The Snippet - Past News of the Silver Trade

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HARSH FINE FOR CUTLERY SALESMAN

London


When Maurice Speculand, Hendon Park Mansions, Hendon, appealed at Middlesex Sessions on October 16 against a fine of £4,040 imposed by Hendon justices for failing to register for purchase tax, the fine was reduced to £2,000.

It was stated that Speculand, who was selling cutlery on his own account, was a man of the highest integrity, and there was no suggestion of fraud. The maximum fine to which he was liable was £7,980. He had already served 14 days in Wormwood Scrubs because he could not find sureties.

Source: Jeweller & Metalworker - 1st November 1945

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OLGA TRITT

United States


Women Jewelry Designer on European Purchasing Trip

Olga Tritt, one of America’s leading woman gem authorities and jewel designers, left for London today via Pan American World Airways.

Miss Tritt will visit London, Paris, Antwerp and Holland for the purpose of purchasing unset diamonds and other precious stones. She plans to be gone about six weeks.

"This is my first trip in seven years," said Miss Tritt who, prior to the war, averaged two trips abroad, each year. She will be available for interview at the Ritz Hotel, London.

Source: The American Horologist and Jeweler - June 1946

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HAMILTON ANNOUNCES THE PURCHASE OF BIGGS Co.

Stamford, Connecticut


Charles C. Smith, president of Hamilton Watch Company, announced that all the stock of Ralph W. Biggs and Company, Inc., Stamford, Connecticut, was purchased by Hamilton on August 21, 1951.

Mr. Smith explained that the Biggs Company will be continued as a wholly owned Hamilton subsidiary without any changes of policy. Messrs. Ralph W. Biggs and Morris Weiner, the founders and former owners of the Biggs Company, have been retained by the company and will continue to supervise sales and production.

“The entire organization that has done such an excellent job of building prestige and reputation for the Biggs line of fine diamond and gold watch cases will be retained,” said Mr. Smith.

Source: The American Horologist and Jeweler - October 1951

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ANCHOR SILVER PLATE Co.

Saint Paul, Minnesota


Fire destroyed the interior of the factory of the Anchor Silver Plate Co., of St. Paul, Minn., on September 19th. The company which had attained a position of considerable importance in the silver-plate industry in the Northwest, was capitalized at $150,000, had a total capital of $190,000 and with $120,000 of insurance, and employed one hundred and twenty-five people. The fire is especially deplorable at this time, as the company was working overtime, filling orders when the conflagration forced a temporary suspension.

Source: The Keystone - October 1905

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FIRE AT PROVIDENCE

Providence, Rhode Island


An early morning fire on Sunday in the four-story brick building at 104 Point St., owned by Frederick M. Swartz, resulted in considerable loss for the occupants. The fire started in the Swartz Mfg. Co., manufacturers of jewelers’ findings on the second floor through some undetermined cause and was discovered at 5 o'clock. The building and equipment at this floor suffered considerably. Machinery and fixtures of Pease & Curran, gold refiners on the first floor, was badly damaged by water.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 31st December 1919

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QUOTAS FROM JAPAN

United Kingdom


Until September 30 the quota for imports from Japan of precious jewellery, goldsmiths' and silversmiths' wares, other than cutlery, forks and spoons, is £75,000, it has been announced by the Board of Trade. The quota for metal jewellery chain of a kind suitable for personal wear, £20,000, for cutlery, forks and spoons, £35,000; and for artificial pearls, mounted, set or strung, £60,000.

Source: Watchmaker, Jeweller & Silversmith - February 1963

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COURVOISIER, WILCOX Mfg. Co.

New York


As we continue to receive letters from jewelers requesting Information as to the present whereabouts of the Courvoisier, Wilcox Mfg. Co., we have to inform those interested that this company has passed out of existence. Its affairs were placed in the hands of a receiver and closed out some months ago, the plant and machinery having been finally disposed of at public auction.

