Volume 30 No. 3/4 July/October 2006 The Gemmological Association and Gem Testing Laboratory of Great Britain The Gemmological Association and Gem Testing Laboratory of Great Britain Registered Charity No. 1109555 27 Greville Street, London EC1N 8TN Tel: +44 (0)20 7404 3334 G Fax: +44 (0)20 7404 8843 e-mail: [email protected] G Website: www.gem-a.info President: E A Jobbins Vice-Presidents: N W Deeks, R A Howie, D G Kent Honorary Fellows: Chen Zhonghui, R A Howie, K Nassau Honorary Life Members: H Bank, D J Callaghan, E A Jobbins, J I Koivula, I Thomson Chief Executive Offi cer: J M Ogden Council: A T Collins – Chairman, S Burgoyne, T M J Davidson, S A Everitt, M McCallum, M J O’Donoghue, E Stern, P J Wates Members’ Audit Committee: A J Allnutt, J W Collingridge, P Dwyer-Hickey, J Greatwood, G M Green, B Jackson, D J Lancaster Branch Chairmen: Midlands – P Phillips, North East – M Houghton and S North, North West – D M Brady, Scottish – B Jackson, South East Branch - P J Wates, South West – R M Slater Examiners: C Abbott, A J Allnutt MSc PhD FGA, L Bartlett BSc MPhil FGA DGA, He Ok Chang FGA DGA, Chen Meihua BSc PhD FGA DGA,Prof A T Collins BSc PhD, A G Good FGA DGA, D Gravier FGA, J Greatwood FGA, S Greatwood FGA DGA, G M Green FGA DGA, G M Howe FGA DGA, B Jackson FGA DGA, B Jensen BSc (Geol), T A Johne FGA, L Joyner PhD FGA, H Kitawaki FGA CGJ, R J Lake FGA DGA, Li Li Ping PhD FGA DGA, M A Medniuk FGA DGA, T Miyata MSc PhD FGA, C J E Oldershaw BSc (Hons) FGA DGA, H L Plumb BSc FGA DGA, N R Rose FGA DGA, R D Ross BSc FGA DGA, J-C Rufl i FGA, E Stern FGA DGA, S M Stocklmayer BSc (Hons) FGA, Prof I Sunagawa DSc, M Tilley GG FGA, R K Vartiainen FGA, P Vuillet à Ciles FGA, C M Woodward BSc FGA DGA The Journal of Gemmology Editor: Dr R R Harding Assistant Editors: M J O’Donoghue, P G Read Associate Editors: Dr C E S Arps (Leiden), G Bosshart (Horgen), Prof A T Collins (London), J Finlayson (Stoke on Trent), Dr J W Harris (Glasgow), Prof R A Howie (Derbyshire), E A Jobbins (Caterham), Dr J M Ogden (London), Prof A H Rankin (Kingston upon Thames), K Schmetzer (Petershausen), Dr J E Shigley (Carlsbad), Prof D C Smith (Paris), E Stern (London), Prof I Sunagawa (Tokyo), Dr M Superchi (Milan) Production Editor: M A Burland Vol 30, No. 3/4, July/October 2006 ISSN: 1355-4565 129 Ronald Keith Mitchell FGA 1912 -2006 A tribute by Christopher Cavey FGA considerable competition but, despite coming up against Robert Webster, it was Keith who won the day and gained the most prestigious prize in gemmology - the B.J. Tully Memorial Medal. As the winner of the Tully Medal Keith was immediately elected to the Gemmological Association’s council, which he served faithfully until his calling up into the Royal Corps of Signals during the early years of World War II. He was posted to Singapore and it was not long afterwards that the Japanese invaded and he found himself a Prisoner of War. A number of his fellow POWs were taken to Thailand to build the infamous Burmese railroad, but Keith was taken to mainland Japan, where he and his fellow inmates were forced to labour making steel for the Japanese war effort, surviving on the poorest of diets for some I was extremely sad to receive the news three and a half years. It has to be said that that Keith had passed away, as this was not anyone who can survive such conditions only a personal loss for me, but a great loss for such a period has indeed to be quite for the entire gemmological world. Keith exceptional, and Keith was that in many was a remarkable man as well as being a ways. truly exceptional gemmologist, and after After the war he returned to London and he retired from dealing in gems on a daily took up work with jewellers A & E Davis, basis, he never lost interest and continued situated in Piccadilly in the West End of to read and write about gems whenever he London. In 1947 he became a tutor at Chelsea could. polytechnic assisting Thorold Jones who ran Keith started his career in the silver the classes in those days, and in 1948 was buying department of Mappin & Webb Ltd re-elected to the Council of the in 1928 at the age of 16. He was already Gemmological Association. interested in gemstones and was waiting In 1950 he took on the task of running for an opportunity to open up for him in the first year correspondence courses for the the jewellery department, which he joined GA as an Instructor. Only one year later he in 1933. Whilst he was