SOME FAMOUS AND WONDERFUL DIAMONDS
AND THEIR STORIES
THE KOH-I-NOOR: PITT OR REGENT: THE ORLOFF: THE SANCY: THE BLUE HOPE:
THE PAUL THE FIRST: THE DRESDEN: THE NIZAM: THE CUMBERLAND: THE
NAPOLEON: THE EUGENIE: THE POLAR STAR: THE SHAH: THE MOON OF THE
MOUNTAINS: AKBAR SHAH, OR THE SHEPHERD’S STONE: THE RIVER OF LIGHT:
THE GRAND MOGUL: THE GRAND TABLE: THE NASSAK: THE PIGOTT: THE PACHA:
THE TUSCANY: THE STAR OF ESTE: THE WHITE SAXON: THE GREAT WHITE: THE
MATTAM: THE STAR OF THE SOUTH: THE ENGLISH DRESDEN: THE DE BEERS
DIAMONDS: THE STAR OF SOUTH AFRICA: THE JUBILEE: THE STAR OF AFRICA
OR THE CULLINAN: THE BRAGANZA: THE TIFFANY: STAR OF MINAS: THE
ARABIAN “DEATH”: THE MOONSTONE.
“_Jewels
Of rich and exquisite form: their value great._”
SHAKESPEARE.
THE KOH-I-NOOR
This famous stone is said by Dr. Brewer to have been found in the
Golconda mine in the year 1550, but Dr. G. F. Herbert Smith states that
it was known as far back as 1304, “when it fell into the hands of the
Mogul emperors, and legend traces it back some four thousand years
previously.” Mr. Emanuel says that the Hindu accounts “deduce it from
the time of the God Krischna,” while Mr. King states that it was turned
up by a peasant when ploughing in a field 40 miles distant from
Golconda, “and was in its rough state fully as large as a hen’s egg.”
The traveller Tavernier saw it amongst the jewels of the great Mogul
King Aurungzebe. This was after it had been badly cut and unskillfully
reduced by Hortensio Borgio from 793 carats to 186-1/16 carats.
According to Tavernier its original weight was 787½ carats. Borgio’s
work so angered Aurungzebe that he deprived the unfortunate cutter of
all his possessions, grudgingly allowing him to escape with his life.
The Koh-i-Noor had an evil reputation amongst the Hindus who held that
it “produced inordinate greed, viciousness and various misfortunes on
the King who possessed it.” In 1739 Nadir Shah sacked Delhi and took the
gem from Mohammed Shah, naming it the “Koh-i-Noor,” or “Mountain of
Light.” Returning victorious to Persia, Nadir Shah was murdered by his
officers. One of these, Ahmed Shah Doorannee, founded the Afghan
kingdom, and the last of his dynasty Shah Sujah was starved into
surrendering the stone to Runjeet Singh. The latter when dying sent it
to the Temple of Juggernaut. His successors, however, would not let it
remain there, and when the British annexed the Punjaub in 1849 it was
presented by Lord Dalhousie on behalf of the East India Company to Queen
Victoria and, writes Mr. King, “within ten years the usual consequences
of its possession were manifested in the Sepoy revolt and the all but
total loss of India to the British Crown in which beams its malignant
lustre, lighting up a very inauspicious future for that region, fated
ever apparently to be disturbed by the measures of ignorant zealots at
home and the plots of discontented and over-powerful allies in the
country itself.” The Koh-i-Noor was recut in 1862 by Mr. Coster of
Amsterdam, losing 80 carats in the cutting. The weight of the stone is
now given as 106-1/16 carats, and its value is estimated at £100,000
sterling, by Dr. G. F. Herbert Smith, and at £120,664 Sterling by Dr.
Brewer. It was believed that all diseases could be cured by the water in
which the Koh-i-Noor had been placed. The stone could never be fortunate
for India according to astro-philosophy because India is a Saturnine
country ruled by the celestial Capricorn. It is more fortunate for
England because England is a martial country ruled by the celestial
Aries.
PITT OR REGENT DIAMOND
This famous gem, bought in Golconda from an Indian merchant by William
Pitt, grandfather of the Earl of Chatham, and said to have been
originally stolen, was found at Gani-Puteal, 150 miles from Golconda in
1701. Mr. Pitt gave £20,400 sterling for the gem which weighed 410
carats, and returning to England he had it recut at a cost of £5,000 and
two years’ work. In this process the weight of the stone was reduced to
163⅞ carats, the fragments when sold returning £2,000 over the cost of
cutting. Possession of this gem worried Mr. Pitt who sold it to the Duc
d’Orleans, regent of France, whence it obtained the name “Regent,” for
£135,000 sterling. It was stolen from the Garde-Meuble when the Sun was
in the Diamond sign Leo, August 17th, 1792, and was mysteriously
returned. Napoleon Bonaparte, who had the Sun in the sign Leo—the sign
of France—at his birth, had the Regent set in the pommel of his sword.
