gemstonesonline.org

London center of diamond factories

Posted November 18th, 2008 by admin

The industry now seems to have become established on a larger scale in England than ever before, although London is the center once again. Some war-time restrictions have been removed, and the factories are equipped to produce all sizes of diamonds, although as yet smaller stones than about one-fifth of a carat are not cut. This is due to a lack of sufficient skilled labor, but the assistance of foreign immigrants has been valuable. Apprentices, ineluding disabled ex-service men, are constantly being trained, and the industry should increase in importance. The gem stones, as normally, are exported mostly to the U.S.A.
A few lapidaries who work colored stones are to be found, mainly in London, but there is none as yet that can produce the quantities of cheap semi-precious stones with the speed and at the price which the Germans did up to 1939. London made stones are better cut and finished, and an individual job is made of each stone, in contrast to the huge quantities of mixed quality stones which the Germans produced. Tradition, labor conditions, and certain local facilities have a great influence on this craft, and despite the fact that the majority of gem stones in their rough state still pass through London, most of the work on them is carried _out elsewhere. Lapidary establishments in England working on stones other than diamond do not number much more than about a dozen, and much of their time is spent on stones for industrial purposes and not on stones for jewelry.