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Coml) in Gold and Horn ( Frcncli Design)



DEPARTMENT STORE
MERCHANDISE MANUALS

THE JEWELRY DEPARTMENT



BEULAH ELFRETH KENNARD, M.A.

Editor of Series; Director of Department Store Courses,
New York University; Chairman of Committee on Merchan-
dise Courses for New York City Public Schools; Former
Educational Director of the Department Store Education
Association.



ASSISTED BY

E. LILLIAN HUTCHINSON, B. A.

Secretary Department Store Education Association



CONSULTING EDITOR

LEE GALLOWAY, Ph.D.

Associate Professor Commerce and Industry, New York
University; Secretary of National Association of Corpora-
tion Schools; Director Educational Courses, National
Commercial Gas Association.



NEW YORK

THE RONALD PRESS COMPANY
1917

40fX>G



Copyright, 1917, by
The Ronald Press Company






X



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to Mrs. Henry Ollesheimer, Miss
Virginia Potter, Miss Anne Mor-
gan, and other organizers of the
Department Store Education As-
sociation, who desiring to give
greater opportunity for advance-
ment to commercial employees and
believing that all business efficiency
must rest upon a solid foundation
of training and education gave
years of enthusiastic service to the
testing of this belief.



EDITOR'S PREFACE

This series of department store manuals has been pre-
pared for the purpose of imparting definite and authen-
tic information to that growing army of salespeople who
are not satisfied to be mere counter servers — to those
who realize that their vocation is one of dignity and
opportunity, and that to give satisfactory service to the
customer they must possess a thorough knowledge of the

P^ goods they sell, as well as a knowledge of how best to

f\ sell them.

\ These manuals were planned and prepared as the result

' of many months of teaching department store salespeople

^ in a number of large stores in New York and other
cities. Later a series of courses for teachers of depart-

^ ment store salesmanship was introduced into the curricu-
^ lum of the School of Pedagogy of New York University.
This gave additional opportunity for the study of store
conditions and needs from the point of view of the
teacher. Thus the material in these books has been tried
out with the salespeople in the store and also with those
who have proven themselves to be successful teachers.

In the preparation of these manuals we have received
the most cordial co-operation from experts in the various
lines of merchandise and from manufacturers who have
freely given their time and valuable counsel. To all of
these the authors and editors of this series wish to express
their grateful appreciation.

Beulah Elfreth Kennard.



1



AUTHOR'S PREFACE

This manual is an introduction to the merchandise of
the Jewelry Department. On account of the scope of
the subject it has been necessary to treat some sections
in outline form, which, while giving the important facts,
has necessitated the omission of many details. Some
special articles such as Watches and Optical Goods will
be discussed in another manual since they require more
extended treatment than the limits of the present volume
would permit.

Acknowledgment is gratefully made to Mr. Emil A.
Kohn, Manufacturing Jeweler; Mr. S. L. Van Wezel,
Diamond Merchant ; Mr. August Goldsmith of Goldsmith,
Stein and Company, Manufacturing Jewelers; Mr, T.
Edgar Willson, Editor of the Jezveler's Circular Weekly;
Espositor, Varni Company; and especially to Mr. Julius
Wodiska, the author of " Book of Precious Stones "
for co-operation in securing accurate information and
for many helpful criticisms.

For illustrations thanks are due to the International
Studio, Daniel Low and Company, and Espositor, Varni
Company.



