HISTORICAL DIAMONDS
The number of diamonds which exceed a hundred carats in weight when
cut is very limited. Their extreme costliness renders them something
more than mere ornaments; in a condensed and portable form they
represent great wealth and all the potentiality for good or ill thereby
entailed, and have played no small, if sinister, rôle in the moulding
of history. In bygone days when despotic government was universal, the
possession of a splendid jewel in weak hands but too often precipitated
the aggression of a greedy and powerful neighbour, and plunged whole
countries into the horrors of a ruthless and bloody war. In more
civilized days a great diamond has often been pledged as security for
money to replenish an empty treasury in times of stress. The ambitions
of Napoleon might have received a set-back but for the funds raised
on the security of the famous Pitt diamond. The history of such
stones—often one long romance—is full of interest, but space will not
permit of more than a brief sketch here.
If we except the colossal Cullinan stone, the mines of Brazil and South
Africa cannot compare with the old mines of India as the birthplace of
large and perfect diamonds of world-wide fame.
(1) KOH-I-NOR
[Illustration: FIG. 61.—Koh-i-nor (top view).]
[Illustration: FIG. 62.—Koh-i-nor (side view).]
The history of the famous stone called the Koh-i-nor, meaning Mound of
Light, is known as far back as the year 1304, when it fell into the
hands of the Mogul emperors, and legend even traces it back some four
thousand years previously. It remained at Delhi until the invasion of
North-West India by Nadir Shah in 1739, when it passed together with an
immense amount of spoil into the hands of the conqueror. At his death
the empire which he had so strenuously founded fell to pieces, and
the great diamond after many vicissitudes came into the possession of
Runjit Singh at Lahore. His successors kept it until upon the fall of
the Sikh power in 1850 it passed to the East India Company, in whose
name it was presented by Lord Dalhousie to Queen Victoria. At this
date the stone still retained its original Indian form, but in 1862 it
was re-cut into the form of a shallow brilliant (Fig. 62), the weight
thereby being reduced from 186-1/16 to 106-1/16 carats. The wisdom
of this course has been severely criticized; the stone has not the
correct shape of a brilliant and is deficient in ‘fire,’ and it has
with the change in shape lost much of its old historical interest.
The Koh-i-nor is the private property of the English Royal Family, the
stone shown in the Tower being a model. It is valued at £100,000.
(2) PITT OR REGENT
[Illustration: FIG. 63.—Pitt or Regent (top view).]
[Illustration: FIG. 64.—Pitt or Regent (side view).]
This splendid stone was discovered in 1701 at the famous diamond mines
at Partial, on the Kistna, about 150 miles (240 km.) from Golconda,
and weighed as much as 410 carats in the rough. By devious ways it
came into the hands of Jamchund, a Parsee merchant, from whom it was
purchased by William Pitt, governor of Fort St. George, Madras, for
£20,400. On his return to England Pitt had it cut into a perfect
brilliant (Fig. 63), weighing 163⅞ carats, the operation occupying
the space of two years and costing £5000; more than £7000 is said to
have been realized from the sale of the fragments left over. Pitt
had an uneasy time and lived in constant dread of theft of the stone
until, in 1717, after lengthy negotiations, he parted with it to the
Duc d’Orléans, Regent of France, for the immense sum of three and
three-quarter million francs, about £135,000. With the remainder of the
French regalia it was stolen from the Garde-meuble on August 17, 1792,
in the early days of the French Revolution, but was eventually restored
by the thieves, doubtless because of the impossibility of disposing of
such a stone, at least intact, and it is now exhibited in the Apollo
Gallery of the Louvre at Paris. It measures about 30 millimetres in
length, 25 in width, and 19 in depth, and is valued at £480,000.
(3) ORLOFF
[Illustration: FIG. 65.—Orloff (top view).]
[Illustration: FIG. 66.—Orloff (side view).]
One of the finest diamonds existing, this large stone forms the top
of the imperial sceptre of Russia. It is rose-cut (Fig. 65), the base
being a cleavage face, and weighs 194¾ carats. It is said to have
formed at one time one of the eyes of a statue of Brahma which stood
in a temple on the island of Sheringham in the Cavery River, near
Trichinopoli, in Mysore, and to have been stolen by a French soldier
who had somehow persuaded the priests to appoint him guardian of the
temple. He sold it for £2000 to the captain of an English ship, who
disposed of it to a Jewish dealer in London for £12,000. It changed
hands to a Persian merchant, Raphael Khojeh, who eventually sold it to
Prince Orloff for, so it is said, the immense sum of £90,000 and an
annuity of £4000. It was presented by Prince Orloff to Catherine II of
Russia.
