New-York tribune., 1906-07-01

Fourteen carat should be 5sS Is fine and Is
carat $50 fine. According TO the new law the
fneness must not fall more than $1,000 under
those figures The alloys always vary to some
extent. On this slip you will see that one melt
ing assays at .5S4. another .5s5 and some at 5S2
On the Is carat they run from .749 to 1853. Some
manufacturers tried marking the fneness on the
cases instead Of the carat. but the public did
not know what .5S5' meant, whereas they looked
for the more familiar carat mark, Many
watches are sold with the carat mark the
centre only. that the manufacturer some
times feels at liberty to make the back and cap
gold filed. We always stamp centre, back and
cap. Gold filed cases are popular and have
practically driven silver out of the market.
Gold filled cases are usually warranted to wear
twenty years. Sometimes they have only enough
gold to last five years. are stamped warranted
twenty years. but the maker carefully forgets
to stamp his name. Cases marked II carat
special are only gold filed"
There was considerable opposition from GER
tain quarters to the silver stamping law passed
ten years ago in this state said D. l. Stafford.
secretary OF the Jewellers Board of Trade. "Oue
of the clauses Of that law permitted the retail
ers to make the manufacturer out of the state
put up a bond of 5000 to cover any action
brought against retailer for seIlins. as sterling
any silver article that would not assay up
to the proper standard. But the manu-
The department stores, which fought the bill
would not to-day buy spurioUsly marked silver
was OF immense value in increasing sales. No
bonds are asked now. and relations friendly.
"STERLIEE" SILVER.
There may be some fraudulently marked sill
yer on sale in some Out-of-the-way places, but
1 doubt t. There is firm that manufactures
line of silver plate marked 'SterlinE, but the
E at the end is large. so that no one is deceived
There was time when various words were
used with the intention to deceive. 'Stearling'
was enc of them. One trick before the law
passed was to make cheap alloy spoon with
a thin coating of sterling silver on the bowl
The inside of the bowl. where this coating was
would bear the stamp Sterling The happy pos
SCISSOR would see this stamp OF quality every
time he raised the spoon to his mouth, which
seems like insult added TO injury. as all the rest
OF the spoon was only 10 per cent silver
England has recently passed new laws relat-
ing 10 stamping gold They had a trick over
there OF making brass watchchain with a solid
Sold swivel bar. which stamped with the
carat and hall marks and the whole thing sold
1or gold. Now they are ordered by law TO
stamp each link as we'll. Last week a Maiden
Lane jobber bought at second hand gold watch
chain alleged TO be rs carat and bearing the we'll
known English hall mark. 1t turned out TO be
brass dipped in gold. but with solid gold swivel
bar. The English WatchmakerS use much more
solder than the honest makers over here The
new law permits a divergence Of not more than
one carat in the whole article nor more than
half a carat in any one part. Jewellers say that
the public demands better goods to-day than
hooves the public 70 be careful Just at present,