Max Drilling
Max Drilling learned the demanding craft of diamond cutting and worked at a factory in Newark, New Jersey, until it closed during the Depression around 1930. He described in careful detail the many steps of the trade, from cleaving and cutting to lopping and brillianteering, and explained how a full-cut stone carries fifty-seven facets. During a slow stretch when his firm kept paying his salary, he traveled to Europe, including Idar in Germany, where he watched men cut semi-precious and small full-cut stones. He recalled one large 23 carat stone belonging to Cartier that he began but never finished, because the Army took him in July before he could complete it.
Drilling met his future wife, a Fort Worth woman, in New York, where she came to visit her sister and ended up working for him for over two years. He married at 44, after his mother, who had not wanted him to marry, passed away. Following his mother's death he moved to Texas during the Depression, arriving with little more than his diamond-cutting benches and tools. Choosing not to commute, he settled in University Park in Dallas rather than Fort Worth. He and his wife had one daughter, who married a man named Eschenfelder, connected to the jewelry firm.
In Texas, Drilling opened an office in the Santa Fe building in Fort Worth and began recutting diamonds, quickly building a reputation as jewelers saw the quality of his work. He traveled through South Texas and to Shreveport, Louisiana, and for decades was known as the only diamond cutter in the South. He built the wholesale firm Drilling and Goldberg, gradually selling shares to his partner Goldberg and later to his son-in-law, until the two owned it equally. After about 37 years he retired, roughly three years before the interview. In retirement he worked with YAG stones to stay busy, tended a large garden, and traveled with his wife to Europe, South America, and the Caribbean.
Full Transcript
The image is about a cone shape. And it's still soft enough. You take it, don't put it in a rough metal way, exposing the side that you want to touch, the facets that you want to touch exposed. That's put on the wheel, and the facet is finished, taken out, and it's reheated. And you take it through the, you turn it to the next facet. And you turn to the next facet. You turn it eight times. Eight times. first in square then it's an octagon then you turn it over and make the bottom the same way to a point the bottom comes to a point eight sides then that's called lopping l-o-p-p-i-n-g and put it in a stone in square they call that a square worker then you turn it over and start all over again you put the two stars and four facets on each side you turn it four times again and the top is thing then you turn it over on the bottom and You make eight facets, four facets on four sides, that's sixteen facets.
The bottom has sixteen facets, the small facets, it has eight others, and sixteen and eight is twenty-four. The top has twenty-four and eight is thirty-two. How many do that? That's fifty-fifty-seven, because the table's a facet. Now they used to make a culet, the point, they used to polish a little facet on it they don't do that anymore they cheat on that so it's really not a 58 facet stone anymore it's 57 facets you mean on those tiny tiny stones that has 57 facets on it the same as a diamond yeah but i mean on these little tiny things you say the 20th of a care or 100th of a carat well they those are not made full full cuts those are made we made of what they call a swiss cut instead of making the girdle facets we left those out and just made eight long stars and the bottom instead of making 16 facets on the bottom we made 8 facets that's a Swiss cut which I have seen hundreds of the carrots full cut 57 facets I saw that in Germany in a place called Idar where they cut all the semi-precious stones I saw men sitting there all during the depression they were always busy they always had work and they worked full cuts small sizes.
Turn it to the carrot, even some smaller than that. Well, did you ruin many stones when you were learning how to cut Diane They not so easy to ruin They want you pretty close They start you off maybe a stone and a half carat or a carat And it not too difficult I didn learn lopping first That the first eight facets top and bottom I did what they call brillianteering. I spent eight stars around it, around a table. You don't have a juret circular, they have some larger diamonds. You mean a... Keystone. Magadine, please. If you're looking for it, you want a picture of the diamonds?
Yes. In different forms, in square and in octagon and so on. Hmm. You see a picture of the sun, not all of them. No, no, just a few, yeah. Uh-huh. What questions did you want to ask specifically, Pally? Why don't you ask your question? Well, I'm always interested in this personality angle is the main thing that I'm getting into, because I know that's what the readers are interested in. A lot of people also just want to know what in the world has happened to Max Drilling. I think that's the way we should head this out. Like I had a story a couple of months ago, you know, whatever became of George Thieke.