VI



CONTENTS



CHAPTER PAGE

I Introductory i

The Jewelry Department
Divisions

PART I — METALS
II Gold 3

Popularity

Color

Characteristics

Source

Extracting Gold from Sand

Extracting Gold from Lodes or Veins

Crushing the Ore

Separating the Gold from the Ore

Amalgamation

Chlorination

Cyaniding

Bullion

Alloys

Testing Gold

Assaying ,

Uses of Gold

III Platinum 12

Rarity

Color

Characteristics

Source

Uses

vii



viii CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

IV Silver and Copper 15

Description of Silver
Characteristics of Silver
Sources of Silver
Copper

Color of Copper
Characteristics of Copper
Sources of Copper
History of Copper

V Alloys 18

Definition

Purposes

Preparation



PART II — PRECIOUS STONES

VI Grouping Stones by Color 21

First Steps in Learning the Stones

Colorless Stones

Red Stones

Green Stones

Blue Stones

Yellow Stones

Violet or Purple Stones

Pink Stones

Brown Stones

Black Stones

VII Valuation of Precious Stones ... 27

Popular Misconceptions

Essential Characteristics of Stones

Beauty

Color

Luster

Transparency or Opaqueness

Durability

Rarity



CONTENTS ix

CHAPTER PAGE

VllI Descriptions of Stones ;^^

The Diamond — Its Characteristics

Sources of Uiamonds

Mining of Diamonds

Value of Diamonds

History of Diamonds

The Emerald

Pearls

Structure of Pearls

Color of Pearls

Luster of Pearls

Sources of Pearls

Pearl Diving

Size and Value of Pearls

History of Pearls

Culture Pearls

Setting of Pearls

Ruby

Sapphire

Amethyst

IX Descriptions of Stones (Continued) . . 46

Coral

Garnet

Opal

Topaz

Turquoise

Cat's Eye

Chrysoprase

Jade

Moonstone

Peridot

Kunzitc

Tourmaline

Amber

Bloodstone

Agate

Lapis Lazuli 1

Amazonite

Azurite

Cairngorm

Carnelian



X

CHAPTER



CONTENTS



PAGE



Labradorite

Malachite

Marcasite

Rhodonite

Smithsonite

Spinel

Zircon

X Artificial and Imitation Stones

Difference

Synthetic Stones

Reconstructed Stones

" Faked " Real Stones

Imitation Stones

Coloring of Imitation Stones

Test for Imitation Stones

Imitation Pearls

Imitation Coral

Imitation Amber

Imitation Cameos

History of Imitation Stones



59



PART III — MANUFACTURE OF JEWELRY
XI Metal Working 65

The Goldsmith an Artist

Making of Jewelry

Grains and Grain Clusters

Wire Drawing

Annealing

Wire Jewelry

Beaded Wire

Repousse Work

Casting

Methods of Ornamenting

Modern Methods of Manufacture

Craftsman Jewelry

Commercial Jewelry

Cheap Jewelry



CONTENTS xi

CHAPTER FACE

Gold-Filled Jewelry
Rolled Gold
Electroplating
Tinting

XII Cutting of Precious Stones . . . . 8o

Importance

Styles

Facet Cutting

Brilliant Cut

Rose Cut

Step Cut

Curved Surface Cutting — Cabochon

Difficulties in Cutting Valuable Stones

Slitting

Faceting

Polishing

Loss of Size During Cutting

Center of Dianiond-Cutling Industry

Diamond Cleaving

Diamond Sawing

Cutting and Polishing Diamonds

Cabochon Cutting

Special Cuts

Cameos

Materials Used in Cameos

Stone Cameos

Shell Cameos

History of Cameos

Imitation Cameos

Intaglios

Scarab

History of Cutting

XIII Setting of Stones 94

Characteristics of Good Settings

Tools

Styles

Claw Setting

Cut Down Setting



xii CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

Flush Setting

Roman Setting

Band Setting

Thread Setting

Settings for Special Stones

XIV Enamel in Jewelry 99

Characteristics of Enamel

Enameling

Cloisonne

Champleve

Repousse

Baisse Taille

Plique a Jour

Encrusted Enamel

Painted Enamel

Enamel Colors

Transparent Colors

Opaque Colors

History

XV Design in Jewelry 106

Importance of Design in Jewelry

Relation of Design to Material and Purpose

Use of Gems in Design

Form and Line in Design

Curves

The Foundation of Good Design

Types of Decoration

Elements of a Design

Design in Different Countries



PART IV — ARTICLES OF JEWELRY
XVI Standaeid Articles 117

Rings

Pins

Chains

Necklaces

Pendants



CHAPTER



CONTENTS



Bracelets

Earrings

Collar Buttons

Cuff-Links

Studs and Vest Buttons

Evening Sets for Men

Other Articles



xni

PAGE



XVII Fans 127

Types of Fans
Materials
Manufacture
History



XVIII Combs and Hair Ornaments

Types

Tortoise Shell

Amber

Jet

Horn

Celluloid

Manufacture of Combs

History



131



XIX History of Jewelry 138

Jewelry Among Savage Tribes
In Ancient History
Centers of Modern Industry
History of American Jewelry
History of Various Articles

XX BiRTIISTONES 144

Origin

The Original List

The New List



xiv CONTENTS

PART V — SUGGESTIONS TO
SALESPEOPLE

CHAPTER PAGE

XXI Selling Suggestions 147

Arrangement, Display, and Care of Stock

Materials

Manufacture

History

Suitability

Care

XXII Classification of Stock of a Typical

Jewelry Department 155

Appendix (Books for Reference) . . . 163



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Comb in Gold and Horn (French Design) . . Frontispiece

FIGURE FACING FACE

1. Garnets in Matrix 46

2. Examples of Gold Mounts for Precious Stones ... 72

3. Platinum Jewelry Mounted with Stones from Pieces in

Figure 2 76



Styles of Cutting Precious Stones .... (on page) 83

Jeweled Brooches 102

Necklace and Earrings of Brilliants (Austrian Design) 114

Design for Lace Fan 130

Primitive Wooden Combs (on page) 136

Ancient Pins (on page) 139



JEWELRY DEPARTMENT

Chapter I
INTRODUCTORY

The Jewelry Department

The jewelry section of a department store is one of
the most interesting and attractive parts of the store,
and the well-informed salesperson in this department
possesses unique opportunities for service both to em-
ployer and customer. Sales are often made because of
the artistic or sentimental appeal to the customer rather
than any immediate need for the article.

