot is tried by the Bank assayer, and also by the 
 Mint assayer, in order to ascertain how much each bar 
 differs from the standard (22 carats) of absolute purity 
 or fineness. When the proper fineness has been 
 ascertained, and the mixture of alloy prepared (which is 
 now always copper), the total quantity of gold and 
 alloy, in proper proportions, is taken and divided into 
 lots of 1,200 ozs., for the purpose of being melted into 
 bars. The crucibles used by the master melter are 
 about nine inches deep, by seven inches across the 
 mouth ; and are made of graphite or plumbago. These 
 are well heated previous to the introduction of the 
 ingots of gold and alloy, in order to prevent cracking or 
 flying, which, should it happen, would be serious, when 
 so large a quantity of metal had been added. To 
 ascertain whether a pot is cracked or not, it is well to 
 introduce a cold bar of iron aud let it touch the bottom, 
 when if any crack exists it will at once be visible. If 
 the heating of the crucible has produced no ill effects, 
 the bars of gold and alloy, which have already been 
 prepared, are put in, and thoroughly melted, being 
 finally well stirred with an iron stirrer ; the whole mass 
 is then poured into ingot-moulds, sixteen being placed 
 side by side in a frame ; the pot will hold sufficient 
 metal to fill four ingots holding 300 ozs. each ; 
 consequently, four pots of gold will fill the whole of the 
 ingot-moulds. 
 
68 
 
 When the ingots have become cold, either by quench¬ 
 ing or in the ordinary way, they are stamped with 
 certain letters or figures, and two pieces for assay are 
 cut from each. These two pieces are sent to different 
 assayers, the result of the test being afterwards given 
 to the Master of the Mint, and if found correct, the 
 master melter has properly discharged his duty. 
 
 The sizes of the bars are about 24 in. long by 1-375 
 broad, and about 1 in. thick. When the Master of the 
 Mint is satisfied as to the correctness of the test, they 
 pass into the hands of the weighers. The scales 
 employed are so strong, and at the same time so 
 delicate, that a single grain will give the turn, even when- 
 loaded with 1,000 ozs. 
 
 The bars of gold, when thus accurately weighed, are 
 rolled at the rolling-mill in the manner previously 
 described, then cut into lengths of 18 in. each, again 
 rolled until they are 1-829 inches in width, and 0-053 in 
 thickness, being then equal to rather less than 2in 
 in width, and i-igth of an inch in thickness. This 
 process must be carried out with great care, it 
 being very necessary that all the bars should be 
 of the exact size. The long flat strips of gold thus 
 made are cut up into circular blanks of the size and 
 dimensions of sovereigns and half-sovereigns, by the 
 cutting-out presses. At the Mint twelve of these 
 presses are in daily operation, the mechanism of which 
 is extremely accurate. 
 
 Some of the blanks are taken occasionally and tested 
 as to the proper size and weight, in order to see if the 
 cutting-out presses are properly doing their work ; and 
 
6g 
 
 if they are correct, the cutting-out proceeds. Subse¬ 
 quently, about 720 oz. of blanks are taken and put into 
 a bag, and cax-ried into the weighing-room, where can 
 be witnessed at work several machines of truly 
 marvellous beauty in construction, and of extreme 
 accuracy. They weigh every blank separately, and 
 even go so far as to separate the lighter or heavier 
 coins, in a manner one would suppose the intelligence 
 of man alone could effect — throwing those of the proper 
 weight into one receptable, those too heavy into 
 another, and those too light into a third. These 
 machines are fed by a workman, whose duty it is to 
 place a pile of gold blanks in a kind of trough made on 
 purpose to receive them, and then leave the machines to 
 discharge the other duties attendant upon the process ; 
 the blanks fall one by one into little slits at the bottom 
 of the machine. There are three provided, and to 
 determine which of the three slits shall receive the 
 coins, the machine previously weighs it. These 
 machines will weigh and separate about twenty-three 
 blanks in a minute. 
 
 The sovereign, when completed and ready for circu¬ 
 lation , is almost exactly *868 of an inch in diameter; 1,869 
 sovereigns standard gold (22 carats) weigh exactly 40 
 lbs. troy weight; the legal weight of each can thus be 
 very easily determined. Reduce the 40 lbs. to dwts., 
 and divide the product by 1,869 ; if we then reduce the 
 remainder to grains and again divide, we shall have the 
 weight of 5 dwts., 3±-|-i grs. which is equivalent to 
 123-27,447 grs. the exact weight of a sovereign. It is 
 calculated that there are in circulation in the United 
 
70 
 
 Kingdom sovereigns and half-sovereigns to the value of 
 100,000,000 sterling. 
 
 As coins are subjected to considerable wear, through 
 frequently passing from hand to hand, the amount of 
 loss occasioned is worthy of some little consideration. 
 Of course this amount will be in proportion to the 
 length of time the coins have been in wear. To 
 provide against this, the English Government allows a 
 sovereign to be a legal tender till it is reduced not 
 below i22*5 o rs - (5 dwts. 2§grs.), the difference between 
 this and the full standard weight being the remedy 
 allowed by English larv for abrasion or loss by wear. 
 Consequently, when English gold coins fall below this 
 standard, they cease to be a legal tender. The 
 depreciation of a coin depends upon its hardness, 
 wearing much more when soft, and also upon the 
 rapidity of its circulation. The above law, however, is 
 not strictly carried out. The remedy for abrasion 
 would be a little more than three-quarters of a grain 
 for each sovereign, or decimally *774 grains. 
 
 PRICES CHARGED FOR ASSAYING 
 AND MARKING PLATE. 
 
 (From the Jeweller and Metal Worker Almanack. 
 
 Gold Work. s. d. 
 Each watch case, or box ... o 9 
 
 Each pendant . o 3 
 
 Each sword hilt, or watch 
 
 chain . 1 6 
 
 Each hook, or cane head ; 
 frame for picture ; tooth¬ 
 
 pick case ; coral socket ; 
 spectacle frame ; seal ; 
 medal; spoon ; badge ; 
 pencil case; pap boat; o 10 
 Each buckle, or piece of 
 chain 
 
 ° 5 
 
7 1 
 
 s. 
 
 Each snuff box, or other 
 
 box . I 
 
 Each thimble, brooch or 
 slide ; key ; split ring ; 
 
 blade . o 
 
 Each pair of sleeve buttons o 
 Each ring, coat, or breast 
 
 button. o 
 
 Other gold work, weighing 
 
 30 oz. or under. 2 
 
 Other gold work above 30 
 to 50 oz., and 30 in pro¬ 
 portion . 3 
 
 Least parcel of gold. 1 
 
 Silver Work. 
 
 Diet or large plate, weigh¬ 
 ing above 41b., per lb. 
 
 Troy, 10 grs. 
 