Let's have this, whatever became of Max Drilling. How about that? Is that okay? When are you still alive? Well, that's right. A lot of people have wondered. I've had people ask me personally, whatever became of Max Drilling. And we're going to bring in his biography of when he started and all that and what he's doing now. And right now he just got back from cruising the Caribbean Ocean there. Ran an ad and wasn even around to answer the telephone Mr Drilling Mr Drilling how long did you stay with the factory Pardon How long did you stay with this factory in Newark? They closed during the Depression in 1929.
I think we closed in 1930. Closed the factory completely. And then where did you go? I went business myself in New York. Then I married a Fort Worth girl and came down here. Well that's how you got to Texas. We were in business for yourself. I want you to tell you how I met my wife. This is funny, but don't you ever publish that. Okay, we won't. I had a job in New York, New Jersey. I guess I was rather ambitious, and I sold colored stones. Amazes, Topaz, Acmarine, synthetic rubies and sapphires in New York. I had a shop there. I needed a girl, bookkeeper and typist.
So I was in 95, 93, 95, Nassau. There was an employment agency downstairs. I called down to them. I needed a girl who knew something about bookkeeping and typing. The girl opens the door and she's like that. I can't stand a fat woman. I said, you won't do, you're too fat. She was invincible, so nasty. She went down and said, she told me, she went down and said she was crying. She said, the man in the street said he didn't want me, I was too fat. Just then my wife came to New York on a visit to her sister there. and she was going to stay a while.
She wanted to do something, so she just happened to walk out of that employment agency just as this girl came in. So, this employment girl there said to her, employment agency said to my wife, she wasn't my wife at that time, said, I've got a job for you just like that. She said, what do you mean? She said, you know anything about bookkeeping, typing?" Well I said, yes, she doesn't know a damn thing. She came upstairs, she opened the door, I said, you'll do. Well she worked for me over two years, and she's always threatening to come back to Fort Worth. I said, go ahead.
So uh, she said she be leaving on a Saturday by boat the boats were running at that time from New York to Galveston So I said you leaving tomorrow She said positive I said well I take you out And I took her to the theater and took her to dinner And next morning I went I took her to the boat I took a friend along with me another boyfriend of mine I wasn taking any chances So we took it to the boat and then I think a year or so later my mother passed away and I went down there. It's all my mother's allowed I never to marry.
So I was 44 when I married. Oh my goodness. My goodness. 44 when you married. So you came down to Fort Worth and then you went into business in Texas, is that right? I went down to Fort Worth right during the Depression. I didn't have a pot. What'd you do with your business in? All I had was a bench, two benches, diamond cut bench, all the tools and other things necessary. And I lived in Fort Worth and I opened up an office in the Santa Fe building, the government building, the A Service Command. And I was recutting diamonds. I had some loose diamonds, I had some mountings and things.
But it wasn't the fact that I was a diamond cutter, I would have started there. You cut diamonds in for other people in the South? Lens brother used to give me an average of three to four hundred dollars a month in repairs and recutting. Well, was it slow getting started here, or did they know you from before in New York? Once they gave you one stone, they saw the way I made it. I didn't even know a reputation. I see. And you were just about the only one in the South at that time, weren't you? Yeah. None in the South at all now. Oh, really?
Yeah. Well, has this been so, I mean ever since you've been here? Always. Always. You've been sort of unique. There isn't enough to keep a man busy down here. Mm-hmm. I see. And that old saying, you never get rid of sitting on your rear end. Yeah, right. Working for somebody else. So you would go to the different jewelers and... I made a trip all through South Texas and no time, and I went to Louisiana one time to Shreveport, and it gets around. Well actually most jewelers wouldn't have stones to be cut. Most of them buy cut stones? They don't see so many anymore. We closed in Newark, New Jersey one time for over a year.
