precious stones were at that time generally of gold, rarely of silver.
Platinum, the metal that now enjoys the greatest furore for diamond
settings, was then unknown in Europe; it was first brought to Europe
in 1735, from South America, having been found in the alluvial
deposits of the river Pinto, in the district of Choco, now forming
part of the United States of Colombia. The Spaniards had named it
_platina_, from its resemblance to _plata_, silver. The
chief source in our time is Russia, the richest deposits being those
discovered in 1825, on the Iss, a tributary of the Tura, in the Urals.
Other valuable deposits are in the district of Nizhni-Tagilsk.
Platinum also occurs in Brazil, California, and British Columbia,
associated with gold, as well as in Borneo, New South Wales,
Australia, and in New Zealand. Its use in gem-mountings began about
1870, and from 1880 onward it has become more and more favored, until
now it has almost entirely superseded gold in the finest jewelry,
especially for diamond settings. Long before the metal was known and
used in Europe, ornamental use of it was made in South America, in the
district we have mentioned, the material not being fused, but simply
forged out of the nuggets found in the deposits.

That but few fine diamonds were in Europe when Shakespeare wrote has
already been noted; indeed, the annual importation from India, then
the only source, can hardly have exceeded $100,000 on an average,
while at the present day the value of the diamonds from the great
African mines imported into Europe and America amounts to from
$40,000,000 to $60,000,000 each year.

In King James's reign, besides Heriot, William Herrick (brother of
Nicolas) and John Spilman were appointed jewellers to the king, queen,
and prince, the annual emoluments being £50 annually. It is stated