Source: The Keystone - October 1905

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DIAMANTE BRILLIANTS

London


A week or two ago four well-dressed men entered a London tavern and had dinner. When the moment came to pay, they said that they had no money with them, but would leave a valuable diamond ring. A few days later they called, settled the previous account, had another dinner, talked to the proprietor, and finally sold him the ring for £55. He considered that he had made a good bargain, because whilst it had been in his possession, he had taken it to a jeweller, who pronounced it to be worth £100. The guests, however, had on their second visit substituted an imitation facsimile for the genuine ring.

Imitation diamonds are now made which are almost impossible to distinguish from genuine ones. No one, therefore, ought to buy a diamond of any value nowadays without submitting it to an expert. There are " stones " to be seen at Thornhill's which are called "diamantés brilliants," which might pass anywhere as diamonds.

Source: The Truth - 1st May 1884

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JAPANESE CULTURE PEARLS

London


Letters to the Editor.

A notice has recently appeared in the daily Press, signed by a number of jewellers, with reference to Japanese "culture" pearls. This notice, besides endorsing the opinion expressed by the diamond, pearl, and precious stones section of the London Chamber of Commerce that “the insertion of foreign matter placed in the oyster’’ disqualifies the culture pearl from competing with the pearl produced without the aid of man, declares that "cultured" pearls can be distinguished from Indian pearls.

The first of the above statements was justly ridiculed at the time it was made by Sir Arthur Shipley in a letter to the Times (May 7, 1921), and is not likely to be taken seriously by the more intelligent members of the pearl-purchasing public.

The second statement is, however, sufficiently in-exact to be liable to mislead the public. The only established difference between the culture pearls now on the market and “Indian” pearls, a difference revealed by their different fluorescence under ultra-violet light, is one that holds good also for ‘‘naturally produced’’ pearls from the Japanese pearl oyster, and is due to minute differences in the optical properties of the nacre of the Persian Gulf and Japanese oysters. An attempt is thus made to depreciate culture pearls by confusing them with naturally produced Japanese pearls, while the fact that culture pearls produced in other localities, or in other species or races of pearl oysters, will probably be indistinguishable from naturally produced pearls from the same sources is not mentioned.

It is a significant fact that the English pearl merchants and jewellers have apparently made no attempt to obtain and publish scientific opinions on the problems raised by the coming of the ‘‘culture pearl.’’ This will probably prove in the end a short-sighted policy. It is quite likely that the values of the stocks of "natural" pearls which are held by merchants and others will suffer very much more from the uncertainty and confusion which are created by statements like those referred to here than they would have suffered from a full and frank explanation to the public of the exact nature, and probable future development, of the Japanese discovery. This discovery, important as it is as a scientific achievement, need not have produced the panic which, to judge from their behaviour, seems to prevail in certain sections of the precious stones trade. If at the outset the merchants and jewellers had acted as realists instead of behaving (and thinking they could induce the public to behave) in the manner so often wrongly attributed to the ostrich, it is quite likely that the pearl market would by this time have adjusted itself to the change.

H. Lyster Jameson.

Source: Nature - 22nd December 1921

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TO LISTEN TO THE CONCERT...... GO TO THE JEWELERS!

Topeka, Kansas


A complete radio telephone set, including a two stage amplifier and a magnavox, was recently installed at the C. A. Wolf jewelry store, Topeka, Kans. The outfit has been attracting a great deal of interest locally and has been an excellent method of advertising the store. When the apparatus was being installed several hundred persons gathered in front of the store. Recently the store has been catching concerts from Detroit, Mich., and a sermon preached by William Jennings Bryan recently was picked up. The equipment is capable of receiving from any part of the United States, Mr. Wolf stated. It will be operated frequently and the public will be at liberty to visit the store and hear the concerts picked up. Mr. Wolf believes the wireless telephone set will be very valuable in advertising the store and attracting trade.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 12th April 1922

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THE BRITISH INDUSTRIES FAIR - 1933

London


The jewellery trade will also be represented by more extensive and varied exhibits. These are to be housed in the Jewellers’ Hall, planned by the Birmingham Jewellers’ and Silversmiths’ Association. A number of co-operative displays, combining exhibits of various firms will be grouped attractively. In addition to what is being done by Birmingham jewellers, the Manufacturing Silversmiths’ Association of London has organised a large composite scheme to which a number of London firms and the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths are contributing.

