SCOTCH GEMS AND JEWELLERY.

Southland Times, Issue 870, 23 December 1867, Page 1 (Supplement)

SCOTCH GEMS AND JEWELLERY.

(Scotsman.} Histories of Scotland state that there are considerable quantities of metals and minerals to be found therein, if the inhabitants would be pursuaded to take pains to. work them;- and that tin, lead, copper, marble, alabaster, iron, and other ores, were so abundant that, after supplying the wants of the country, they might be largely exported. We read in John Chamberlayne's " Present State of Great Britain, with Diverse Remarks upon the Ancient State Thereof," that there are several rich silver-mines in Scotland, and that " James Atkinson, Assay Master of the Mint of Edinburgh in the reign of James VI., assures us that natural or native gold was to be found in several places in this country, as one mine on Crawr'ord Moor and Friar Moor, in Clydesdale ; two on Robburt Moor and Mannock Moor, in Nidesdale ; three in Glangabar Watter, in Inderland ; in the Forest of Attirie; and in many other combs or valleys. It is commonly found, says he (Atkinson), " after great rains, linked to the sapparestone, just as lead ore and white spar grow sometimes tegether. This is certain, that one Cornelius, a German, who at that time •was by patent created Superior of the Gold-mines of the Kings of Scots, discovered goldmines at Crawford John, and in thirty days' time brought into the King's Mint at Edinburgh 801 b troy weight of natural gold, which was worth £4500." However profitable the working of mines and the search in Scotland for gold and silver were in olden times, it is well known that they have not contributed to the national wealth in recent periods, though the coarser metals and the stones of Scotland have been sought for to much

advantage in the extensive coalfields in Mid-Lothian and Fife, the iron and coal formations in the West, the lead mines of Leadhills, the granit quarries of Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire, the pavement quarries of Forfar and Caithness shires, and the slate quarries in the North and West. Scotland can boast of her pebbles and fine specimens of quartz found in the form of perfect crystals, varying in color from pure white to amber and a deep brown. Our native pebbles are of singular conformations, and are of all colours — red, green, grey, auburn, yellow, and also of the jasper kind, with a mixture of colours. A curious phenomenon connected with the colour of pebbles is, that each colour is found only in distinct localities. Pebbles are found in every country in Scotland, but more especially in Ayrshire, Argyleshsre, Aberdeenshire, j Perthshire, Morayshire, Roxburghshire, and Mid-Lothian. There is the Arthur Seat jaspar, found on Arthur's Seat ; the Pentland pebble, on the Pentland Hills ; the Perth bloodstone, on the Ochill, and and Moncrieff Hills ; the Montrose grey pebble, at Montrose, and so on. A small rivulet in the land of Burns contributes one of the richest and finest specimens of jasper that is to be found in Scotland. The Arthur Seat jasper deserves special notice, being rich in color and variegated in streaks. It is found in large quantities on the face of the hill. On the top of the Caringorm ranges in Aberdeenshire, the Caringorm stones or crystals are fouud in great abnndance. Well does the shepherd know where to find the finest specimens, for which he gets good prices. The Brazil topaz is not unlike the Caringorm ; and in colour the one is often mistaken for the other. Not many years ago the Scotch amethyst could be plentifully procured and cheaply purchased; but now it is becoming scarce, and brings in the market from 50s to 60b an ounce. Scotch amethysts possess the same component chemical parts as the Oriental amethyst, j but they are not so brilliant in hue. j Another favorite Scotch crystal is the garnet. It has a red or port wine color, and is found in very small quantities of no great size at Elie Point, and along the sands on the coast of Fife. Seaside visitors pick up many of them, by whom they are called Elie rubies, but they are real garnets. A jewel in which the yellow cairngorm, the lilac amethyst, and the pink or red garnet are harmoniously combined, is remarkably fine. Great difficulty not unfrequently lies in distinguishing between a true specimen of Scotch gems and a false, and hence many valuable stones and crystals are cast away as useless by inexperienced persons. Our moss agate is not the least beautiful and valuable of gems, and for certain styles of setting it is peculiarly suitable. But the chief of our Scottish gems is the pearl. The beauty of lustre and form, and the fine opaque colour of the Scottish pearl, attract as much attention as ever, not only among the fishers for and dealers in these precious gems, but among all in the vicinity of the rivers famous for pearls. There was a tiara finely set in gold and enamel in the Dublin Exhibition, valued at £500, made of Scotch pearls. Fine specimens of pearls are found in the rivers Forth, Teviot, Earn, Tay, Tweed, and the rivers of Ross and Sutherland shires. Country people often bring these treasures to town in a snuff-box or old stocking, returning home with prices varying for each gem from a few shillings to £90. A fine specimen not larger than a pea, will bring £25, and larger ones will command at times as much as £80 or £90. The manufacture of Scotch jewellery is almost exclusively confined to Edinburgh. In Glasgow few gems are polished or set, and still fewer in Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, Inverness, and Stirling. For some time the manufacture has been rapidly increasing, This is particularly the case with silver-mounted pebble ornaments. There is an endless variety of jewellery and other articles of Scotch gems preduced in. fine settings by tradesmen in Edinburgh. Brooches, bracelets, pendants, necklaces, seals, lockets, papercutters, vinaigrettes, quaighs, and caskets, many in particular be enumerated amongst the products. Tht gift from the ladies of Edinburgh to the Princess of Wales, on the occasion of her marriage, was, it may be reraemberd, a casket manufactured in Edinburgh, consisting entirely of Scoti-h gems set in gold. One ornament has often as many as forty or fifty various pieces of stone in its formation. Such articles vary as much in value as they do in use and design, While a simple ornament may be purchashed for half a crown the more expensive cannot be bought for £1000. Rough and valueless •as many of our gems appear when found on the mountain side, in the river bed, or on the seashore, their beauties shine out plesantly wheh cut by the lapidary and polished by his wheels and diamond dust, and arranged in order to their colours, set in gold or silver. Another branch of Edinburgh fine art in ornament it its enamelled work. This j class of work is produced in numerous colours, chiefly, however in dark blue, red, and jet black. The designs are chiefly characteristic of Scotch nationality. Historical representations associated with Queen Mary, Robert the Bruce and the Maid of Norway are in great demand.