Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-12-13
GOODS OF GOLD AND SILVER.
How Jewellers Merchandise Ii Made to Order
by the Trade

ssT GET $50 barrel for the sweepings of my
l. floor" said manufacturing jeweler TO a
STAR reporter. There is no question Of poking
the dust over before tbs bought. The people who
purchase ii are glad enough TO take il at that
rate unsight-unseen. as the boys say. l sell the
stuff to the refiners, who make a business of
buying refuse that has precious metals in it and
separating it. The gold and silver they get in
this way are sold by them to jewellers in turn =
Il buy from the refiners or from the assay
Office the gold and silver use. getting it al.
ways perfectly pure-that is to say. twenty.
four carats. Then make my alloys for my
self, putting the desired proportions Of gold.
silver and copper into one of these little three
cornered earthern pots and melting them all
up together with fire. The copper l use is like
what have here in this box. You see il some
what resembles shot of different sizes. The
copper is chemically pure and when being pre-
pared Is poured from the smelling pot held at
some height into receptacle full of cold
water. which is kept stirred rapidly. Upon
striking the water the metal takes the form OF
these globuleS 1t is much more convenient IN
this shape, because We can weigh il out readily
In any proportion desired.
The silver and gold we get it is melted mp
with the copper In proper proportions for the
alloys and east in iron molds. Thus prepared
the lngotS are tattened ont under a powerful
roller TO the thickness desired. From these
slabs the pieces, OF sizes needed for one pur-
pose or another. are cut of with big machine
knife. OF every new design that is brought into
a manufacturing jewelers. shop q pattern Is
made IN enc or copper, so that when something
OF the same kind Is ordered all the workman has
to do il to lay the pattera upon the little slab
of gold. trace its outlines on the metal and af
terward saw out the article. Such saving is
done with what is called a pierce saw. which
has blade like n fine wire and no thicker, with
little teeth. These saws are cheap. costing only
so cents gross. bus the work they do Is Won
derful in the hands of a skilled operator.
IF a ring is to be made the strip of gold Of
the proper width is bent around by a contriv-
ance specially adapted to the purpose and
Joined with gold solder artfully that the
place of iuncture cannot possibly be discov-
cred. Surprising tina: a watch chain is to be
produced the melted gold is first made into a
square bar of the length wished for and then
pulled through round hole. Still il is too
large and SO it is drawn through successive
round holes. each one smaller than that pre-
cedinS, until it is a wire of the required diane
ter. Then IL only remains to cut of.
bend, solder and connect the links in
order to complete the chain. The chief
part of our business consists in doing stock
work for the jewelers.. They send us all sorts
of things to make. Tor example. they want
six rings, each with a one-carat diamond. In
conveying the order the dealer incloses the six
one-carat diamonds in piece of paper folded
up writing on the outside the brief directions
that there are to be half a dozen rings, each
with single stone. My business thereupon is
to make the rings. set the stones and deliver
the goods as ordered. l should never think of
advertising myself to the public. because peo-
pie might be disposed to come 20 me directly
for work. and. although might be paid more
for an individual job, should lose the GUS
tom Of the jewelers., upon whose patronage
l am obliged to depend. Jewellers recently
have taken to selling hair brushes and other
articles which compose toilet sets. with backs
of sterling silver richly chased. People gener-
ally are not aware how this chasing lis done.
The ignorant imagine that the designs in silver
on the backs of the combs and brushes are
stamped out with dies. but as a matter of fact
they are always made by hammering with blunt
tools from the wrong side of the silver. so as to
fetch out in relief the patterns. This process
requires the greatest skill, and it is for this
reason. rather than for the value of the meta,
that goods Of the sort cost SO much"