It was exhibited at the French Exhibition in 1855, and is now shown in
the Apollo Gallery of the Louvre, Paris. During the attempted advance on
Paris in the late war, it is stated that one of the French ministers
took the Regent with him to Bordeaux whence the danger being passed, it
was afterwards returned to its honoured place in the capital city of
France. Its value is stated at £480,000 sterling.
THE ORLOFF DIAMOND
This gem was stolen by a French soldier from a temple near Trichinopoli
in Mysore, where it was set as an eye stone in the statue of Brahma. The
weight of the stone, which is rose cut, is 194¾ carats. The soldier sold
it to an English ship’s captain for £2,000—Mr. Emanuel says £2,800—and
the captain sold it to a London dealer for £12,000 sterling. It was
afterwards sold to Prince Orloff, whence it obtained its name, for
£90,000 sterling, and an annual pension of £4,000. The Prince presented
it to Empress Katherine who had it set as an ornament at the top of the
imperial sceptre. This large diamond was a stone of ill omen for Russia,
a country ruled by the celestial Aquarius and opposed to the diamond
sign Leo. When we reflect, in harmony with celestial philosophy, that
the late Czar Nicholas II, the last of the Romanoffs, had the sign Leo
in the 12th heavenly mansion at birth we can only see in the Orloff
diamond the symbol of sorrow and restraint.
[Illustration:
HOROSCOPE OF NICHOLAS II
The last of the Czar’s to whom the ancients would consider the diamond
a symbol of ill omen.
]
THE SANCY DIAMOND
Few historical objects surpass the beautiful Sancy Diamond in romance
and importance. Its origin is involved in uncertainty prior to the early
15th Century. The first definite account concerning the famous gem
states that after the battle of Nancy, January 5th, 1477, it was taken
from the dead body of Charles the Bold, by a Swiss soldier. Charles
adorned his dress with many diamonds, the Sancy holding the place of
honour. The soldier not knowing the value of the gem he had stolen sold
it to a minister of religion for a gulden. The minister sold it some
years later to a dealer in Lucerne for 5,000 ducats. King Manoel, known
as the Fortunate, of Portugal, purchased it in 1495, two years before he
dispatched the navigator Vasco da Gama, on his voyage of discovery. Don
Antonio, known as Prince of Crato and King of Portugal in partibus, sold
the gem to Nicolas de Harlai Sieur de Sancy, whence it obtained its
name. As the friend and treasurer of Henry IV of France, the Sieur in
order to aid the King to protect his crown, raised a loan for him on the
security of the stone, from the bankers of Metz. The servant entrusted
with the safe delivery of the diamond being waylaid by robbers,
swallowed his master’s precious gem to protect it; the thieves in fury
at being unable to discover the stone, on the person or in the baggage,
of the loyal servant, murdered him. The Sieur evidently knew what his
messenger would do in an extremity, and he afterwards recovered the gem
from the body of the murdered man. It was next sold to the English Crown
when it was worn by Queen Elizabeth. It remained in possession of the
Crown, and is mentioned in the Tower inventory of March 22nd, 1605,
until the reign of James II, who took it when he fled to France to seek
asylum at the court of the Grand Monarque. James then sold the Sancy to
his sympathetic friend Louis, for £25,000 sterling. Another account
states that the Sancy came into the possession of Cardinal Mazarin who
had it recut and included amongst the twelve famous diamonds in the
Crown of France, known as the Mazarins. Robert de Berquem says that
Queen Henrietta Maria proudly wore it (“Merveilles des Indes,” 1669).
Louis XV it is recorded, wore the Sancy at his coronation in 1715, and
his Queen, Maria Lesczynska, daughter of the dethroned Polish King,
Stanislas, afterwards wore it as a necklace pendant. When Marie
Antoinette became Queen of France she had this royal pendant taken from
the necklace and mounted in brooch form. With the tragic end of the
unhappy Queen some uncertainty follows the wanderings of the Sancy. It
is stated that the widow of Charles IV of Spain gave it to the “Prince
of Peace,” Manuel de Godoi, Duke of Alcudia. One account states that
Godoi sold it to Napoleon, another that Godoi’s son after vainly
endeavouring to induce Louis XVIII to purchase it in 1822, sold it to
Prince Demidoff. The Prince sold it to Monsieur Levrat, Director of the
Society of Mines and Forges of Grisons, Switzerland, for £24,000. A
dispute over the price led to an action at law and a verdict in favour
of the Prince on June 1st, 1832.