 Shoe clasps ; sleeve but¬ 
 tons, or studs, per doz o 
 Each sword hilt; frame 
 for cruets ; dish stand ; 
 ■cock ; ink stand; dish 
 ■cross; argyle ; bread 
 
 rack . o 
 
 Each badge ; flower frame ; 
 butter cooler; shaving 
 
 pot ; bottle, or lamp. o 
 
 Each coral socket; snuff 
 .and other boxes ; pair of 
 
 spurs . O 
 
 Dozen of tea spoons ; seals; 
 buttons; salt shovels; 
 strainers; salt ladles; 
 or pieces to garnish 
 
 s. d. 
 
 cabinets, knife cases, tea 
 chests, or bridles . o 3f 
 
 Each small wire basket; 
 small pierced basket; 
 mustard can ; funnel; 
 trowel; fish knife. o 3 
 
 Each cheese knife ; pair of 
 snuffers ; canister ; lancet 
 case; table bell; or 
 taper candlestick . o 3 
 
 Each belt buckle ; lock ; 
 runner and pendant; or 
 pieces of guns or pistols o 2£ 
 
 Each watch case, or box ; 
 muffineer book clasp; 
 penholder ; crest ; pickle 
 fork ; napkin ring ; 
 hinge ; tea-pot handle ; 
 busk ; pap boat; escal¬ 
 lop shell; punch ladle ; 
 pierced ladle ; sauce 
 ladle ; basin ; bracelet; 
 crosslet ; boatswain’s 
 call; milk ewer ; pepper 
 box ; bottle stand ; 
 castor ; knife rests ; 
 boat ; scalepan ; medal o 2 
 
 All small mugs or cups, &c., 
 under a pint ; snuffer 
 tray ; shaving brush 
 case ; scissors ; trumpet; 
 dog collar ; larding pin ; 
 nipple shield ; garnishes ; 
 sugar scoop; snuffer 
 bow, or scissors ditto ... o 2 
 
 d. 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 3 f 
 
7 2 
 
 Each orange strainer ; 
 saltcellar; nutmeggrater; 
 butter knife ; skewer; 
 mustard or egg spoons ; 
 pair of tea tongs ; haft ; 
 small blade ; fork; caddy 
 ladle ; bottle ticket; 
 
 wrist band, watch pen¬ 
 dant ; cruet top ; spout; 
 seal; tongue scraper; 
 pencil case, or single 
 cigar tube ; pair of 
 
 buckles . o r 
 
 Least parcel of silver. o 5 
 
 WILLIAM ROBINSON, 
 
 Deputy Warden. 
 
 HOURS. 
 
 The time for taking in work is from 9 o’clock until' 
 9-30 a.m., except on Saturdays, when the work must 
 be sent before 9 o’clock, a.m., to enable it to be assayed,, 
 marked, and ready for delivery before 2 o’clock p.m.,. 
 when the Assay Office is closed. 
 
 THE BIRMINGHAM ASSAY OFFICE 
 
 Is open at 9 o’clock in the morning, and continues- 
 open until the work of the day is completed, on every 
 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Fridajr 
 —except Easter Monday, the Monday in Whitsun-week,, 
 the first Monday in August, and the 26th day of Dec¬ 
 ember, if a week-day, during which time the office is 
 closed. Manufacturers are required to take their work 
 between the hours of 9 and 9-30 o’clock in the morning,, 
 and no work is received afterwards; and they are 
 required to send for their work between the hours of 
 3-30 and 4 p.m., and all work not then sent for remains- 
 in the office until the following office day, at the risk of 
 
73 
 
 the owner. The charges for assaying and marking gold' 
 and silver wares are :— 
 
 Gold. —For each watch chain, is. 6d.; for each' 
 watch case, gd.; for each locket, 3d. ; for every dozen 
 of keeper rings (each ring made of one piece of gold)- 
 and of rings liable to duty, gd.; for similar rings less- 
 than a dozen, each, id.; for other articles, each, id. 
 
 Silver. —For wares weighing five ounces each and 
 upwards, ^-d. per oz.; for solid table spoons, tea spoons,, 
 table forks, and fish carvers, of whatever weight, ^d. 
 per oz.; watch cases and pendants, id. per oz.; wares 
 not included in the foregoing items, id. per oz. W- 
 Westwood, Assay Master. Offices, New Hall-street. 
 
 THE SHEFFIELD ASSAY OFFICE 
 
 Is open on Mondays and Thursdays from g to IO' 
 o’clock for receiving silver goods to be assayed and 
 hall-marked. The charge for assaying and marking is 
 —silver articles weighing less than 5 ounces each, id. 
 per ounce ; silver articles weighing 5 ounces each and 
 upwards £d. per ounce ; and solid table spoons, tea 
 spoons, table forks, pickle forks, and fish carvers, of 
 whatever weight ^d. per ounce. For small aitides 
 weighing 10 dwts. each, or under, 6 d. per dozen, but 
 there is no charge under one shilling.—W. H. Watson 
 and Arnold T. Watson, Assay Masters. Offices,. 
 Leopold-street. 
 
 THE CHESTER ASSAY OFFICE 
 
 Is open every day of the week, with the exception of 
 Christmas Day, Good Friday, and the Bank Holidays. 
 The hours are from 10 a.m. till the work received by 
 
74 
 
 that time each day has been completed. The charges 
 for watch cases are the same as those of London Hall, 
 but for other articles they are nearly similar to those of 
 the Birmingham office.— Jas. F. Lowe, B.A., Assay 
 Master. Offices, Goss street. 
 
 THE NEWCASTLE ASSAY OFFICE 
 
 Is open on Tuesday and Friday morning at 9 a.m., but 
 closed on Good Friday, Christmas Day, &c. The 
 charges for assaying do not differ from the London 
 prices.— James Robson, Assay Master. Offices, Dean 
 cornt, Painter Heugh, Dean street. Postal address, 27, 
 Moseley street. 
 
 THE GLASGOW ASSAY OPFICE 
 
 Is open on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10 to 4, the 
 only holiday being New Year’s Day. The charges for 
 hall-marking are id per oz. for silver, and is per oz. for 
 gold.— James Black, Assay Master. Offices, 48, 
 Buchanan street, and 8, Prince’s square. 
 
 THE EDINBURGH ASSAY OFFICE 
 
 Is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 
 11 until 3 o clock, and is closed on New Year s Day, 
 and the Queen’s Birthda}L the only holidays. The 
 duty on silver at this office is is qd per oz. ; on gold, 
 15s 2d per oz. For marking 15, 12, and g-carat gold, 
 the charge is 1/- per oz., and 1/- is charged for assaying 
 above the marking.— Archibald Pollock, Assay 
 Master. Offices, 98, South Bridge. 
 
75 
 
 LIST OF DATE LETTERS 
 
 At the Goldsmith's Hall, London, 
 
 FROM 1796 TO 1886. 
 
 The year commences at this office on the 30th of May, in each year. 
 The Hall-mark is the Leopard’s head. 
 
 Previous to 1822 the Hall-mark was a Leopard’s head crowned. 
 
 1796-7 
 
 1797-8 
 
 1798-9 
 
 1799-0 
 
 1800-1 
 
 1801-2 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 c 
 
 D 
 
 E 
 
 F 
 
 1802-3 
 
 1803-4 
 
 1804-5 
 
 1805-6 
 
 1806-7 
 
 1807-8 
 
 G 
 
 H 
 
 1 
 
 K 
 
 L 
 
 M 
 
 1808-9 
 
 1809-0 
 
 1810-1 
 
 1811-2 
 
 1812-3 
 
 1813-4 
 
 N 
 
 0 
 
 p 
 
 a 
 
 11 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 1814-5 
 
 1815-6 
 
 
 
 
 
 T 
 
 U 
 
 
 
 1816-7 
 
 1817-8 
 
 1818-9 
 
 1819-0 
 
 1820-1 
 
 1821-2 
 
 a 
 
 b 
 
 C 
 
 d 
 
 e 
 
 f 
 
 1822-3 
 
 1823-4 
 
 1824-5 
 
 1825-6 
 
 1826-7 
 
 1827-8 
 
 g 
 
 h 
 
 © 
 
 1 
 
 k 
 
 1 
 
 m 
 
 1828-9 
 
 1829-0 
 
 1830-1 
 
 1831-2 
 
 1832-3 
 
 1833-4 
 
 n 
 
 0 
 
 P 
 
 q 
 
 r 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 1834-5 
 
 1835-6 
 
 
 
 t u 
 
76 
 
 1836-7 1837-8 1838-9 1839-0 1840-1 1841-2 
 
 1842-3 1843-4 1844-5 1845-6 184 
 
 « S I'U 
 
 1 - 6-7 1847-8 
 
 & 
 
 1848-9 1849-0 185 
 
 n # | 
 
 3-1 185 
 
 1 <] 
 
 1-2 1852-3 1853-4 
 
 I m $ 
 
 1854-5 1855-6 
 
 Ct ® 
 
 The above letters are not exadt, but are as near as could be got ^ 
 the main difference is the absence of the hair-lines in the originals. 
 