Precious stones, for instance, are so fascinating that
almost all customers welcome information concerning
them. Again a tactful remark regarding the suit-
ability of a certain jewel for the customer's purpose
will win not only a sale but also gratitude. As in all
departments, customers like to be waited on by " one
who knows."

Divisions

Jewelry may be divided, according to purpose, into:



2 JEWELRY DEPARTMENT

Jewelry for Women :
Rings



Brooches

Bar Pins

Collars

Pearl Necklaces

Pendants

Earrings

Jewelry for Men:

Rings (Jeweled, Seal)

Scarf-Pins

Watch Chains

Cuff-Links

Studs

Dress Sets



Watches (Wrist, Pendant)
Mesh Bags
Lorgnettes
Novelties
Fans

Combs and Hair Orna-
ments



Pencils
Knives
Cigar Cutters
Cigarette Cases
Match Boxes



The jewelry stock may also be divided into:

1. Gold and platinum jewelry, set with real gems.

2. Plated and novelty jewelry, of rolled gold, silver,
copper, or less costly metals, set with imitation stones.

There is almost infinite variety in the forms and dec-
orations of the various articles. They may be elab-
orately designed and set with precious stones or plainly
chased and simple. But the one requirement of all
jewelry is that it should be beautiful.



Part I— Metals



Chapter II
GOLD

Popularity

Gold is the most beautiful of all metals. It is soft
and easily worked, and combines artistically with any
color found in precious stones. Silver and platinum
are also used for jewelry, and copper and bronze are
seen in " craftsman's " work, but gold is used more
than all the others combined.

Color

Pure ^old is pale yellow with a bright luster, but by
combination with other metals in the form of alloys
it may be given a darker yellow tone or a green, gray,
or red hue. Gold can also be made to resemble plati-
num in color. This variety is called " white gold."

Characteristics

Gold is :

Malleable — may be beaten into thin sheets.
3



4 JEWELRY DEPARTMENT

Ductile — may be drawn into fine wire.
Unalterable — does not corrode, as iron and cop-
per, on exposure to the air.
Dense — the particles are very close together.
Soft — easily wears away and must be hardened
by the addition of copper, silver, etc.
Gold may be beaten into a sheet 1/250,000 of an
inch in thickness. In this form it is known as gold
leaf, and is used for gilding.

Source

Gold is found in small quantities all over the world.
The rocks and soil of nearly all countries, and even
the waters of the ocean, contain small particles of gold
scattered through them. The Australian and Cali-
fornian deposits are remarkably pure.

Gold is found in " ore " or in " barren rock."
These differ only in the proportion of gold which they
contain. Ore is " paying rock," that is, rock which
has enough gold in it to make its extraction and re-
fining profitable. With the improvements in methods
of gold mining, barren rock may become paying rock
and the poorer fields must be worked as the richer
ones give out. Gold, like iron, is a part of the earth's
crust, but is unevenly distributed. At present, the
rich ores are very rare, because it has been prized by
man in every part of the world, and as a result the



GOLD 5

ore which could be secured by such simple methods as
washing river sands has disappeared, except in out-of-
the-way places. Gold is found under three conditions :

1. As a deposit in the sands of rivers.

2. As lodes or veins.

3. As sedimentary deposits.

Extracting Gold from Sand

The gold which is found in river sand is most
easily secured. It is separated from the sand by
various methods of washing.

1. The sand may be washed in a wooden tub, or
iron basin which is shaken to and fro by hand until
the gold (being heavier than sand ) falls to the bottom.

2. The gold may be separated by a flowing stream
of water which removes the sand, the gold being
caught on some obstruction. There are two variations
of this method.

For large operations the sand or gravel may be put
in a long trough called a " sluice " through which a
stream of water runs. The gold falls to the bottom
and is caught on cross strips of wood called " riffles."
while the sand is carried off by the water. For
smaller operations the gravel is thrown into a current
of water in a " Long Tom," which is a box about four
yards long and seven inches broad. The gold is
caught on riffles or on sheep's fleece.



