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Page 16
[Footnote 20: "Every-Day Book", _loc. cit_.]
In Shakespeare's day the "goldsmiths" were also jewellers and gem
dealers, and often money-lenders as well. The settings of the finest
precious stones were at that time generally of gold, rarely of silver.
Platinum, the metal that now enjoys the greatest furore for diamond
settings, was then unknown in Europe; it was first brought to Europe
in 1735, from South America, having been found in the alluvial
deposits of the river Pinto, in the district of Choco, now forming
part of the United States of Colombia. The Spaniards had named it
_platina_, from its resemblance to _plata_, silver. The
chief source in our time is Russia, the richest deposits being those
discovered in 1825, on the Iss, a tributary of the Tura, in the Urals.
Other valuable deposits are in the district of Nizhni-Tagilsk.
Platinum also occurs in Brazil, California, and British Columbia,
associated with gold, as well as in Borneo, New South Wales,
Australia, and in New Zealand. Its use in gem-mountings began about
1870, and from 1880 onward it has become more and more favored, until
now it has almost entirely superseded gold in the finest jewelry,
especially for diamond settings. Long before the metal was known and
used in Europe, ornamental use of it was made in South America, in the
district we have mentioned, the material not being fused, but simply
forged out of the nuggets found in the deposits.
That but few fine diamonds were in Europe when Shakespeare wrote has
already been noted; indeed, the annual importation from India, then
the only source, can hardly have exceeded $100,000 on an average,
while at the present day the value of the diamonds from the great
African mines imported into Europe and America amounts to from
$40,000,000 to $60,000,000 each year.
In King James's reign, besides Heriot, William Herrick (brother of
Nicolas) and John Spilman were appointed jewellers to the king, queen,
and prince, the annual emoluments being �50 annually. It is stated
that Herrick furnished jewels worth �36,000 to Queen Anne of Denmark.
Such of her many jewels as were to be found when she died are said to
have been left to her son, later Charles I, and none to her daughter
Elizabeth, later Queen of Bohemia and ancestress of many of the
sovereigns of Europe, as well as of the present reigning house in
England. Unfortunately for her heir, a great part of the jewels had
been embezzled, and could not be recovered, although models of many
had been carefully preserved by William Herrick, who swore that the
originals had been delivered to the queen. Less notable jewellers of
King James's day were Philip Jacobson, Arnold Lulls, John Acton, and
John Williams. One of them, Arnold Lulls, has left a fine set of
contemporary drawings representing jewels of the epoch; these are now
to be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. As an instance
of the value of some of the jewels of his design, it is recorded that
the sum of �1550 was paid for a diamond jewel with pearl pendants and
two dozen buttons, furnished to the king to be bestowed upon the
queen at the christening of the Princess Mary in 1605.[21]
[Illustration: Diamond cutter's shop, eighteenth century, in which the
diamond-cutting mill is operated by "man-power". Published in the
Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure, by John Hinton, England,
July, 1749]
[Footnote 21: H. Clifford Smith, "Jewellery", London, 1908, p. 302.]
While the jeweller's art in England was still under the influence of
foreign goldsmiths in Elizabeth's time, it had to a considerable
extent emancipated itself from foreign control in the latter part of
her reign and in that of her successor. In addition to George Heriot,
whom we have just noticed, several others are well worthy of mention,
such as Dericke Anthony, Affabel Partridge, Peter Trender, and Nicolas
Herrick,[22] the father of the poet Robert Herrick, who makes many a
telling use of the colors and charm of precious stones and pearls in
his dainty poems. To these must be added Sir John Spilman, of German
birth, who made many jewels at the royal command.
[Footnote 22: H. Clifford Smith, "Jewellery", London, 1908, pp. 219,
220, 301.]
We should remember that for the cutting of precious stones steam-power
was not then available, "man-power" being employed. A large turning
wheel was pushed around by a man holding a bar extending from it. The
motion of this large wheel was transmitted to other smaller ones. The
number of revolutions per minute hardly exceeded a few hundred, while
in modern times a speed of from 2000 to 2500 revolutions per minute
is attained. The diamond cutting industry was largely in the hands of
Jews in Lisbon.
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