Things were bad. We closed the shop But they paid me my salary whether I worked or not. I got $200 a week at that time, a long time ago. My goodness, that was a lot of money wasn't it? So I went to Europe. And at that time there was a bullshit, a lot of old mine stones, old custom, were coming out of Russia. Oh, thousands of carats. In fact, I went to an office in New York, in London, who they used to send my firm, rough diamonds. But my boss told me, he said, go to Europe, but don't fool around with diamonds. I went into this office, and they had a paper of 2,000 carats, old mine stones, old cut.
And it was very cheap, and he showed them to me. He said, buy it for the firm. So I said, I said, Sam told me not to buy it. The man I was working for, Sam Jacobson. He said, Mr. Drill, you buy them anyway. Buy them for the firm. He said, we'll ship them. But I guess a little bit nasty. I knew if I went, if I sent over that 2,000 carat, over 2,000 carat, I'd have to sit down at that damn wheel and work. And I didn't want to work. I'd get money for nothing. It's just mean. When I came back to New York, the boss said to me, he said, why didn't you buy that lot?
They'd already told him about it. I said, you told me not to fool with him. So he had no answer. So he immediately cabled to New York, and they told him the lot was sold. So I came home by boat, and that was, I think it took about seven days at that time. In the meantime, they'd sold that lot. Oh, and that was a fortune to be made there. me there. Well, it didn't talk to me for six months. You don't see that anymore, do you? Oh, no. I don't want to see it. People who have estates and die, elderly folks, they have some old mine stones.
Mine stones? I've bought all loads of them in the time that I've been in this town. We cut many, many stones. Well, when you, did you set up a business yourself here then? Yes, and I got I brought a boy in from New York and his wife was one of the big ones. He was a nice looking man After six months she came down here Two months later he went back to New York She didn trust him down here The girls are too pretty That a fact She didn't want her mole to be down here. What was the name of your company? Max Drilling. Max Drilling and Company.
And Company. Diamond Cutters. And how long were you in business here then? My daughter was two years old. And I quit about 37 years. 37 years. And when did you, did you retire from that? Yeah. Or I say, and when did you retire? Yeah, three years ago. Three years ago. And now you, now you just... Fooled around. Just fool around with YAG. other things on the QT. On the QT, yeah. Got a call from Houston. Mm-hmm. For thy soul rings to it years and years ago. His nephew wants a ring and so I'm making up a ring for him. I have people who won't trust their diamonds to anybody else but me.
Well, I don't blame them. They won't. I think it's foolish because none of these plays like Lynn's or Everett's or Neiman's or Corrigan's, they won't fool around. No, I wouldn't. I've heard stories all the time that said don't lie. Well, don't you think, I mean, from what I understand, from what I've been reading in these magazines, there are a lot of Jewels don't, don't know diamonds. Don't what? Don't know diamonds. I mean, they don't know how to... There isn't one out of a hundred, and those, they know diamonds, they know a diamond, they see it, so they should. but values they absolutely don't know i don't know values anymore you don't know but you did at one time yes i'm out of it three years diamonds have gone way up in the last three years first place the dollar has gone down about 17 percent something like that that makes diamonds go up but diamonds come from from europe the dollar's devalued they charge more for diamonds Yeah, that's true.
Well, let me ask you this. You, uh, since you've been in the South Soar, I suppose you, I've heard that a lot of Texans have some fabulous diamonds that aren't generally known. I mean that, some jewel collections. Have you seen any of these? Jewel jewelry collectors Yeah I mean Texans I understand that some of the big diamonds are in Texas people don you know Texas yes uh that are owned by people you haven you haven true any place in the world California Texas anything well I had heard that a lot of wealthy Texans had been collecting diamonds and I just wondered whether you did maybe I tell you who we used to get by a lot I didn't sell my brother-in-law passed away he sold this man in fort worth what's the devil's his name he died now his son they have a big coin collection terrific coin collection i can't think of his name uh ken every time i got a i got my hand on an unusual stone against my My brother-in-law, he stole it to him.