Source: The Board of Trade Journal - 22nd December 1932

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JEWELLERY SALES

United Kingdom


Sales of independent jewellers have shown a continuous increase since February, and the latest rise of 2 per cent. in August, compared with July, brought the index number of sales to 133. August sales were 32 per cent. higher than a year earlier, a larger increase than that for the most nearly comparable departments of the large-scale shops (22 per cent.), but for the period February—August, the rises in sales, compared with a year earlier, were very similar— 15 and 18 per cent. respectively.

Source: The Board of Trade Journal - 11th October 1947

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BURGLARS ABANDON THEIR LOOT IN THE STRAND

London


After climbing an external fire escape, clambering over a series of rooftops and swinging themselves across a 20-foot well-drop to the rear window of Cornell & Higgins, Strand jewelers, two gymnastic burglars eventually lost their nerve and bolted, leaving a basket on the sidewalk packed with jewels valued at $15,000. Cornell & Higgins are opposite the Gaiety Theater and within a stone’s throw of Bow St. police station. A workman saw two men sliding down a rope at 5 A. M. into a courtyard of Somerset House, which is bounded by a brick wall and surmounted by iron railings six feet high. The men had lowered their basket of jewelry by means of the rope. Surprised by the appearance of the workman, the two men immediately clambered up the other side of the courtyard into the main square and escaped, leaving the basket of jewelry on the ground. Evidently the couple had swung themselves across to the jewelers’ back window by means of a rope. The slightest slip would have thrown them into a well 20 feet below. They sawed through iron bars at the window thus gaining entrance. The front display windows were systematically rifled. These windows are fitted with a grille, through which the police peep while on their rounds. Scotland Yard claims to have finger prints and other clews that may lead to an arrest.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 28th March 1923

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DANFORTH COMPANY TAKES OVER MERWIN-WILSON

New Milford, Connecticut


Danforth Company Takes Over Merwin-Wilson Factory

The Danforth Company, a new corporation organized in New Haven and named for Samuel Danforth, Connecticut’s famous Colonial maker of pewter, has taken over the operation of the Merwin-Wilson factory in New Milford. Robert Oliver, former president and general manager of the A. B. Hendryx Company of New Haven is president of the Danforth Company. He has taken up residence in New Milford and will have entire charge of the company’s operations. Associated with Mr. Oliver as directors of the Danforth Company are: vice president, Creighton Barker; treasurer, Edgar B. Grier, of Charles W. Scranton & Company, investment bankers; secretary, Claude B. Morehouse, and Joseph B. Morse of Pond, Morgan & Morse, attorneys of New Haven.

The new company plans to continue the manufacture of high grade pewter and silverware of fine design which has made the Merwin-Wilson firm favorably known in the trade for many years. The repair department, famous for its skillful craftsmanship in the restoration and repair of pewter and silver, will be continued. The factory is now engaged in the production of a new line of samples for display at the National Giftware Shows to be held in Chicago and New York during March.

Source: Connecticut Industry - March 1936

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GEORGE E. BERRY

Meriden, Connecticut


George E. Berry of Meriden has just recently been made superintendent of the Wilcox Silver Plate Company, Factory N of the International Silver
Company, Meriden, to replace Charles O. Arnold of 189 Camp Street, who retired a few days previous after 51 years of service with the silverware concern. Erving R. Bushnell of 81 Lincoln Street, Meriden was named assistant superintendent to succeed Mr. Berry.

The new superintendent entered the employ of the Wilcox Silver Plate Company some thirty years ago in the finishing department.

Source: Connecticut Industry - June 1940

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PIERRE CARTIER

Paris


Word comes from the seat of war in France that Pierre Cartier, head of the Paris jewelry house of Cartier and well-known in this city, is serving as an officer in the French army and is acting as chauffeur for the commander of the defense at Cherbourg. His wife, it was learned, is serving as a Red Cross nurse in a hospital at Aurillac, France.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 28th October 1914

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PAY INCREASES

Connecticut


A nation-wide trend toward higher industrial wages was felt in Connecticut last month in Waterbury, Bridgeport, Manchester, Groton, Ansonia, Torrington, Thompsonville and Meriden.