 1856-7 1857-8 185 
 
 a li t 
 
 8-9 1859-0 1860-1 1861-2 
 
 ' ii t f 
 
 1862-3 1863-4 1 864-5 1865-6 1866-7 1867-8 
 
 5 1) t It I m 
 
 1868-9 1869-0 187c 
 
 H 0 |. 
 
 >1 187 
 
 r 1 
 
 1-2 1872-3 1873-4 
 
 r 5 
 
 i8 74’5 1875-6 
 
 t is 
 
77 
 
 1876-7 1877-8 1878-9 i 879-° 1881-2 
 
 A B C D E F 
 
 1882-3 1883-4 1884-5 1885-6 
 
 G H I K 
 
 list of date letters 
 
 At the Chester Assay Office , 
 
 FROM AUG. 5, 1797 TO 1884. 
 
 The Hall-mark is a dagger between three wheat sheaves. 
 
 1797-8 
 
 A 
 
 1798-9 
 
 B 
 
 1799-0 
 
 c 
 
 I800-I 
 
 D 
 
 1801-2 
 
 E 
 
 1802-3 
 
 F 
 
 1803-4 
 
 G 
 
 1804-5 
 
 H 
 
 1805-6 
 
 I 
 
 1806-7 
 
 K 
 
 1807-8 
 
 L 
 
 1808-9 
 
 M 
 
 1809-0 
 
 N 
 
 1810-1 
 
 O 
 
 1811-2 
 
 p 
 
 1812-3 
 
 Q 
 
 1813-4 
 
 R 
 
 1814-5 
 
 S 
 
 1815-6 1816-7 1817-8 
 
 T U V 
 
 1818-9 
 
 A 
 
 1819-0 
 
 B 
 
 1820-1 
 
 c 
 
 1821-2 
 
 D 
 
 1822-3 
 
 E 
 
 1823-4 
 
 . F 
 
 1824-5 
 
 G 
 
 1825-6 
 
 H 
 
 1826-7 
 
 I 
 
 1827-8 
 
 K 
 
 1828-9 
 
 L 
 
 1829-0 
 
 M 
 
 1830-1 
 
 N 
 
 1831-2 
 
 0 
 
 1832-3 
 
 p 
 
 1833-4 
 
 9 
 
 1834-5 
 
 R 
 
 1835-6 
 
 S 
 
 1836-7 1S37-8 1838-9 
 
 T U V 
 
78 
 
 1839-0 
 
 sa 
 
 1840-1 
 
 $3 
 
 1841-2 
 
 or 
 
 1 842-3 
 
 JB 
 
 1843-4 
 
 1844-5 
 
 dr 
 
 1845-6 
 
 <& 
 
 1846-7 
 
 1847-8 
 
 j 
 
 1848-9 
 
 m 
 
 1849-0 
 
 ?1 
 
 1850-1 
 
 m 
 
 1851-2 
 
 m 
 
 1852-3 
 
 © 
 
 1 853-4 
 
 1 854-5 
 
 a 
 
 1855-6 
 
 & 
 
 1856-7 
 
 £ 
 
 1857-8 
 
 1858-9 
 
 © 
 
 1859-0 
 
 IT 
 
 1860-1 
 
 rat 
 
 1861-2 
 
 % 
 
 1862-3 
 
 § 
 
 1863-4 
 
 % 
 
 1864-5 
 
 a 
 
 1865-6 
 
 h 
 
 1866-7 
 
 C 
 
 1867-8 
 
 u 
 
 1868-9 
 
 t 
 
 1869-0 
 
 f 
 
 1870-1 
 
 s 
 
 1871-2 
 
 6 
 
 1872-3 
 
 t 
 
 1873-4 
 
 it 
 
 i8 74'5 
 
 I 
 
 1875-6 
 
 in 
 
 1876-7 
 
 1877-8 
 
 1878-9 
 
 1879-0 
 
 1880-1 
 
 1881-2 
 
 n 
 
 0 
 
 p 
 
 q 
 
 X 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 1882-3 
 
 t 
 
 1883-4 
 
 U 
 
 
 
 LIST OF DATE LETTERS 
 
 At the Assay Office, Birmingham, 
 
 FROM JUNE 24,1799 TO 1889. 
 
 The Hall-mark at this Office is an anchor. 
 
 1799-O 1800-I lSoi-2 1802-3 1803-4 1804-5 
 
 abode f 
 
79 
 
 I805-6 
 
 1806-7 
 
 1807-8 
 
 1808-9 
 
 1809-0 
 
 1810-1 
 
 g 
 
 h 
 
 i 
 
 j 
 
 k 
 
 1 
 
 1811-2 
 
 1812-3 
 
 1813-4 
 
 1814-5 
 
 1815-6 
 
 1816-7 
 
 m 
 
 n 
 
 0 
 
 p 
 
 q 
 
 r 
 
 1817-8 
 
 1818-9 
 
 1819-0 
 
 1820-1 
 
 1821-2 
 
 1822-3 
 
 s 
 
 t 
 
 u 
 
 V 
 
 w 
 
 X 
 
 
 
 1823-4 
 
 1824-5 
 
 
 
 
 
 y 
 
 z 
 
 
 
 1825-6 
 
 1826-7 
 
 1827-8 
 
 1828-9 
 
 1829-0 
 
 1830-1 
 
 a 
 
 B 
 
 0 
 
 m 
 
 0 
 
 .IF 
 
 1831-2 
 
 1832-3 
 
 1833-4 
 
 1834-5 
 
 1835-6 
 
 1836-7 
 
 
 m 
 
 j 
 
 m 
 
 H 
 
 jU 
 
 1837-8 
 
 1838-9 
 
 1839-0 
 
 1840-1 
 
 1841-2 
 
 1842-3 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 B 
 
 £ 
 
 1843-4 
 
 1844-5 
 
 1845-6 
 
 1846-7 
 
 1847-8 
 
 1848-9 
 
 
 m 
 
 w 
 
 
 I 
 
 $ 
 
 
 
 1849-0 
 
 
 
 
 
 % 
 
 
 
 
 1850-1 
 
 1851-2 
 
 1852-3 
 
 1853-4 
 
 1854-5 
 
 1855-6 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 G 
 
 D 
 
 E 
 
 F 
 
 1856-7 
 
 1857-8 
 
 1858-9 
 
 1859-0 
 
 1860-1 
 
 1861-2 
 
 G 
 
 H 
 
 I 
 
 K 
 
 L 
 
 M 
 
 1862-3 
 
 1863-4 
 
 1864-5 
 
 1865-6 
 
 1866-7 
 
 1867-8 
 
 N 
 
 0 
 
 P 
 
 Q 
 
 R 
 
 S 
 
 1868-9 
 
 1869-0 
 
 1870-1 
 
 1871-2 
 
 1872-3 
 
 1873-4 
 
 T 
 
 u 
 
 V 
 
 w 
 
 X 
 
 Y 
 
 i374-5 
 
8o 
 
 1875-6 
 
 a 
 
 1876-7 
 
 b 
 
 1877-8 
 
 c 
 
 1878-9 
 
 b 
 
 1879-0 
 
 t 
 
 1880-1 
 
 f 
 
 1881-2 
 
 9 
 
 1882-3 
 
 !) 
 
