290

JEWELLERS.

CHAP. XXVI.

It must then be the interest of those jewellerswhose capitals are sufficiently large to enable themto buy their gold with ready money to purchasestandard rather than fine gold,.with the exceptionof what is required for such delicate pai'ts of thework as can only be executed with fine gold.

In conversing with some of the largest manu-facturers of jewellery whose trade consisted chieflyin making what are called heavy articles, such asmourning and wedding rings, snuff-boxes, chains,plain bracelets, and similar ornaments, it wasascertained that they used no refined gold. Twohouses especially, whose use of gold weekly ex-ceeds one hundred ounces, asserted that theynever purchased any refined gold, but bought oldEnglish light guineas and sovereigns, or foreigncoin by weight, and lowered the quality to thedegree of fineness most applicable to the particularobjects for which they were designed. Anotherinformant, who paid the highest amount of dutyat Goldsmith’s Hall, affirmed that he purchasedno refiner’s gold; and another, whose trade con-sisted in making the more delicate as well asthe heavy articles, stated that, “ on taking anaccount of the various qualities of gold used intheir manufactory during the last four years, itwas found that the proportion of fine gold wasnearly six-tenths, and of standard gold, consistingof light guineas, ports, and doubloons, four-tenths.”