in this employ he took over the second year as well, and he started his gemmological studies enrolling ran them single-handed for some years until at Chelsea Polytechnic. He studied very hard eventually Vera Hinton took over some of and spent his lunch hours carefully perusing the first-year students. the gem collections in the Geological Keith was a very decent and proper man Museum which was then located in Jermyn and expected very high standards from Street, just off Piccadilly in London’s those who worked with him, and of those West End. In 1934 he sat the Diploma in he was teaching, He expected his students Gemmology Examination; this was to prove to work hard and continued to give private a tough year in the gem exams as there was tuition right up until his retirement. He used © Gemmological Association and Gem Testing Laboratory of Great Britain ISSN: 1355-4565 130 to send out material to his students and ask gemmological papers and he finally went for their observations. When he received on to publish over 40 papers in all. He also these he would then give them a copy of his performed a great service to thousands of own observations on the same materials, so gemmologists with his masterly use of the they could see just what they had missed! English language in abstracting papers from He was the sole author of the other publications; his vast experience of correspondence courses used by the GA a wide range of gems supported many an from the 1950s to 1983. enlightening and penetrating supplement to In the early 1960s,, Keith needed a change an abstract. and more independence, so struck out on For some time, he had also been working his own dealing in gems, mineral specimens on the memoirs of his wartime experiences. and jewellery. He took over an office in After some searching he managed to Halton House just round the corner from find a publisher, although much to his Hatton Garden in Holborn. During that time disappointment the size of his book was cut he handled many gems from A C D Pain in half before going to press. He did at least in Burma and formed close relationships have some satisfaction in knowing that a with a number of dealers in Sri Lanka. He part of his story had at last been told. acquired the Taaffe collection along with the Keith revised Basil Anderson’s and James first ever specimen of taaffeite, which was Payne’s work The Spectroscope and Gemmology, the ‘type specimen’ for this species. He left adding extra chapters and diagrams. this on loan to the Natural History Museum He privately published sets of slides (each in London. He was a regular contributor to one an original photograph shot by his own gemmological journals, not only in England hand) showing crystal habits and symmetry but also in Australia, and made many together with an explanatory booklet which original observations on a number of gem was retailed by the GA. These were available species. for a number of years, to assist students of He invented the ‘Mitchell’ spectroscope gemmology with their understanding of stand and was a major contributor to items crystals. Keith was also a good photographer coming into the London Gem Testing and pioneered a number of techniques for Laboratory. He was a close friend of Basil photographing gem materials in daylight Anderson, Robert Webster and Alec Farn, and down the microscope. and enjoyed an affable relationship with He was made Vice President of the GA Alan Jobbins and Pat Statham at the in 1984 and remained in this office until his Geological Museum in London. He worked death on 7 April 2006 at the age of 94. with Charles Mathews, the famous lapidaries Keith had lost his loving wife of many in Hatton Garden, and was instrumental in years some time ago, but thankfully is the cutting of some very rare gem species for survived by his two sons, two grandchildren the first time. He handled a large part of the and a great granddaughter. E H Rutland collection upon his untimely For those of us that knew him well he death in 1976, and was one of the very few was a great friend with an extraordinary gemmologists in London who regularly sense of humanity and humour. I believe handled very rare gem species. him to have been a truly great gemmologist He continued to run the correspondence and the pertinence and wisdom expressed courses for the GA until 1969 when he was in his publications should ensure that he is diagnosed with a heart condition.