Ch. 10: Cutting and Mounting

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	The grinding and polishing of agates and other large stones are performed at Oberstein, Germany, on an extensive scale, in mills fitted up in the manner indicated in the accompanying cut. The wheels for grinding turn vertically instead of horizontally as is usually the arrangement when cutting small stones. They are made of sandstone, are about five feet in diameter, and often a foot in thickness. Their edges are often fluted in different shapes, so as to give different



	desired forms. The piece to be cut is held by the workman by hand against the wheel until it has received the desired shape. After being ground it is polished on a wheel of hardwood with tripoli, this part of the work being usually performed by women and children. After a gem has been cut, the question of its proper mounting and setting must next be considered. While some gems are worn unmounted, as for instance the pearls of a necklace, the great majority are set in metal. This work is the especial art of the goldsmith or jeweler, and the laity usually take little pains to be informed in regard to it. There is room, however, for the development of a much higher taste in these matters than exists at present. The average buyer is con- 48

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