(4) GREAT MOGUL
This, the largest Indian diamond known, was found in the Kollur mines,
about the year 1650. Its original weight is said to have been 787½
carats, but it was so full of flaws that the Venetian, Hortensio
Borgis, then in India, in cutting it to a rose form reduced its weight
to 240 carats. It was seen by Tavernier at the time of his visit
to India, but it has since been quite lost sight of. It has been
identified with both the Koh-i-nor and the Orloff, and it is even
suggested that both these stones were cut from it.
(5) SANCY
The history of this diamond is very involved, and probably two or more
stones have been confused. It may have been the one cut by Berquem for
Charles the Bold, from whose body on the fatal day of Nancy, in 1477,
it was snatched by a marauding soldier. It was acquired by Nicholas
Harlai, Seigneur de Sancy, who sold it to Queen Elizabeth at the close
of the sixteenth century. A hundred years later, in 1695, it was sold
by James II to Louis XIV. The stone in the French regalia, according
to the inventory taken in 1791, weighed 53¾ carats. It was never
recovered after the theft of the regalia in the following year, but
may be identical with the diamond which was in the possession of the
Demidoff family and was sold by Prince Demidoff in 1865 to a London
firm who were said to have been acting for Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, a
wealthy Parsee of Bombay. It was shown at the Paris Exhibition of 1867.
It was almond-shaped, and covered all over with tiny facets by Indian
lapidaries.
(6) GREAT TABLE
This mysterious stone was seen by Tavernier at Golconda in 1642, but
has quite disappeared. It weighed 242-3/16 carats.
(7) MOON OF THE MOUNTAINS
This diamond is often confused with the Orloff. It was captured by
Nadir Shah at Delhi, and after his murder was stolen by an Afghan
soldier who disposed of it to an Armenian, by name Shaffrass. It was
finally acquired by the Russian crown for an enormous sum.
(8) NIZAM
A large diamond, weighing 340 carats, belonged to the Nizam of
Hyderabad; it was fractured at the beginning of the Indian Mutiny.
Whether the weight is that previous to fracture or not, there seems to
be no information.
(9) DARYA-I-NOR
This fine diamond, rose-cut and 186 carats in weight, is of the purest
water and merits its title of ‘River of Light.’ It seems to have been
captured by Nadir Shah at Delhi, and is now the largest diamond in the
Persian collection.
(10) SHAH
This fine stone, of the purest water, was presented to the Czar
Nicholas by the Persian prince Chosroes, younger son of Abbas Mirza, in
1843. At that time it still retained three cleavage faces which were
engraved with the names of three Persian sovereigns, and weighed 95
carats. It was, however, subsequently re-cut with the loss of 9 carats,
and the engraving has disappeared in the process.
(11) AKBAR SHAH, OR JEHAN GHIR SHAH
Once the property of the great Mogul, Akbar, this diamond was engraved
on two faces with Arabic inscriptions by the instructions of his
successor, Jehan. It disappeared, but turned up again in Turkey
under the name of ‘Shepherd’s Stone’; it still retained its original
inscriptions and was thereby recognized. In 1866 it was re-cut, the
weight being reduced from 116 to 71 carats, and the inscriptions
destroyed. The stone was sold to the Gaekwar of Baroda for 3½ lakhs of
rupees (about £23,333).
(12) POLAR STAR
A beautiful, brilliant-cut stone, weighing 40 carats, which is known by
this name, is in the Russian regalia.
(13) NASSAK
The Nassak diamond, which weighed 89¾ carats, formed part of the
Deccan booty, and was put up to auction in London in July 1837. It
was purchased by Emanuel, a London jeweller, who for £7200 shortly
afterwards sold it to the Duke of Westminster, in whose family it still
remains. It was originally pear-shaped, but was re-cut to a triangular
form with a reduction in weight to 78⅝ carats.
(14) NAPOLEON
This diamond was purchased by Napoleon Buonaparte for £8000, and worn
by him at his wedding with Josephine Beauharnais in 1796.
(15) CUMBERLAND
This stone, which weighs 32 carats, was purchased by the city of London
for £10,000 and presented to the Duke of Cumberland after the battle of
Culloden; it is now in the possession of the Duke of Brunswick.
(16) PIGOTT
A fine Indian stone, weighing 47½ carats, this diamond was brought
to England by Lord Pigott in 1775 and sold for £30,000. It came into
the possession of Ali Pacha, Viceroy of Egypt, and was by his orders
destroyed at his death.
