jewel to in fact be worth 150,000 guilders, making the sale a true bargain for his benefactor Frederick Henry. In 1652, Cletcher sold a pearl necklace to his regular customer Henrietta Maria, who at this point lived in exile in Paris after the execution of her husband Charles I. In addition to his activities as a jeweller, Cletcher was also a skillful investor in schemes such as the draining of marshland in the Poitou region of France, milling in Sweden, and various real estate purchases. While his family assets are recorded as 6,000 guilders in 1627, by 1654 this had grown to over 90,000 guilders. Public service and later life Cletcher received his first appointment to the Hague city council in 1643, which might have been helped by his marriage into the noble Hoeufft family. His first term as alderman of the council began in 1645, a position to which he was reelected several times, before ultimately becoming mayor of The Hague in 1652. The mayorship was a highly prestigious post, and would have been considered the crowning achievement of a burgher's life. Cletcher served as mayor until 1657, when he retired from his business; he moved to nearby Amersfoort in 1659, where his son Thomas was mayor. Cletcher died in Amersfoort on 2 June 1666. From his first marriage with Anna Ghijsberti, Cletcher had five children: Thomas, later mayor of Amersfoort. Hendrik, secretary at the Dutch embassy in Sweden. Robert, painter and member of the Confrerie Pictura in The Hague. Anna, who married Otto Viglius, the commissioner for the region of Friesland in the States General of the Netherlands. Jacob, who died as a young man after his marriage in 1647. References 1598 births 1666 deaths 17th-century Dutch businesspeople Dutch goldsmiths Dutch jewellers Businesspeople from The Hague Aldermen of The Hague Mayors of The Hague Artists from The Hague