 1883-4 
 
 t 
 
 1884-5 
 
 k 
 
 1885-6 
 
 1 
 
 1886-7 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 1887-8 
 
 1888-9 
 
 
 
 
 
 tt 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 LIST 
 
 OF DATE LETTERS 
 
 
 At the Assay Office, Sheffield. 
 
 FROM JUNE 24, 1824 TO 1884. 
 
 The Hall-mark at this Office is a crown. Only silver goods are 
 assayed here. 
 
 1824-5 
 
 1825-6 
 
 1826-7 
 
 1827-8 
 
 1828-9 
 
 1829-0 
 
 a 
 
 b 
 
 c 
 
 d 
 
 e 
 
 f 
 
 1830-1 
 
 § 
 
 1831-2 
 
 h 
 
 1832-3 
 
 k 
 
 1833-4 
 
 1 
 
 1834-5 
 
 m 
 
 1835-6 
 
 p 
 
 1836-7 
 
 1837-8 
 
 1838-9 
 
 1839-0 
 
 1840-1 
 
 1841-2 
 
 q 
 
 r 
 
 s 
 
 t 
 
 u 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 1842-3 
 
 X 
 
 5 esq 
 
 00 
 
 M 
 
 
 
 1844-5 
 
 A 
 
 1845-6 
 
 B 
 
 1846-7 
 
 c 
 
 00 
 
 ip 
 
 CO 
 
 M 
 
 1848-9 
 
 E 
 
 1849-0 
 
 F 
 
 1850-1 
 
 a 
 
 1851-2 
 
 H 
 
 1852-3 
 
 I 
 
 1853-4 
 
 K 
 
 1854-5 
 
 L 
 
 1855-6 
 
 M 
 
8i 
 
 1856-7 
 
 N 
 
 1857-8 
 
 0 
 
 1858-9 
 
 P 
 
 1859-0 
 
 R 
 
 1860-1 
 
 S 
 
 1861-2 
 
 T 
 
 1862-3 
 
 U 
 
 1863-4 
 
 V 
 
 1864-5 
 
 W 
 
 1865-6 
 
 X 
 
 1866-7 
 
 Y 
 
 1867-8 
 
 Z 
 
 1868-9 
 
 A 
 
 1869-0 
 
 B 
 
 rs 00 
 0 ? 
 
 1871-2 
 
 D 
 
 1872-3 
 
 E 
 
 1873-4 
 
 F 
 
 1874-5 
 
 G 
 
 1875-6 
 
 H 
 
 1876-7 
 
 J 
 
 1877-8 
 
 K 
 
 1878-9 
 
 L 
 
 1879-0 
 
 M 
 
 
 1880-1 
 
 N 
 
 1881-2 
 
 0 
 
 1882-3 
 
 P 
 
 1883-4 
 
 Q 
 
 
 LIST OF DATE LETTERS 
 
 At the Assay Office , Newcastle-on-Tyne> 
 
 FROM MAY 3, 1800 TO 1888. 
 
 The Hall-mark at this Office, is three castles. 
 
 1800-1 
 
 1801-2 
 
 1802-3 
 
 1803-4 
 
 1804-5 
 
 1805-6 
 
 K 
 
 L 
 
 M 
 
 N 
 
 O 
 
 P 
 
 1806-7 
 
 1807-8 
 
 1808-9 
 
 1809-0 
 
 1810-I 
 
 1811-2 
 
 Q 
 
 R 
 
 S 
 
 T 
 
 u 
 
 W 
 
 
 181c 
 
 2-3 1813 
 
 ,-4 i8i< 
 
 f-5 
 
 
 
 X 
 
 Y 
 
 z 
 
 
 
 1815-6 
 
 1816-7 
 
 1817-8 
 
 1818-9 
 
 1819-0 
 
 1820-1 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 C 
 
 D 
 
 E 
 
 F 
 
 1821-2 
 
 1822-3 
 
 1823-4 
 
 1824-5 
 
 1825-6 
 
 1826-7 
 
 G 
 
 H 
 
 I 
 
 K 
 
 L 
 
 M 
 
 1827-8 
 
 1828-9 
 
 1829-0 
 
 1830-1 
 
 1831-2 
 
 1832-3 
 
 N 
 
 O 
 
 P 
 
 Q 
 
 R 
 
 S 
 
82 
 
 1833-4 
 
 T 
 
 1834-5 
 
 U 
 
 1835-6 
 
 W 
 
 1836-7 
 
 X 
 
 1837-8 
 
 Y 
 
 1838-9 
 
 Z 
 
 1839-0 
 
 A 
 
 1840-1 
 
 B 
 
 1841-2 
 
 c 
 
 18423 
 
 D 
 
 1843-4 
 
 E 
 
 1844-5 
 
 F 
 
 1845-6 
 
 G 
 
 1846-7 
 
 H 
 
 ,_, 00 
 
 00 
 
 1848-9 
 
 j 
 
 1849-0 
 
 K 
 
 1850-1 
 
 L 
 
 1851-2 
 
 M 
 
 1852-3 
 
 N 
 
 1853 4 
 
 O 
 
 1 854-5 
 
 P 
 
 1855-6 
 
 Q 
 
 1856-7 
 
 R 
 
 i—1 
 
 OO 
 
 00 
 
 1858-9 
 
 T 
 
 1859-0 
 
 U 
 
 1860-1 
 
 W 
 
 1861-2 
 
 X 
 
 1862-3 
 
 Y 
 
 1863-4 
 
 Z 
 
 1864-5 
 
 a 
 
 1865-6 
 
 b 
 
 1866-7 
 
 c 
 
 00 
 
 CL Ch 
 
 00 
 
 1868-9 
 
 e 
 
 1869-0 
 
 f 
 
 1870-1 
 
 g 
 
 1871-2 
 
 h 
 
 1872-3 
 
 i 
 
 1873-4 
 
 k 
 
 1874-5 
 
 1 
 
 1875-6 
 
 m 
 
 1876-7 
 
 n 
 
 00 
 
 O 
 
 00 
 
 1878-9 
 
 P 
 
 1879-0 
 
 q 
 
 1880-1 
 
 r 
 
 1881-2 
 
 s 
 
 1882-3 
 
 t 
 
 1883-4 
 
 U 
 
 1884-5 
 
 w 
 
 1885-6 
 
 X 
 
 1886-7 
 
 y 
 
 1887-8 
 
 z 
 
 LIST OF DATE LETTERS 
 
 At the Exeter Assay Office, 
 
 FROM AUGUST, 1817 TO 1877 - 
 The Hall-mark at this Office was a castle with three towers. 
 
 This Office has now become extinct. 
 