(17) EUGÉNIE
This fine stone, weighing 51 carats, was given by the Czarina Catherine
II of Russia to her favourite, Potemkin. It was purchased by Napoleon
III as a bridal gift for his bride, and on his downfall was bought by
the Gaekwar of Baroda.
(18) WHITE SAXON
Square in contour, measuring 1-1/12 in. (28 mm.), and weighing 48¾
carats, this stone was purchased by Augustus the Strong for a million
thalers (about £150,000).
(19) PACHA OF EGYPT
This 40-carat brilliant was purchased by Ibrahim, Viceroy of Egypt, for
£28,000.
(20) STAR OF ESTE
Though a comparatively small stone, in weight 25½ carats, it is noted
for its perfection of form and quality. It belongs to the Archduke
Franz Ferdinand of Austrian-Este, eldest son of the Archduke Karl
Ludwig.
(21) TUSCANY, OR AUSTRIAN YELLOW
The beauty of this large stone, 133¾ carats in weight, is marred by
the tinge of yellow, which is sufficiently pronounced to impair its
brilliancy; it is a double rose in form. At one time the property of
the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, it is now in the possession of the Emperor
of Austria. King mentions a tale that it was bought at a curiosity
stall in Florence for an insignificant sum, the stone being supposed to
be only yellow quartz.
(22) STAR OF THE SOUTH
This, the largest of the Brazilian diamonds, was discovered at the
mines of Bagagem in July 1853. Perfectly transparent and without tint,
it was dodecahedral in shape and weighed 254½ carats, and was sold in
the rough for £40,000. It was cut as a perfect brilliant, being reduced
in weight to 125½ carats.
(23) ENGLISH DRESDEN
This beautiful stone, which weighed 119½ carats in the rough, was found
at the Bagagem mines, in Brazil, in 1857, and came into the possession
of Mr. E. Dresden. It was cut as a long, egg-shaped brilliant, weighing
76½ carats.
(24) STAR OF SOUTH AFRICA
The first considerable stone to be found in South Africa, it was
discovered at the Vaal River diggings in 1869, and weighed 83½ carats
in the rough. It was cut to a triangular brilliant of 46½ carats. It
was finally purchased by the Countess of Dudley for £25,000.
(25) STEWART
This large diamond, weighing in the rough 288⅜ carats, was found at the
Vaal River diggings in 1872, and was first sold for £6000 and shortly
afterwards for £9000; it was reduced on cutting to 120 carats. Like
many South African stones, it has a faint yellowish tinge.
(26) PORTER-RHODES
This blue-white stone, which weighed 150 carats, was found in a claim
belonging to Mr. Porter-Rhodes in the Kimberley mine in February 1880.
(27) IMPERIAL, VICTORIA, OR GREAT WHITE
This large diamond weighed as much as 457 carats in the rough, and 180
when cut; it is quite colourless. It was brought to Europe in 1884, and
was eventually sold to the Nizam of Hyderabad for £20,000.
(28) DE BEERS
A pale yellowish stone, weighing 428½ carats, was found in the De Beers
mine in 1888. It was cut to a brilliant weighing 228½ carats, and
was sold to an Indian prince. A still larger stone of similar tinge,
weighing 503¼ carats, was discovered in 1896, and among other large
stones supplied by the same mine may be mentioned one of 302 carats
found in 1884, and another of 409 carats found in early years.
(29) EXCELSIOR
This, which prior to the discovery of the ‘Cullinan,’ was by far the
largest South African stone, was found in the Jagersfontein mine on
June 30, 1893; bluish-white in tint, it weighed 969½ carats. From
it were cut twenty-one brilliants, the larger stones weighing 67⅞,
45-13/16, 45-11/16, 39-3/16, 34, 27⅞, 25⅝, 23-11/16, 16-11/32, 13½
carats respectively, and the total weight of the cut stones amounting
to 364-3/32 carats.
(30) JUBILEE
Another large stone was discovered in the Jagersfontein mine in
1895. It weighed 634 carats in the rough, and from it was obtained a
splendid, faultless brilliant weighing 239 carats. It was shown at the
Paris Exhibition of 1900.
(31) STAR OF AFRICA, OR CULLINAN
[Illustration: FIG. 67.—Cullinan No. 1.]
All diamonds pale into insignificance when compared with the colossal
stone that came to light at the Premier mine near Pretoria in the
Transvaal on January 25, 1905. It was first called the ‘Cullinan’ after
Sir T. M. Cullinan, chairman of the Premier Diamond Mine (Transvaal)
Company, but has recently, by desire of King George V, received the
name ‘Star of Africa.’ The rough stone weighed 621·2 grams or 3025¾
carats (about 1⅓ lb.); it displayed three natural faces (Plate XXV)
and one large cleavage face, and its shape suggested that it was
a portion of an enormous stone more than double its size; it was
transparent, colourless, and had only one small flaw near the surface.