The International Silver Company announced an increase of approximately 10% in its scale of wages for day and piece workers and salaried employes now receiving $200 or less per month which became effective on April 16. Wage and salary increases affected approximately 3500 to 4000 employes.

Source: Connecticut Industry - May 1934

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RUSSIAN STONE-POLISHING FACTORY

Queretaro, Mexico


Russian noble emigrées abroad, reduced to extremely strained circumstances, had been known to engage in many various occupations hitherto entirely foreign to them, not only of professional and mercantile but of manual character as well. Porters, longshoremen, seamstresses, ship-firemen, waitresses, almost any branch of skilled and unskilled labor in various countries of Europe and America has its quota of former Russian aristrocrats. Now comes news that stone polishing is added to this list. The news comes from Queretaro, Mexico, where a group of Russian refugees, headed by Prince D. G. Devlet Murad, opened a co-operative stone-polishing factory lately. Opals, onyxes, agates and amethysts, mined near Queretaro, are polished in the Russian shop. Prince Devlet Murad is of noble Russian-Mohammedan blood. His co-workers are mostly former officers of the Imperial and White armies.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 23rd September 1925

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ARCAS SILVER

London


The process of plating with an alloy first of zinc and silver, and more recently with one of cadmium and silver, introduced by the London Metallurgical Company, has been recently described in our columns, and therefore no lengthy exposition is now necessary. Since we last spoke of it, however, it has reached a more advanced stage of commercial utility, and is being worked on a tolerably large scale with satisfaction to users who include firms well able to judge what constitutes good work in electro-plating, and little likely to be attracted by any novelty that is not possessed of solid recommendations. There is one fresh development of the process that claims some comment, namely, the utilisation of the “Arcas” alloy for making articles of standard silver as well as plated goods. The merits of the alloy of cadmium and silver of course do not depend upon the fact that it has hitherto been deposited on plated articles electrolytically, and as its hardness and freedom from tendency to tarnish, and the ease with which it is cleaned, are valuable for the purposes of the silversmith as distinct from the plater, a curious trade has arisen in goods of standard silver being sent to the London Metallurgical Company to be plated with “Arcas.” So Hibernian a proceeding could not fail to suggest to the brutally practical Saxon that if the coating of standard silver was to be “Arcas’’ the whole of the mass might as well be made of it. One would have expected, bearing in mind the anomalous character of our legislative enactments, especially where they touch technical affairs, that it would have been found impossible to get goods containing the amount of silver present in the sterling metal —92.5 per cent.—but with the balance composed of any other metal than copper, the use of which has been sanctioned by long custom, passed as standard, but no such difficult appears to exist, and provided that the metal sent to be assayed and stamped contain the specified quantity of silver it is immaterial whether the remainder be copper, cadmium zinc, or any other preferred by the vendor. Consequently there are now being made articles of solid “ Arcas”’ silver, hall-marked, and containing 92.5 per cent. of actual silver which are as valuable intrinsically as ordinary standard silver, and free from many of the defects which go far to make one of the metals best fitted for domestic use by those who care for the small refinements of life, a constant trial to the mistress and tribulation to the maid.

Source: The Engineer - 16th December 1892

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EMMONS D. GUILD

Attleboro, Massachusetts


Emmons D. Guild, Attleboro, Mass., one of the foremost jewelers, died recently at his home after a lingering illness. He was 66 years of age. Mr. Guild was president of the W. H. Wilmarth & Company Corporation, one of Attleboro’s bigest manufacturing jewelry concerns. He had been connected with the company for 30 years.

Mr. Guild was a descendant of one of Massachusett’s oldest families. His parents moved to Attleboro when he was quite young. Before the war he was employed in the factories of the town as a jeweler. He enlisted at the outbreak of the war and because of gallant service was promoted to be a sergeant. He was taken prisoner on Oct. 12, 1863, and spent 500 days in various rebel prisons.

After returning to Attleboro he was connected for a long period of years with H. C. Luther and Kingman & Hodges. In1881 he entered the employ of the Wilmarth Company and soon became foreman. Eighteen years ago he was made a partner and a few years ago was elected president. He was prominent in G. A. R. and fraternal circles.

Source: The Metal Industry - December 1909

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