 1817-8 
 
 a 
 
 1818-9 
 
 b 
 
 1819-0 
 
 c 
 
 1820-1 
 
 cl 
 
 1821-2 
 
 e 
 
 1822-3 
 
 f 
 
§3 
 
 1823-4 
 
 1824-5 
 
 1825-6 
 
 1826-7 
 
 1827-8 
 
 1828-9 
 
 or 
 
 h 
 
 i 
 
 k 
 
 1 
 
 m 
 
 1829-0 
 
 1830-1 
 
 1831-2 
 
 1832-3 
 
 1833-4 
 
 1834-5 
 
 n 
 
 o 
 
 P 
 
 q 
 
 r 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 1835-6 
 
 1836-7 
 
 
 
 
 
 t 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 1837-8 
 
 1838-9 
 
 1839-0 
 
 1840-1 
 
 1841-2 
 
 1842-3 
 
 & 
 
 33 
 
 <& 
 
 m 
 
 © 
 
 JF 
 
 1843-4 
 
 1844-5 
 
 1845-6 
 
 1846-7 
 
 1847-8 
 
 1848-9 
 
 © 
 
 m 
 
 £ 
 
 m 
 
 % 
 
 m 
 
 1849-0 
 
 1850-1 
 
 1851-2 
 
 1852-3 
 
 1853-4 
 
 1854-5 
 
 n 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 111 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 1855-6 
 
 1856-7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 1857-8 
 
 1858-9 
 
 1859-0 
 
 1860-1 
 
 1861-2 
 
 1862-3 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 C 
 
 D 
 
 E 
 
 F 
 
 1863-4 
 
 1864-5 
 
 1865-6 
 
 1866-7 
 
 1867-8 
 
 1868-9 
 
 G 
 
 H 
 
 I 
 
 K 
 
 L 
 
 M 
 
 1869-0 
 
 1870-1 
 
 1871-2 
 
 1872-3 
 
 1873-4 
 
 1874-5 
 
 N 
 
 0 
 
 P 
 
 Q 
 
 R 
 
 S 
 
 1875-6 1876-7 
 
 T U 
 
8 4 
 
 LIST OF DATE LETTERS 
 
 At York Office, 
 
 FROM 1812 TO 18 57. 
 
 The Hall-mark at this Office was five lions on a cross, the leopard’s 
 head being also impressed as an additional mark. 
 
 This Assay Office has now become extinct. 
 
 1812-3 
 
 1813-4 
 
 1814-5 
 
 1815-6 
 
 1816-7 
 
 1817-8 
 
 a 
 
 i) 
 
 C 
 
 U 
 
 e 
 
 f 
 
 1818-9 
 
 1819-0 
 
 1820-1 
 
 1821-2 
 
 1822-3 
 
 1823-4 
 
 5 
 
 ij 
 
 t 
 
 k 
 
 { 
 
 m 
 
 1824-5 
 
 1825-6 
 
 1826-7 
 
 1827-8 
 
 1828-9 
 
 1829-0 
 
 n 
 
 0 
 
 P 
 
 
 r 
 
 8 
 
 1830-1 
 
 1831-2 
 
 1832-3 
 
 1833-4 
 
 1834-5 
 
 1835-6 
 
 t 
 
 tt 
 
 b 
 
 to 
 
 X 
 
 8 
 
 i 
 
 <x> _ 
 
 CO ^ 
 00 
 
 T— 1 
 
 1837-8 
 
 1838-9 
 
 1839-0 
 
 1840-1 
 
 1841-2 
 
 1842-3 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 C 
 
 D 
 
 E 
 
 F 
 
 1843-4 
 
 1844-5 
 
 1845-6 
 
 1846-7 
 
 1847-8 
 
 1848-9 
 
 G 
 
 H 
 
 I 
 
 K 
 
 L 
 
 M 
 
 1849-0 
 
 1850-1 
 
 1851-2 
 
 1852-3 
 
 1853-4 
 
 1854-5 
 
 N 
 
 O 
 
 P 
 
 Q 
 
 R 
 
 S 
 
 1855-6 1856-7 
 
 T U 
 
85 
 
 LIST OF DATE LETTERS 
 
 At the Assay Office, Edinburgh, 
 
 FROM OCT. 1806, TO 1882. 
 
 The Hall-mark at this Office is a castle. 
 
 1806-7 
 
 1807-8 
 
 1808-9 
 
 1809-0 
 
 1810-1 
 
 1811-2 
 
 a 
 
 b 
 
 C 
 
 d 
 
 e 
 
 f 
 
 1812-3 
 
 1813-4 
 
 1814-5 
 
 1815-6 
 
 1816-7 
 
 1817-8 
 
 g 
 
 h 
 
 i 
 
 j 
 
 k 
 
 1 
 
 1818-9 
 
 1819-0 
 
 1820-1 
 
 1821-2 
 
 1822-3 
 
 1823-4 
 
 m 
 
 n 
 
 o 
 
 P 
 
 q 
 
 r 
 
 1824-5 
 
 1825-6 
 
 1826-7 
 
 1827-8 
 
 1828-9 
 
 1829-0 
 
 S 
 
 t 
 
 U 
 
 V 
 
 w 
 
 X 
 
 
 
 1830-1 
 
 1831-2 
 
 
 
 
 
 y 
 
 Z 
 
 
 
 1832-3 
 
 1833-4 
 
 1834-5 
 
 1835-6 
 
 1836-7 
 
 1837-8 
 
 % 
 
 13 
 
 e 
 
 m 
 
 0 
 
 JF 
 
 1838-9 
 
 1839-0 
 
 1840-1 
 
 1841-2 
 
 1842-3 
 
 1843-4 
 
 < 3 
 
 Ik 
 
 C 
 
 2t 
 
 H 
 
 m 
 
 1844-5 
 
 1845-6 
 
 1846-7 
 
 1847-8 
 
 1848-9 
 
 1849-0 
 
 11 
 
 © 
 
 \i 
 
 © 
 
 M 
 
 £ 
 
 1850-1 
 
 1851-2 
 
 1852-3 
 
 1853-4 
 
 1854-5 
 
 1855-6 
 
 € 
 
 m 
 
 V 
 
 am 
 
 X 
 
 « 
 
 1856-7 
 
 % 
 
86 
 
 1857-8 
 
 1858-9 
 
 1859-0 
 
 1860-1 
 
 1861-2 
 
 1862-3 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 c 
 
 D 
 
 E 
 
 F 
 
 1863-4 
 
 1864-5 
 
 1865-6 
 
 1866-7 
 
 1867-8 
 
 1868-9 
 
 G 
 
 H 
 
 1 
 
 K 
 
 L 
 
 M 
 
 1869-0 
 
 1870-1 
 
 1871-2 
 
 1872-3 
 
 1873-4 
 
 1874-5 
 
 N 
 
 0 
 
 P 
 
 Q 
 
 R 
 
 s 
 
 1875-6 
 
 1876-7 
 
 1877-8 
 
 1878-9 
 
 1879-0 
 
 1880-1 
 
 T 
 
 u 
 
 V 
 
 w 
 
 X 
 
 Y 
 
 1881-2 
 
 z 
 
 LIST OF DATE LETTERS 
 
 At the Assay Office, Glasgow, 
 
 FROM JUNE 24, 1819 TO 1889. 
 
 The Hall-mark at this Office is a tree, fish and bell. 
 
