The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1905-11-16

metal fork which form part Of the
apparatus, the. diamond is held against
the revolving disc, and as sometimes
a stone less than an eighth of an inch
in diameter has 100 facets, great nice
~ on the part of the workman Is re-
quired, and the position of the dia-
mond is changed more than 100 times
before the requisite lustre and finish
are secured. The pollsher works al.
ways with a magnifying glass, and
makes from $500 TO $500 a day.
Three HI ndred Diamonds In Necklace
In the 100000 necklace mentioned
there were 800 diamonds. Allowing
three days brutage trough shaping).
and three months polishing on each.
the sum expended for these two items
alone amounts TO $4,000.
After the stones arrived at the jew
eller's, they had. OF course, to be
mounted. To this end the big shops
OF Paris employ a staff Of designers,
goldsmiths, silvcrsmiths. settlers and
polishcrs. Usually, the designers are
men who have come into the shop In
less important capacity, shown talent
been sent by the firm to an art school
and put through course of instruc-
ton. According TO his ability. de-
signer earns from 500 10 Sl60 a month.
He may work for months without pro-
ducing q single sketch that goes TO the
studios. then in week he will turn
out two or three that meet the diff
cult taste of the employer. Designs
are done In water colors.
In Paris, the real jcwcllcr Is not the
owner of the shop. but the craftsman
who fashions the gold or platinum in
to the skeleton that holds the precious
stones. In America he is called a
gold or sllversmith. Each separate
clasp or gem-holder goes first to the
assemblies, or Joins together, the entire
frame for the necklace. tiara, or
whatever the design may call for, and
again 10 the polisher
The setter. as his name indicates,
fastcns or sets the diamonds into the
framework. and sends it ON a last visit
to the polisher.
PoIishers are Women.
The polishers are usually women.
As a rule they work in groups OF five
or six under patroness, Who Keeps
q little apartment In narrow street
of Montmartre, Gallon, Mail, or some
other cheap and crowded quarter OF
Paris. With good luck the patroness
makes from $1,000 to $1,000 Il year
The polishers are taken rs apprentices
at II years OF age. At IL they may
get forty to sixty cents n day, and a.
IS dollar to Il dollar twenty.
The labor of all these craftsmen OF
the necklace in mind amounted {,
about $500, which added to S110,70'
for preparing the diamonds, AM
deducted from the selling price o
100000 left only $S9.000 to cover cos
of rough stones. incidental expense o
handling. etc, could not have lief
any phenomenal profit for the min
owner who dug and delivered them t
the cutter. Such necklace is said I
furnish work enough to support 40
families for year. or course, thi
does not take into consideration tn
workers in the mines. nor the heav
staff of clerks and officials necessar
to carry on the big diamond producin
fields. The business of finishing tn
raw diamond for the final purchase
offers the best paid labor to be foun
in Europe. Owing to the duty on Gu
gems brought into this country, Amer
lean dealers are building up simila
industry in the United States, and |
Is rational to suppose that the crafts
, men employed in this country Wi
receive even still higher wages tina
= those paid abroad.