Mm-hmm. Like a devil's his name. He collected stones, huh? Yeah, diamonds. Uh-huh. Diamonds. Uh-huh. Diamond and gold. Uh-huh. Well, what about some of the interesting stones you've collected, you've cut yourself? The largest stone I ever cut was 23 carats. Where was it from? I don't know. You don't know? It belonged to Cartier. Oh, I see. 23 carats. I was supposed to go in the Army in September, but they got me in July. So I was working for somebody else. I had a contract with a firm that expired and the employer wanted me to stay on it. I didn't want to. So I went and worked for this firm.
And he was, I really cut a lot of stones from him. He had a man there who cut some emerald cuts, gorgeous high blue stones, and botched them up. And I had the job of making them over. And he had one stone, a rough stone, 23 parrots. I never finished it. The army got me before I finished it. Well, how long would it take to cut a stone that size? Well, that time it took much longer. Today they have a way of shaping the pear shape. It's a pear shape. I had to do that all by hand on a wheel. Now they have a way of doing what they call a cutting machine.
It cuts at that particular shape. So Uncle Sam didn't let me finish it. So you didn't, you don't have any idea what happened to it? Yeah, somebody finished it, I don't know. Well, what about these television commercials where you see these diamond cutters, you know, the one with Chevrolet or something where the diamond cutter is cutting the diamond in the backseat of the car as they drive along? He doesn cut it he cleaves it that a cleaver He doesn do the whole job there he just cleaves it If he does it I don know Well does the diamond cutter cleave the diamond too No, it's a different angle.
The first thing you do is a cleaver. A large stone like that where the stone is too large, it has imperfections in it, they cleave it. And they cleave off a bad piece. Then there's a cutter. The cutter makes the stone round. Or pear shape or whatever the, or marquee, whatever shape it's to be. That's the color. The polisher is the man who puts the facets on it. That's the final step in the diamond cutting. It's all called diamond cutting. And there's sewing, too. Here's the paper. You've probably seen it loads and loads of times. You see, this is an octaheadland. That's the shape of the stone.
In other words, the point goes up and the point goes down. And that's, they saw that through the center. So they make two stones out of it, see? I see. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. See? Uh-huh. That's called, you saw that stone. You'll get a stone maybe this shape. To make a round stone out of it, you see how much you lose? You lose all of that and you lose all of that. that yeah they have a way if it's real long they'll cleave through it mm-hmm that's a cleveland that's the stone doesn't lose too much you see this don't you then that's called an end and make something out of that to make a round stone out of that mm-hmm like this yeah so they lose a lot of diamond Oh yeah, diamond.
Now this type here, they get from 48 to 56 percent. 48 to 56 percent. A stone like this, a long shape, they get 40 to 45 percent. See? Depends upon the shape. Then they have a shape like this. triangle shape. You might make a pear shape out of that or you might make a round stone out of it. That loses about, depends on how thick it is, it may lose 35, 40 percent. It You lose 65 percent. From 60 to 65 percent. You don't have to bother with anything like that. No, I would be curious. Well, what about, where do you live now? Pardon? Where do you live now?
University Park. In Dallas? Uh-huh. You didn't go to Fort Worth then when you came to Texas? I didn't want to commute back and forth. I had about three months of winter and then just and we moved over here. Things were tough, too. Pat Eskew Company. This is she. Yes, uh-huh. Oh, probably. Let me check that. I'm not sure. Let me check that. Well, I can't check it here. I'll have to check it at home. But if I did, I'll send it to you right away. Okay, thank you. Bye-bye. So you live in University Park and you have one daughter who's married to somebody in the jewelry business.
Esenfels. Esenfels, I see. Is that here in Dallas or is that in New York? Esenfels. I don't know. See, I'm just joined the jewelry business. Goldberg and Esenfeld, that's your biggest customer in case you don't know. Yeah, they're the one in the centerfold of the magazine, yes. And that's your son-in-law. That's my son-in-law. He bought my interest. I didn't give it to him. He bought it. Oh, that was...how did you get into this then? Get into what? Into this business. I mean, I don't know about that. Yeah? No no Goldberg and Esenfeld is that the Well I took Goldberg in his apartment many years ago Oh I see And little by little I sold him 49 interest First he had 25 and 30, then 35, and finally he had up to 49%.