 1819-0 
 
 1820-1 
 
 1821-2 
 
 1822-3 
 
 1823-4 
 
 1824-5 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 c 
 
 D 
 
 E 
 
 F 
 
 1825-6 
 
 1826-7 
 
 1827-8 
 
 1828-9 
 
 1829-0 
 
 1830-1 
 
 G 
 
 H 
 
 I 
 
 J 
 
 K 
 
 L 
 
 1831-2 
 
 1832-3 
 
 1833-4 
 
 1834-5 
 
 1835-6 
 
 1836-7 
 
 M 
 
 N 
 
 O 
 
 P 
 
 9 
 
 R 
 
 1837-8 
 
 1838-9 
 
 1839-0 
 
 1840-1 
 
 1841-2 
 
 1842-3 
 
 S 
 
 T 
 
 U 
 
 V 
 
 w 
 
 X 
 
 1843-4 1844-5 
 Y Z 
 
87 
 
 1845-6 
 
 & 
 
 1846-7 
 
 33 
 
 1847-8 
 
 <£ 
 
 1848-9 
 
 ID 
 
 1849-0 
 
 (B 
 
 1850-1 
 
 3 f 
 
 1851-2 
 
 CTi 
 
 1852-3 
 
 » 
 
 1853-4 
 
 5 
 
 1854-5 
 
 3 
 
 1855-6 
 
 3Bt 
 
 1856-7 
 
 H 
 
 1857-8 
 
 m 
 
 1858-9 
 
 It 
 
 1859-0 
 
 <& 
 
 1860-1 
 
 ¥ 
 
 1861-2 
 
 (SI 
 
 1862-3 
 
 m 
 
 1863-4 
 
 » 
 
 1864-5 
 
 1865-6 
 
 WL 
 
 1866-7 
 
 IT 
 
 1867-8 
 
 1868-9 
 
 
 
 1869-0 
 
 1 
 
 1870-3 
 
 z 
 
 
 
 1871-2 
 
 1872-3 
 
 1873-4 
 
 1874-5 
 
 1875-6 
 
 1876-7 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 C 
 
 D 
 
 E 
 
 F 
 
 1877-8 
 
 1878-9 
 
 1879-0 
 
 1880-1 
 
 1881-2 
 
 1882-3 
 
 G 
 
 H 
 
 1 
 
 J 
 
 K 
 
 L 
 
 1883-4 
 
 1884-5 
 
 1885-6 
 
 1886-7 
 
 1887-8 
 
 1888-9 
 
 M 
 
 N 
 
 O 
 
 P 
 
 Q 
 
 R 
 
 LIST OF DATE LETTERS 
 
 At the Assay Office , Dublin , 
 
 FROM MAY 1821, TO 1885. 
 
 The Hall-mark at this Office is the figure of Hibernia. 
 
 1821-2 
 
 1822-3 
 
 1823-4 
 
 1824-5 
 
 1825-6 
 
 1826-7 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 c 
 
 D 
 
 e E 
 
 F 
 
 1827-8 
 
 1828-9 
 
 1829-0 
 
 1830-1 
 
 1831-2 
 
 1832-3 
 
 G 
 
 H 
 
 I 
 
 K 
 
 L 
 
 M 
 
 1833-4 
 
 1834-5 
 
 1835-6 
 
 1836-7 
 
 1837-8 
 
 1838-9 
 
 N 
 
 O 
 
 P 
 
 Q 
 
 R 
 
 S 
 
88 
 
 1839-0 1840-1 1841-2 1842-3 
 
 T U V W 
 
 1845-6 
 
 Z 
 
 1846-7 
 
 a 
 
 1847-8 
 
 b 
 
 1848-9 
 
 c 
 
 1849-0 
 
 d 
 
 1850-1 
 
 e 
 
 1851-2 
 
 f 
 
 1852-3 
 
 § 
 
 1853-4 
 
 h 
 
 1854-5 
 
 j 
 
 1855-6 
 
 k 
 
 1856-7 
 
 1 
 
 1857-8 
 
 m 
 
 1858-9 
 
 n 
 
 1859-0 
 
 o 
 
 1860-1 
 
 P 
 
 1861-2 
 
 Q 
 
 1862-3 
 
 r 
 
 1863-4 
 
 s 
 
 1864-5 
 
 t 
 
 1865-6 
 
 u 
 
 1866-7 
 
 V 
 
 1867-8 
 
 w 
 
 1868-9 
 
 X 
 
 1869-0 
 
 Y * 
 
 
 
 1870-1 
 
 z 
 
 
 
 1871-2 
 
 A 
 
 1872-3 
 
 B 
 
 1873-1 
 
 c 
 
 1874-5 
 
 D 
 
 1875-6 
 
 E 
 
 1876-7 
 
 F 
 
 1877-8 
 
 G 
 
 1878-9 
 
 H 
 
 1879-0 
 
 I 
 
 1880-1 
 
 K 
 
 1881-2 
 
 L 
 
 1882-3 
 
 M 
 
 
 
 1883-4 
 
 N 
 
 1884-5 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 1843-4 1844-5 
 X Y 
 
ITEMS WORTH KNOWING 
 
 RELATING TO THE JEWELLERY TRADE. 
 
 - ♦- 
 
 Watch Guards, Alberts, and Cases are exempt 
 from duty. 
 
 Duty on Gold is 17/- per oz. ; Silver, 1/6 per oz., 
 troy. Watch Case Makers do not require license to 
 sell the same. No licences are required to sell Gold 
 articles which do not exceed two pennyweights, nor 
 Silver articles which do not exceed four pennyweights, 
 nor for Lace, Wire, Thread, or Fringe ol any kind or 
 weight. Hall-marked Silver is the same quality as 
 coin. 22 carat articles are equal to Gold coin. It is 
 compulsory that all duty-paying articles shall be Hall¬ 
 marked ; also watch cases. The term carat is not an 
 absolutely fixed or real weight for Gold, but denotes 
 the quality ; when speaking of Diamonds it is a real 
 weight, 15H make one English ounce, but it is not 
 tbe same in all countries. There are about 78 million 
 Silver coins in circulation. Yearly loss of silver from 
 all sources, about iA million ounces. Gold coins in 
 circulation, about 68 million. Total loss of gold from 
 all sources in the world, about 15 tons. 
 
 Standard mark, in France, for Gold—Head of a 
 Greek Physician. Hall-mark—Head of an Eagle, or 
 Head of a Horse. Hall-mark for Silver—The Plead of 
 a Wild Boar, or a Crab. 
 
go 
 
 15 carat articles are marked as follows :— 
 
 i-—G. J. The Initials of the Maker. 
 
 2. —15’625 . The Standard Mark. 
 
 3. —Leopard’s Head ... The Hall-Mark. 
 
 4-—H. ... The Date Letter for 1883-4. 
 
 12 Carat Articles— 
 
 i*—G- J. ... The Initials of the Maker. 
 
 2. —12-5 ... The Standard Mark. 
 
 3. —Leopard’s Head ... The Hall-Mark. 
 
 4*—H. ... The Date Letter for 1883-4. 
 
 9 Carat Articles— 
 
 i*—G. J. ... ... The Initials of the Maker. 
 
 2 -— 9'375 ••• ••• The Standard Mark. 
 
 3.—Leopard’s Head ... The Hall-Mark. 
 
 4 *—H. ... The Date Letter for 1883-4 
 
 Old Standard Silver, is marked as follows—- 
 
 i*—G.J. ... The Initials of the Maker. 
 
