A Little Respect

When Kathy and I visited London several months ago,the local currency flowed through our hands at a speed typical of tourist spending.  I must confess, however, that I paid little to the details of the Bank of England notes we were spending, otherwise I might have observed that one of the security features of the L 20 note was a vertical row of Adam Smith profiles.  And if you know of the law of supply and demand, you know a bit about Smith’s major work, ‘The Wealth of Nations’.

Born a bit more than 290 years ago near Edinburgh (in Kirkcaldy), Scotland, he published his seminal book on economics, “The Wealth of Nations”, in 1776.  And though some may argue that his appearance on the notes (March, 2007) was terribly tardy, the man’s acuity certainly demands this kind of respect.  Indeed, few, regardless of their politics, would argue with many of his observations, particularly, this one; “Labour was the first price, the original purchase - money that was paid for all things. It was not by gold or by silver, but by labour, that all wealth of the world was originally purchased.”  Honoring him with his likeness on banknotes, then, seems singularly appropriate.  It was, however, conspicuously difficult owing to the small amount of labor spent on capturing his likeness during his lifetime, only three images.  Fortunately, one of them had been used to produce a limited series of about 300 pieces of “glass paste” portrait medallions of him; and one such medallion (currently hanging in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery) was available to the bank’s board of governors to use.  So it is, if you pick up a L20 note, you can see, at least in silhouette, what Smith looked like - and all thanks to the jewelry business. 

Of course what we’re really dealing with here is a glass cameo; and as a medallion, it was meant to be worn as a pendant.  While many of you are familiar with shell cameos (usually carved from conch shell), stone and glass cameos have also been with us for a long time.  Those of stone are, obviously, also carved, but the use of “glass paste” to make the Smith cameo may have you wondering, so let’s take a look at it. 

“Glass paste” is, quite literally, glass that has been heated to the point of “plasticity”; and in making his portrait medallion of Smith the artist, James Tassie, literally pressed such glass into a carved mold (his original piece of art).  Since the mold had probably been carved in stone, the heat it suffered in each use surely caused

the accuracy of the image to slowly degrade, hence the limited number of pieces.  Interestingly, this confluence of art and jewelry dates back more than 4000 years.  Glass animals, amulets and so on first appear in the historical record during Egypt’s “Middle Kingdom”; and by the time Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed wealthy Romans were wearing pressed glass cameo and intaglio jewelry in colors that imitated precious gems.  Through the recovery of thousands of ancient Etruscan jewelry molds (from tombs in modern Tuscany) and a few tantalizing surviving records we know that just as Tassie had used glass paste to make his Smith medallion, ancient Etruscan jewelers pressed “pasta vitra” into their molds to make cameos and intaglios.  Obviously the ancient molds are valuable historical artifacts; but with an extra step or two (to prevent degrading them) some are still usable using the ‘lost wax’ casting process.  For the skilled artisan this technique can yield excellent, accurate castings; for the less proficient inferior results are common.  More important than technique, however, is the emotional content transmitted by these ‘exercises of jewelry.‘  The United Kingdom’s government can honor and take pride in Smith’s insights into economics through Tassie’s work; while those who own a pasta vitra intaglio created from an ancient mold can emotionally connect with antiquity.

Emotion is what jewelry is all about; so fine emotions, like the deep feelings you have for another, are beautifully expressed with a thoughtful gift of fine jewelry, particularly a diamond.  But since all diamonds are not ‘created‘ equal, you may need a little help in selecting one to ‘speak for you’; that’s where we come in.  We’re Hursts‘ Berwyn Jewelers; and we know diamonds.  We want you to be proud of the diamond you buy from us.  We want people to say to the wearer, “Let me see your diamond!”  So check us out on line at hurstsberwynjewelers.com, then phone us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment.  We’ll help you select the perfect gift because we’re just not a common jeweler.