6 JEWELRY DEPARTMENT

These methods of collecting gold are slow and
wasteful, but are profitable so long as a rich deposit
lasts.

3. The Hydraulic Method. The hills in certain
parts of California were found to contain a large
amount of gold, and in 1852 a new method of reduc-
ing these hills was introduced. Instead of slowly
digging up the soil, the mining companies erected a
high steel framework or " giant " supporting a hose
pipe through which water was driven at very high
pressure against the sides of the hills. This stream
of water was extremely powerful. It sent a torrent
of mud down into the valley below, where the mud
flowed through sluices, and the gold was caught in the
same way as from the river sand.

The hydraulic method had two great objections :
first, the mud dammed up the valleys and destroyed
land which was good for farming or fruit raising ; and
second, the debris was left on the land.

In 1884 a law was passed prohibiting hydraulic
mining in California, but it is still practiced in some
other states.

In the frozen regions of Siberia and the Klondike
the ground is too hard to be broken up by the pick
and therefore fires are built or steam pipes are inserted
in order to melt the ice before the actual mining can
begin.



GOLD 7

Extracting Gold from Lodes or Veins

Gold which is found in lodes or veins has been
carried up from a lower part of the earth's crust by
hot volcanic vapors. The metal, which had dissolved
in the hot water, crystallized and was deposited in
veins.

These lodes may be vertical, slanting, or horizontal.
They are mined in the same way as other metals, by
sinking shafts with connecting galleries. In a gold
mine, however, no part of the paying rock is left for
supports or chamber walls as in coal mines. As the
various sections are removed the space is filled with a
wooden framework containing crushed rock until the
ore has been entirely replaced.

Crushing the Ore

Gold is seldom found in the pure state. It may be
combined with iron, silver, tourmaline, copper, galena,
sulphur, or other substances. In order to separate it
from the rock, the ore must first Ik? crushed into pow-
der. If the gold is " free" or unmixed with quartz,
it is not necessary to reduce the rock to such fineness.

There are several kinds of machines used for crush-
ing the ore :

I. The jaw breaker, which has two steel jaws with
toothed edges. One of these jaws is sta-



8 JEWELRY DEPARTMENT

tionary and the other moves backward and
forward over it.

2. Vertical stamps in batteries, which are raised

by a cam shaft and fall with a deafening din
upon the ore which is contained in an iron
mortar,

3. The tube mill is a large cylinder containing

crushing materials which grind the ore still
finer.

Separating the Gold from the Ore

There are three methods of separating the gold from
this crushed ore. These are :
Amalgamation
Chlorination
Cyaniding

Amalgamation

The amalgamation process depends upon the ease
with which mercury and gold combine.

The crushed ore or " pulp " is mixed with water
and run over copper plates coated with mercury to
which the gold adheres. The combined gold and mer-
cury — called amalgam — is scraped off and the gold
separated from the mercury by distillation.

Chlorination

In the chlorination process the crushed rock is



GOLD 9

roasted, mixed with water, and exposed to the action
of chlorine gas, which is obtained from common salt
by an electrical process. The chlorine and gold unite,
and the gold is precipitated from this solution.

Cyaniding

Cyaniding is the most economical method and has
almost entirely superseded the others. The crushed
ore is dissolved in a very dilute solution of potassium
cyanide. The gold is precipitated from this solution
either by electricity or by zinc.

Bullion

These processes complete the work which is done
at the mine or gold field. The metal, which is now
called bullion, is then sent to some center in Europe or
America to be further refined.

Alloys

Manufacturing jewelers buy their gold in bars by the
ounce and alloy ^ it themselves.

As stated earlier in the chapter, when gold is com-
bined with other metals to form an alloy, its color is
affected. Silver makes it lighter in color and copper
gives it a reddish hue. Alloys of gold, in addition to
being different in color, are naturally cheaper than pure
gold, and they are also harder.

1 For a further discussion of alloys, see Chapter V.



lO JEWELRY DEPARTMENT

Pure or " fine " gold is described as " 24 karats fine."
The karat is a standard of weight for the precious
metals and gems, but it has a special significance with
respect to gold. Twenty-four karats fine means that
gold has no alloy whatever; but such gold is too soft
for use. Twenty-two karat gold has 2 parts alloy and
22 parts gold. Old jewelry was usually of 22 karat
gold. Eighteen and 14 karat gold are now much used,
and the gold used in cheaper jewelry is only 10 karat
gold, that is, more than half its weight is some other
metal. As these cheaper alloys contain a larger
amount of copper than the finer forms, they are easily
affected by acids and have a less brilliant luster.