 2.—Lion Passant ... The Standard Mark. 
 
 3 - —Leopard’s Head ... The Hall-Mark. 
 
 4 - —H. ... The Date Letter for 1183-4. 
 
 5 *—Queen’s Head...Denotes Payment of Duty. 
 
 The above examples of Hall-marking apply alike to all 
 the offices in England, each office using its own re¬ 
 spective Date Letter and Hall-Mark. 
 
 Edinburgh : 
 
 The Initials of the Maker. 
 
 The Quality 22 carats. 
 
 The Standard Mark. 
 
 The Hall-Mark. 
 
 The Date Letter for 1883-4. 
 
 -G.J. 
 
 —22 
 
 —Thistle 
 —Castle 
 —A 
 
 6.—Queen’s Head Denotes payment of Duty 
 
9 1 
 
 There are also 6 similar marks for 18 carat articles sub¬ 
 ject to duty, with the exception of the quality mark 
 which of course is 18. 
 
 22 and 18 carat articles not subject to duty are marked 
 with the above-named first and five marks. 
 
 15 carat articles— 
 
 1. —G. J. ... The Initials of the Maker. 
 
 2. —15 ... ... ... The Quality Mark 
 
 3. —Castle ... ... ... The Hall Mark 
 
 4. —A. ... The Date Letter for 1882-3. 
 
 12 Carat Articles— 
 
 1. —G. J. ... The Initials of the Maker. 
 
 2. —12 ... ... ... The Quality Mark. 
 
 3. —Castle ... ... The Hall Mark. 
 
 4. —A. ... The Date Letter for 1882-3. 
 
 9 Carat Articles— 
 
 1. —G. J. ... The Initials of the Maker. 
 
 2. —9 ... ... ... The Quality Mark. 
 
 3. —Castle ... ... ... The Hall Mark. 
 
 4. —A. ... The Date Letter for 1882-3. 
 
 At this Office the above marks apply also to silver- 
 articles, omitting the qualit}' mark. 
 
 Glasgow : 
 
 1. —G. J. ... The Initials of the Maker. 
 
 2. —22 ... ... ... The Quality Mark. 
 
 3. — Lion Rampant ... The Standard Mark. 
 
 4. —Tree, Fish, and Bell ... The Hall Mark. 
 
 5. —M. ... The Date Letter for 1883-4. 
 
 6. —Queen’s Head...Denotes payment of duty. 
 
 At this office 18 carat articles subject to duty are marked 
 as above, except the quality Mark. 
 
92 
 
 22 and 18 carat articles not subject to duty, are marked 
 with the above named first 5 marks. 
 
 15 Carat Articles— 
 
 1. -—G. J. ... The Initials of the Maker. 
 
 2. —15 ... ... ... The Quality Mark. 
 
 3. —Lion Rampant ... The Standard Mark. 
 
 4. —Tree, Fish, and Bell ... The Hall-Mark. 
 
 5. -—M. ... The Date Letter for 1883-4. 
 
 At this office silver is marked same as gold, quality 
 mark omitted. 
 
 12 and 9 carat articles are marked just the same, except 
 the quality mark, which are 12 and 9 respectively. 
 
 Dublin : 
 
 22 Carat Articles— 
 
 1. —G. J. ... The Initials of the Maker. 
 
 2. —-22 ... ... ... The Quality Mark. 
 
 3. —Harp, crowned ... The Standard Mark. 
 
 4. —Hibernia ... ... The Hall-Mark. 
 
 5. —N. ... ... The Date Letter for 1883-4. 
 
 6. -—Queen’s Head...Denotes payment of Duty. 
 
 20 Carat Articles— 
 
 1. —G. J. ... The Initials of the Maker. 
 
 2. —20 ... ... ... The Quality Mark. 
 
 3. —Plume of Feathers ... The Standard Mark. 
 
 4. —Hibernia ... ... The Hall-Mark. 
 
 5. —N. ... The Date Letter for 1883-4. 
 
 6. —Queen’s Head...Denotes payment of Duty. 
 
 18 Carat Articles 
 
 1. —G. J. ... The Initials of the Maker. 
 
 2. —18 ... ... ... The Quality Mark. 
 
93 
 
 3-—Unicorn’s Head ... The Standard Mark.. 
 
 4. —Hibernia ... ... The Hall-Mark. 
 
 5. —N. ... The Date Letter for 1883-4. 
 
 15 Carat Articles 
 
 1. —G. J. ... The Initials of the Maker.. 
 
 2. —15.625...The Quality and Standard Marks. 
 
 3. —Hibernia ... ... The Hall-Mark. 
 
 4. —N. ... The Date Letter for 1883-4. 
 
 12 Carat Articles— 
 
 1. —G. J. ... The Initials of the Maker.. 
 
 2. —12.5 ... The Quality and Standard Marks. 
 
 3. —Hibernia ... ... The Hall-Mark. 
 
 4. —N. ... The Date Letter for 1883-4. 
 
 9 Carat Articles 
 
 1. —G. J. ... The Initials of the Maker. 
 
 2. —9.375 ... The Quality and Standard Marks. 
 
 3. —Hibernia ... ... The Hall-Mark. 
 
 4. —N. ... The Date Letter for 1883-4. 
 
 - > - 
 
 OLD STANDARD SILVER. 
 
 Dublin : 
 
 Silver articles at this office, like Edingburgh and Glas¬ 
 gow, are marked same as gold, viz : 
 
 1. —G. J. ... The Initials of the Maker. 
 
 2. —Harp, crowned ... The Standard Mark. 
 
 3. —Hibernia ... ... The Hall-Mark. 
 
 4. —N. ... The Date Letter for 1883-4. 
 
 5. —Queen’s Head...Denotes payment of Duty. 
 
 It must be borne in mind that there are only a very 
 few articles comparatively which pay duty, and the 
 same is paid at the Assay Office before the goods are 
 taken away, and if they are afterwards exported, a 
 drawback is allowed. The duty money is handed over 
 to the Government, but the charges for stamping, &c., 
 belong to the office for wages, &c. 
 
STANDARDS OF GOLD & SILVER 
 
 In different Countries of the World. 
 
 In the following table 1000 stands for pure gold or silver. 
 
 COUNTRIES. 
 
 GOLD WARE. 
 
 SILVER 
 
 WARE. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Alsace & Lorraine ... 
 
 920 ... 
 
 840 ... 
 
 75 ° 
 
 950 ... 
 
 800 
 
 [export only. 
 
 France . 
 
 920 ... 
 
 840 ... 
 
 7 ^o 
 
 950 ... 
 
 800 
 
 Lower than this is for 
 
 Austria 
 
 920 ... 
 
 840 ... 
 
 750 ... 580 
 
 950 ... 
 
 900 
 
 The Hall-Mk,Imper- 
 
 ,, ... 
 
 
 
 
 800 ... 
 
 75 ° 
 
 ial Eagle, 2 necks 
 
 Oeneva 
 
 750 ... 
 
 
 
 800 ... 
 
 
 Not Compulsory. 
 
 Basle... 
 
 750 ... 
 
 
 
 7874 -• 
 
 
 
 China 
 
 IOOO ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 Pure Gold. 
 
 Denmark 
 
 750 ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 No Special Laws. 
 
 Belgium 
 
 800 ... 
 
 750 ... 
 
 
 900 ... 
 
 Soo 
 
 Not Compulsory. 
 
 Holland . 
 
 916 ... 
 
