Smith, a Yorkshire man with a long record in Victoria and possibly in the USA, was sentenced to seven years with hard labour. He again became an inmate of Pentridge Prison. In the ensuing years he committed further offences and died in Pentridge in 1890.²²

Nineteen-year-old John Coley received two years with hard labour to be served in Pentridge. He did, however, commit one offence therein, being found in possession of tobacco, for which he received three days solitary confinement. Coley was released on 17 September 1878, freedom by remission, with pay of £1 19s 9d. He did not re-offend.²³

In 1878, an auspicious year, the listing for Rosenthal, Aronson & Co. included the words 'manufacturing jewellers' for the first time, with George Aronson recorded as a principal of the business as well. Obviously sufficient stock was now available. The annual picnic was a celebration: a cricket match, Mercantile versus Manufactory. With a margin of eight runs, Mercantile won.²⁴

Surviving from 1880 are the measured coloured drawings of the interior of the manufactory.²⁵ On the second floor of the building were workbenches for thirty-five goldsmiths, with five almost semi-circular, well-lit working positions at each, and suspended leather pouches to catch the lemel. Before him each man had a vertical 'peg', a wedge-shaped piece of hardwood to hold the current job in position. A swivelling gas jet was attached to the side of each workbench for the purpose of soldering. Gold for each workman was carefully weighed by the manager, Otto Brinkmann, before manufacture. Then the finished piece of jewellery and any waste was presented to Brinkmann and was again carefully weighed. A very, very small discrepancy was usually noted. Three of the goldsmiths working on this floor were Arthur Dawes, a diamond setter earning £3 a week, Julius Haber, also a mounter of precious gems, and William Wylie. The latter's work consisted of assembling brooches, soldering the components together, and punching the firm's trademark thereon.

Unlike in England and many European countries, there was (and still is) no legislation requiring the marking of precious metals in Australia. However, Rosenthal, Aronson & Company chose to do so. The firm's punch mark, a flag with five stars within, a stylised representation of the Southern Cross, which was struck to either left or right, was most appropriate for a Melbourne manufacturer. It was first recorded as being used in 1880. In earlier years it was simply their initials, 'R A & Co', accompanied by a carat mark.²⁶