That's as much as I would sell him. And my son-in-law, he came down here. So I sold him 25%, then I sold him, when I retired, I sold him the other 25%. So I sold Goldberg another 1%, so they each have half. Well, was it Goldberg and Drilling at one time? Drilling and Goldberg. Drilling and Goldberg, I see. And this was a supply, I mean, just like it is now, the same kind of business? Yeah. Oh, I see. That was your business. You established it. That's right. And, oh, now each of them, your son-in-law and your ex-partner own 50% each. That's right. Mm-hmm. And that's what you retired from?
That's right. Mm-hmm. were a wholesaler? When I retired, that's when my son-in-law bought the other 25%. And he had 50%. And I sold Goldberg 1%. But he had 50-50. So you have plenty of time now to do all the things? Fool around. I'm too old to fool around. I'm just fool around with YAG. And you went to, just took a Caribbean cruise? There we go. My wife of mine, she runs my rear end all. Oh, your wife wants to enjoy your retirement, huh? She, we go to, last year went to Europe and to South America. She's planning on a trip to Europe again. And you think that's a good idea?
I have nothing to say. I have to go. She was telling me, how do you think, you think you're a young man, you spend your money while you have a chance. And she's right. That's right. I think that's wonderful. And I'm going to. Well, what made you get interested in YAG? I want to do something Just to sit around the house and do nothing you go and you get stale Well who introduced it I mean who brought it to your attention I saw it in the paper and saw somebody advertising and I thought I go in and do it You thought you'd just take a look at it?
Yeah. And you like it? Yeah. You think it's attractive? I like it and that keeps me busy. And who do you sell it to? Well loads of people. I see. once one that one person sees it they want it and then some people you sell they don't want to tell their friends what it is they want to of course so they want people to think they have diamonds mm-hmm I went with my accountant this morning and I had a round jag pendant I have these two I showed it to him no I showed it to her I'm waiting I know I showed it to him He says, how much is that, Max?
And I told him. He says, I want that. I says, do you want to tell him? His wife works there, too, you know. I said, do you want to tell him to buy? No, don't tell him. In the meantime, she walked in and she saw if that was it. She immediately put it on. That was it. Oh, they're beautiful, I think. You sell quite a few of them? Hmm? You sell quite a few of them? Yeah. I have to send to New York to have a maid. It's a nuisance. You see, the man that makes them for me, makes the moneys, I don't want him to know where I get the stones.
Oh, I see. So the stones are sent to me, and then I sent them to New York, and after they're sent, they're sent back to me. Now, if I could tell this firm in New York, send them over to this manufacturer, I could get them, we could sell sooner. But I don't want him to know where I'm getting them. Because he's paying more for them, his firm is paying more for them than I pay for them. I see. Mm-hmm. All kinds of monkey business. So you busy He be busy When I felt better I used to work out in the yard I had a yard man come over a man and his son planted two peach trees two plum trees four grape vines five boysenberry bushes beans and onions peppers and tomatoes Have a garden.
My wife and I worked out till three o'clock. Oh my God. Ten in the morning till three o'clock. Oh my God. That damn woman, she never gets tired. She weighs one hundred and ninety-two pounds. Oh my God. A little bit of a thing. You only have one daughter? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Well, I think... That's my daughter. Oh, isn't she pretty? Yeah, she's a pretty girl. She's lovely. I was taking one since going to Texas University. That's three of her children. That's the way she looks today. That was taken in a beauty parlor. Did they come around and take pictures? Yeah, that's nice. She's still very pretty.
Yes, she is. She's very pretty. She'd take after you or after her mother. Me, she's pretty, I said. That's your husband. Uh-huh. That's Eschenfeld. I see. That's the guy who gives you a big check every month. Yes, sir. I know. I know who he is. I don't know how much. I think they run a lot of ads that are silly, but they run them just the same. Well, we hope they bring him a lot of business. We hope they bring him a lot of business. They probably do. Uh-huh.