 833 
 
 75 o - 583 
 
 934 ••• 
 
 800 
 
 Not Compulsory. 
 
 Egypt . 
 
 750 ... 
 
 
 
 900 ... 
 
 
 
 Turkey 
 
 750 ... 
 
 
 
 900 ... 
 
 
 
 United States 
 
 750 ... 
 
 583 - 
 
 416 ... 
 
 
 
 No Special Laws. 
 
 Italy. 
 
 900 ... 
 
 750 ... 
 
 500 ... 
 
 950 ... 
 
 900 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 800 
 
 
 Spain 
 
 9i6|... 
 
 8 S 3 i- 
 
 750 ... 
 
 9i6|... 
 
 750 
 
 
 Neufchatel ... 
 
 750 ... 
 
 583 - 
 
 
 800 ... 
 
 
 Not Compulsory 
 
 Russia 
 
 850 ... 
 
 750 ... 
 
 5834 •• 
 
 948 ... 
 
 
 
 Pays de Vaude 
 
 750 ... 
 
 
 
 800 ... 
 
 
 Not Compulsory 
 
 Sweden 
 
 976 ... 
 
 8473 — 
 
 7631 - 
 
 8264... 
 
 
 
 Norway 
 
 750 ... 
 
 583 *-- 
 
 
 826.J... 
 
 
 
 Persia 
 
 7584 - 
 
 125 ... 
 
 
 
 
 No Special Laws. 
 
 Japan 
 
 958^... 
 
 750 ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 Great Britain ... 9 .. 
 
 12 ... 15 
 
 ... 18 .. 
 
 . 20 ... 22 & 
 
 24 carats gold, 959 & 925 Silver. 
 
 In nearly all the Countries of the world the Standards are 
 expressed in ioooths ; See the following table, which gives also the 
 highest mint-prices per ounce of Gold. 
 
 4J§. 
 
 IOOO 
 
 I2 5 
 
 IOOO 
 
 250 
 
 IOOO 
 
 375 
 
 IOOO 
 
 _4j6jf 
 
 IOOO 
 
 500 
 
 IOOO 
 
 5 83^ 
 
 Equal 1 
 
 > ’ 3 
 
 „ 6 
 
 > i 9 
 
 „ 10 
 
 >, 12 
 
 „ 14 
 
 Carat 
 
 11 
 
 ? ? 
 
 > 1 
 
 j t 
 
 11 
 11 
 
 £ s d 
 
 o 10 7^ 
 
 1 1 2i 
 
 1 11 io£ 
 
 1 15 4l 
 
 2 2 5f 
 
 2 9 6| 
 
 IOOO 
 
 625 
 
 IOOO 
 
 750 
 
 IOOO 
 
 833*1 
 
 IOOO 
 
 IOOO 
 
 9583 
 
 IOOO 
 
 IOOO 
 
 ? J 
 
 15 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 23 
 
 24 
 
 ? ? 
 1 J 
 7 7 
 7 7 
 ?*> 
 7 7 
 
 2 13 I 
 
 3 3 81 
 
 3 10 9-2 
 
 3 17 ioi 
 
 4 1 5 
 
 4 4 ni 
 
 IOOO 
 
-Me INDEX. 
 
 Assay Office, Birmingham ... 
 
 Chester 
 Edingburg 
 Glasgow 
 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne... 
 
 London 
 
 ,, (Hours of attendance) 
 ,, ,. Sheffield 
 
 Birmingham, Assay Office ... 
 
 ,. Date Letters 
 ,, Hall Mark 
 Brilliants, prices of ... 
 
 ,, weights and prices 
 Chester, Assay Office 
 ,, Date Letters 
 ,, Hall Mark ... 
 
 Date Letters, list of... 
 Diamonds, celebrated 
 
 cleaving 
 colored ... 
 explanation of terms 
 dust 
 
 cutting and polishing ... 
 general account of 
 from the Cape ... 
 from Brazil 
 from India 
 green 
 
 method of valuing 
 perfections and imperfections 
 red ... . 
 
 m rough . 
 
 ,, tables of weights and prices 
 
 Emeralds, general account of 
 
 ,, prices of ... . 
 
 Garnet, new varieties of 
 Gold, general account of ... 
 
 ,, its qualities, &c. 
 
 ,, value per oz. from 7 to 24 carat 
 
 ,, nett price of fine 
 
 ,, 24 and 22 carat 
 
 ,, 20 and 18 carat 
 
 ,, 15 carat 
 
 ,, 13 carat 
 
 ,, 13 carat 
 
 PAGE 
 
 72 
 
 73 
 
 74 
 74 
 74 
 70 
 
 72 
 
 73 
 
 72 
 
 78, 79, 80 
 ... 89 
 
 43 
 
 45 
 
 73 
 
 ... 77, 78 
 ... 89 
 
 75 
 
 43 
 33 
 42 
 
 52 
 
 32 
 
 33 
 7 
 
 37 
 
 39 
 
 41 
 
 42 
 
 54 
 
 53 
 
 42 
 
 44 
 44 
 14 
 47 
 
 48 
 
 15 
 
 57 
 
 57 
 
 58 
 
 59 
 
 61 
 
 62 
 
 63 
 
 64 
 
96 
 
 Gold io and 9 carat. 
 
 ,, 8 and 7 carat. 
 
 ,, colouring r ~ ... ••• ••• . 
 
 ,, coining... ••• 
 
 ,, articles, prices of stamping, &c. 
 
 ,, size of the bars ... . 
 
 Hall Marks, list of ... 
 
 Hours of attendance at the Assay offices... 
 
 Jasper, general account of ... 
 
 List of Date Letters. . 
 
 Pearls, account of ... 
 
 ,, value of 
 
 Precious Stones, cutting of ... 
 
 9J ,, the forms of 
 
 ,, objects of commerce . 
 
 ,, working of 
 
 Preface ... ••• ■ ••• ••• _ ••• 
 
 Prices of Assaying and Stamping ... 
 
 Ruby, general account of ••• 
 
 Rubies, spinel and balas prices of... 
 
 ,, prices of 
 
 Sapphire, general account of . 
 
 ,, price of ... 
 
 Sovereign, circulation of 
 
 ,, exact weight of ... ... — 
 
 ,, when too light ... 
 
 Standards of Gold and Silver in different countries 
 
 ... 65 
 
 66 
 
 ... 67 
 
 ... 67 
 
 70 
 68 
 
 ... 89 
 
 72 
 
 28 
 
 75, 77, 78, 80 
 49 
 
 ... 56 
 
 34 
 
 35 
 35 
 
 31 
 
 1 
 
 70 
 
 29 
 
 ... 48 
 
 45 
 
 30 
 
 ... 46 
 
 ... 69 
 
 69 
 
 70 
 
 -—k-- 
 
 By kind permission of Mr E. W. Streeter, F.R.G.S., of Bond 
 Street, London, I have copied the matter from Page 31 to 32, with 
 the exception of most of pages 33 34 and the tables at page 44 ^ 
 
 from his valuable and well known copywright work, ‘ Precious 
 Stones and Gems.'' 
 
 Also the matter from Pages 37 & 67, from Mr G. E. Gee's 
 valuable work, “ The Goldsmith's Handbook, (by permission). 
 
 - > - 
 
 pg,B .— This work is entered at Stationers' Hall, and all rights 
 reserved. To be had only of the publisher, ( and his agents), IV. Redman, 
 163, Bowling Old Lane, Bradford. 
 
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