A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v1.c18.s8.1

v1.c18.s8.1

We will now turn our attention to the methods of the *jamakwala*. He periodically visits the workshops of his patron, the *rungwala* from whom he obtains the necessary amount of *jamak* on the payment of a price which depends on the quality and the quantity of gold that has been coloured, as well as the loss of weight that has taken place in the articles during their make. To give an approximate idea of the commercial value of *jamak* it may suffice to state that we once purchased a *jamak* of 20 tolas of sovereign gold (which is 22 carats or 916.66 per mille fine) for one rupee only. We may also observe that the demand of *jamak* is not at present at par with the amount of its supply; and at some of the bigger *rungwala's* working-rooms, one may see big earthen jars full of this substance, collected and stored up for want of purchasers. It may be interesting to add that even in this obscure department of business, the evil genius of man has set to work, and one has to be careful in dealing with a *jamakwala*, if one is a new hand in these affairs.¹ On one occasion we happened to be defrauded and were given a substance as a *jamak* of 35 tolas of gold for what we considered the modest price of Rs. 2. But the thing turned out to be an imitation *jamak* only and all our best efforts could not discover in it the slightest trace of gold.