Gem Profile- Jet

by Judy Ellis

Jet
This week I think we'll start with a road trip! We'll be "leaving on a jet plane" destined for Whitby England, which is on the Yorkshire Coast. There we'll be visiting the W. Hamond Boutique which has been in business since the 1860's selling a stone that Shakespeare described in Henry VI as "Coal-black as Jet."

Whitby is a typical English fishing town, complete with cobbled streets, quaint shops, and a beautiful Abbey that overlooks the village.

If you walk along the beach, you may notice certain spots in the cliffs. These areas show where holes have been dug out, filled in, or eroded away.

You can also see portions of the cliffs where large sections or lines of black rock stand out against the grey shale.

These specific sections are called a "jet line," and this is where our gemstone story really begins.

Pictured: W Hamond Whitby Jewelery Boutique.

Photo courtesy of W. Hamond Whitney Boutique and A distinctive shale or 'Jet line' on the cliff face. Photo courtesy of W. Hamond.

What is Jet?

Millions of years ago, during the Jurassic period, carboniferous forests grew in this part of England.

A prominent tree was one similar to our modern Araucaria, or Monkey Puzzle tree.

These large trees would die and be washed into the sea, or carried out during violent storms. The logs would become waterlogged and sink to the ocean floor near the shore.

As millennia passed, silt and sand encased these logs, compressing them into the substance we now know as Jet.

Jet is a form of Lignite, a variety of coal. Although considered lignite, Jet is denser than common lignite.

It is a soft material, rating 2.5-4 on the Mohs scale, but it can take a nice polish.

Jet is found worldwide, but the Jet from Whitby, England, is especially prized.

Whitby Jet is a true black with few inclusions and can be easily worked on a lathe or in carvings.

About Jet:

Jet has been known throughout the European region for centuries.

Early specimens have been found in Germany, dating to around 10,000 BC, and in Spain, dating to around 17,000 BC.

The Romans were very familiar with Jet, calling it Gagat. They made beads, buttons, and carvings found in and around Whitby.

Bronze Age people also used Jet for carvings, beads, bracelets, and amulets.

Anciently, Jet was thought to ward off evil spirits and protect its wearer from harm.

Monks in the Abbey also used Jet to carve rosaries and other ornamental items.

Even Shakespeare was familiar with Jet and referenced it in several of his plays and sonnets.

Jet gained popularity during the Victorian Age after being displayed at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London.

There, it caught the attention of royalty in Bavaria and France.

Jet became truly popular when Queen Victoria began wearing it as part of her mourning jewelry after her husband, Prince Albert, passed away.

Jet is dense, but soft and light. Therefore, it can be carved into intricate patterns without losing the integrity of the stone. It takes on a beautiful sheen when polished with rouge.

Tying it all together!

Now that you are interested in the beauty of Jet, let's look again at the W. Hamond shop and museum.

Here, you can tour a Victorian Jet workshop that was discovered in a boarded-up building in town. You can also speak with the artisans and purchase beautiful Jet specimens, either rough or set in jewelry.

The government has never allowed formal excavation or mining of Jet. However, Victorian Age workmen would find and excavate the Jet from the cliffs and then fill in the rock afterward.

They would also simply pick up loose pieces of Jet found right on the beach.

A "little" piece of history:

W. Hamond is the proud owner of the largest Jet gemstone known; at 21ft in length and 180 million years old, it is truly a marvel of nature and a piece of history.

W. Hamond employees recreate a bygone era as they hold part of the World's largest Whitby Jet gemstone. Photo courtesy of W. Hamond.

*A special thanks this week goes to the W. Hamond shop for the information provided to us at Tucson this past year, and to Chris Sellors specifically.

For more information on Whitby Jet, please follow this link to the W.

Hamond site where you can not only take a look at their products, but also the history of Jet and some wonderful pictures of Jet from excavation through the finishing process.

Resources & Recommended Reading

W. Hamond Whitby - the Original Whitby Jet Shop - https://whamond.com/

Gem Profile- Jet

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