Testing Gold

Jewelers have a simple method of testing the fineness
of gold by the use of a hard black stone called a
" touchstone." The piece to be tested is rubbed on the
stone. It leaves a little streak of metal behind, the
color of which is compared with that of a streak made
by gold of known quality. The touchstone method is
easy but is not absolutely accurate. Gold is also tested
with nitric acid.

Assaying

The scientific testing of the quality of gold is done by
a process of analytical chemistry called assaying. First,



GOLD II

a very small portion of the gold is weighed in a delicate
balance. Then it is wrapped in pure sheet lead and
heated. The lead unites with all baser metals as it
melts and this combination runs away, leaving only a
lump of pure gold and silver. This lump is weighed
again to see how much base metal it had contained,
after which the silver is removed with nitric acid and
only the pure gold is left. The difference between
the weight of this remainder and the lump containing
silver determines the weight of the gold. It can be
calculated to a thousandth part of a karat.

Uses of Gold

In spite of the new gold fields which have been dis-
covered from time to time, the world has never had
enough gold. The insistent demand keeps its price
steady and helps to make it the standard for other
values.

Gold is used in dentistry, in chemical wc^rks and
photography, as well as in gilding and making all kinds
of lacquers. Nearly one-half of the output is used
for money. Several years ago it was estimated that
in the United States 24 per cent was used for jewelry,
10 per cent for watch cases, 44 per cent for coinage,
and about 22 per cent for export and for other pur-
poses.



Chapter III

PLATINUM
Rarity

The most costly of all useful metals is platinum,
which in normal times is about two and one-half times
as valuable as gold. Platinum was at one time con-
sidered impure silver — only fifty years ago Russian
peasants wore buttons of platinum on their clothes —
but when its peculiar properties became known it began
to be greatly prized because of its rarity.

Color

The color of platinum is a glistening blue white. It
is now in greater favor than gold for setting diamonds
and other jewels, as it seems to increase their bril-
liancy.

Characteristics

Platinum is :

Malleable and ductile to a high degree.

Less affected by acids than gold.

Dense.

Soft as silver.

12



PLATINUM 13

Platinum does not oxidize at any temperature, and
melts only at a very high temperature.

Source

Platinum is found chiefly in the Ural Mountains in
Russia, but in small quantities it appears also in Canada,
New South Wales, Colombia, Horneo, and Sumatra,
and in the United States. In 1909 the world's produc-
tion of platinum was over 198,000 ounces troy and of
this about 190,000 ounces came from Russia, or about
twenty-three times as much as the other countries pro-
duced. I'he United States supplies only about 700
ounces a year.

Platinum is found in veins or nuggets like gold, only
in very much smaller (juantities. It is mined in a
similar way.

Uses

One of the physical properties of platinum, its inde-
structibility, makes it most useful in chemical labora-
tories where crucibles and dishes are made of platinum
in spite of its cost. It is also used in munitions and
the European War has greatly increased its price.

Articles made of platinum are all marked individu-
ally, and the mark is recorded, together with the
weight, so that they may be traced when stolen : there-
fore, as a thief is not likely to have the knowledge or



14 JEWELRY DEPARTMENT

the materials with which he can melt or decompose
the metal, it is almost impossible to dispose of it.

Two ways of meeting the scarcity of platinum have
been proposed ; one, to alloy it with two very rare
metals similar to platinum called " palladium " and
" iridium." This would not cheapen the metal but
would make it go farther. The other is to substitute
" white gold," which is gold alloyed with silver and
nickel. This is much cheaper than platinum but far
less durable. It is only superficially like platinum but
produces somewhat the same color effect as a setting for
stones.

For melting platinum, an oxygen torch, which pro-
duces very intense heat, is required.



Chapter IV
SILVER AND COPPER

Description of Silver

Silver is a brilliant white metal which sometimes oc-
curs in nature in the form of twisted wire-like deposits
in the upper levels of silver-bearing minerals. It is
usually associated with gold, sulphur, or lead, and
these silver ores are more important than native silver
deposits. It is the most common of the precious metals
and is easily separated from its alloys.

Characteristics of Silver
Silver is:

Harder than gold, but too soft to use without being
alloyed with copper or some other metal.

Malleable and ductile.

The best conductor of heat ann)ng all of the
metals.

Tarnished by sulphur compounds, Init unaffected
by pure air.

Sources of Silver

Mexico and Peru furnish a large part of the world's

15



l6 JEWELRY DEPARTMENT

silver, but it is also found abundantly in Cornwall,
England, Saxony, Chili, and the United States.