This magnificent diamond was purchased by the Transvaal Government for
£150,000, and presented to King Edward VII on his birthday, November 9,
1907.
[Illustration: _PLATE XXV_
CULLINAN DIAMOND
(_Natural size_)]
[Illustration: FIG. 68.—Cullinan No. 2.]
The Cullinan was entrusted to the famous firm, Messrs. I. J. Asscher
& Co., of Amsterdam, for cutting on January 23, 1908, just three
years after its discovery. On February 10 it was cleaved into two
parts, weighing respectively 1977½ and 1040½ carats, from which the
two largest stones have been cut, one being a pendeloque or drop
brilliant in shape (Fig. 67) and weighing 516½ carats, and the other
a square brilliant (Fig. 68) weighing 309-3/16 carats. The first
has been placed in the sceptre, and the second in the crown of the
regalia. Besides these there are a pendeloque weighing 92 carats, a
square-shaped brilliant 62, a heart-shaped stone 18⅜, two marquises
8-9/16 and 11¼, an oblong stone 6⅝, a pendeloque 4-9/32, and 96 small
brilliants weighing together 7⅜; the total weight of the cut stones
amounts to 1036-5/32 carats. The largest stone has 74 and the second 66
facets. The work was completed and the stones handed to King Edward in
November 1908.
Although the Premier mine has yielded no worthy compeer of the
Cullinan, it can, nevertheless, boast of a considerable number of
large stones which but for comparison with that giant would be thought
remarkable for their size, no fewer than seven of them having weights
of over 300 carats, viz. 511, 487¼, 458¾, 391½, 373, 348, and 334
carats.
(32) STAR OF MINAS
This large diamond, which was found in 1911 at the Bagagem mines, Minas
Geraes, Brazil, had the shape of a dome with a flat base, and weighed
in the rough 35·875 grams (174¾ carats).
• • • • •
The large stone called the ‘Braganza,’ in the Portuguese regalia, which
is supposed to be a diamond, is probably a white topaz; it weighs 1680
carats. The Mattan stone, pear-shaped and weighing 367 carats, which
was found in the Landak mines near the west coast of Borneo in 1787, is
suspected to be quartz.
COLOURED DIAMONDS
(1) HOPE
[Illustration: FIG. 69.—Hope.]
The largest of coloured diamonds, the Hope, weighs 44⅛ carats, and has
a steely- or greenish-blue, and not the royal-blue colour of the glass
models supposed to represent it. It is believed to be a portion of a
drop-form stone (_d’un beau violet_) which was said to have been found
at the Kollur mines, and was secured by Tavernier in India in 1642 and
sold by him to Louis XIV in 1668; it then weighed 67 carats. This stone
was stolen with the remainder of the French regalia in 1792 and never
recovered. In 1830 the present stone (Fig. 69) was offered for sale
by Eliason, a London dealer, and was purchased for £18,000 by Thomas
Philip Hope, a wealthy banker and a keen collector of gems. Probably
the apex of the original stone had been cut off, reducing it to a
nearly square stone. The slight want of symmetry of the present stone
lends confirmation to this view, and two other blue stones are known,
which, together with the Hope, make up the weight of the original
stone. At the sale of the Hope collection at Christie’s in 1867 the
blue diamond went to America. In 1908 the owner disposed of it to Habib
Bey for the enormous sum of £80,000. It was put up to auction in Paris
in 1909, and bought by Rosenau, the Paris diamond merchant, for the
comparatively small sum of 400,000 francs (about £16,000), and was sold
in January 1911 to Mr. Edward M’Lean for £60,000. The stone is supposed
to bring ill-luck in its train, and its history has been liberally
embellished with fable to establish the saying.
(2) DRESDEN
A beautiful apple-green diamond, faultless, and of the purest water, is
contained in the famous Green Vaults of Dresden. It weighs 40 carats,
and was purchased by Augustus the Strong in 1743 for 60,000 thalers
(about £9000).
(3) PAUL I
A fine ruby-red diamond, weighing 10 carats, is included among the
Russian crown jewels.
(4) TIFFANY
The lovely orange brilliant, weighing 125⅜ carats, which is in the
possession of Messrs. Tiffany & Co., the well-known jewellers of New
York, was discovered in the Kimberley mine in 1878.