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Sec. I, Ch. 5: Engraving & Carving of Precious Stones

Sec. I, Ch. 5: Engraving & Carving of Precious Stones Page of 366 Sec. I, Ch. 5: Engraving & Carving of Precious Stones Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
38 The Engraving and Carving of Precious Stones.
Mary of Modena, Queen of James II., possessed a Diamond signet with her cypher M.R. interlaced and surmounted by a crown (fig. 7).
That the engraving on Diamonds was not confined to foreigners is shewn by an interesting extract from the Privy Seal books of the office of the Clerk of the Pells, now in the Public Record Office (No. 11, p. 142), which is cited by Mr. C. Dairy Fortnum in describing the Diamond signet of Queen Henrietta Maria. This entry states that on Jan. 16th, 1628—9, the sum of ,£267 (which would be equiva­lent to nearly £1,100 of present value) was paid to one Francis Walwyn, an English gem engraver, for cutting finishing, and polishing a Diamond and engraving upon it the arms of Charles I. with the initial letters of the name of his Queen on each side (fig. 5).
Other examples of Walwyn's handiwork are in exist­ence, one being in the private collection of Gems and Jewels at Windsor Castle ; namely, the Diamond signet ring used by Charles I. when Prince of Wales and engraved with the Prince of Wales's plume of feathers (fig. 4). Another is the impression of a seal affixed to some of the letters of King Charles I, (fig. 8). The cutting is very similar in character to that on his Queen's Diamond.
In 1877 an engraved Diamond was offered for sale ; it was a thin stone, engraved with the head of the Emperor Napoleon I. The price was £1,000 ; but at such a sum it did not find a purchaser. This stone (represented in fig. 9) was exhibited in the Paris Exhibition of 1867.
A curious old Marquise ring which formerly belonged to Marie Antoinette, has in the centre an oblong Diamond engraved with her name, Marie : this is now in the collec­tion of Streeter & Co, Ltd., and is represented by fig. 6, on p. 36.
Sec. I, Ch. 5: Engraving & Carving of Precious Stones Page of 366 Sec. I, Ch. 5: Engraving & Carving of Precious Stones
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