The stone was afterwards purchased by Sir Jamisetjee Jeejeebhoy in 1865,
from the family of Prince Demidoff. It was sent from Bombay to London by
Messrs. Forbes & Co., the agents for Sir Jamisetjee Jeejeebhoy, and was
exhibited by M. M. Bapst at the Paris Exposition of 1867. During the
tour of King George (when Prince of Wales) in India, the Sancy is said
to have been worn at the Great Durba by the Marajah of Puttiali. In 1892
the beautiful gem passed into the possession of the Astor family it
having been purchased by the Hon. William Waldorf Astor for his wife,
Mary, daughter of James W. Paul, Esq., of Philadelphia, U. S. A. It now
passes into the hands of the Right Hon. Viscountess Astor who wore it on
taking her seat as the first lady elected as a member of the House of
Commons. The writer is indebted to Lady Astor for her kindly interest in
this book, and for a presentation of a handsome volume on the Sancy
Diamond by William Waldorf Astor, published in 1892. The Sancy Diamond
is described by Dr. Smith as of an almond shape, covered all over with
tiny facets by Indian lapidaries. The weight is given as 53½ to 53¾
carats.
Considered astrologically a diamond would be unfortunate for Charles the
Bold who was born at Dijon 10th November, 1435. It would be considered
fortunate for Henry IV of France in whose horoscope the planet Jupiter
was ascending in the sign Libra. Jupiter being in the 12th Heavenly
Mansion would be considered fortunate for secret negotiations and
diplomacy, and it is worthy of notice that the Sancy Diamond should be
employed as a powerful helper in these very matters. The sign of the
Lion, the sign of France, is also on the Mid Heaven of the King’s
nativity, and Leo is distinctly a diamond and Royal sign. It was a truly
fortunate gem for King James II of England whose horoscope is here shown
with the Royal Lion ascending.
[Illustration:
HOROSCOPE OF JAMES II
The ancients would consider the diamond a symbol of fortune and
adventure for this King.
]
THE HOPE DIAMOND
Dr. G. F. Herbert Smith says of this gem that it is of “a steely or
greenish blue, not the royal blue colour of the glass models supposed to
represent it.” If the accepted history of the stone be true, it must be
regarded as a strange specimen. It was stated to have been discovered at
the Kollur mines, and to have been purchased by Tavernier in 1642. In
1668, Tavernier interested Louis XIV in the gem so much that he
purchased it. After this the fortunes of the great traveller began to
change. His son defrauded him of a large sum of money, and he was later,
being a Protestant, compelled by the Edict of Nantes (1685) to fly from
France and seek protection in Switzerland. Thence he went to Berlin,
where the Elector of Brandenburg offered him the Directorship in a
projected East India Company. In the endeavor to find a road through
Russia to India, Tavernier left Berlin, but he succumbed to fatigue and
financial worry soon after, dying, it is said, in want, in his 84th year
at Moscow. After wearing this diamond at a Court Ball, Madame de
Montespan lost the favour of her Royal lover. It was a stone of ill
fortune for Marie Antoinette, to whom, however, all diamonds were
unfortunate. After the tragic death of Louis XVI and his Queen, the
stone was stolen with the French regalia. Afterwards it is stated to
have been stolen from Fals, the Dutch gem cutter, by his son. Fals died
a broken-hearted man, and his son, after selling the gem to Francois
Beaulieu, went insane and killed himself. Beaulieu, after selling the
stone to Daniel Eliason, a London dealer, died suddenly the following
day. Mr. Eliason sold it to Mr. Thomas Philip Hope, the banker, in 1830
for £18,000 sterling. Mr. Hope’s grandson, Lord Henry Francis Hope,
married the Australian actress, Miss May Yohe, in 1894. This lady wore
the diamond and misfortune followed her. In 1901 Lord Hope was glad to
sell the stone to Mr. Weil, a London diamond merchant, who, without
waiting for its influence to affect him, sold it immediately to Mr.
Simon Frankel, jeweller, of New York, who suffered financial hardships
consequent on the difficulty of finding a purchaser. At last he sold it
to Mr. Jacques Colot, a French dealer in gems, and with it went his
troubles also. Monsieur Colot quickly sold the gem to the Russian
Prince, Kanitovski, and, it is stated, became insane and died
mysteriously a few weeks afterwards. The Prince lent it to Mademoiselle
Lorens Laduc of the Folies Bergeres, with whom he was in love. As she
wore it one night on the stage the Prince in a mad fit shot her. A few
days later he was himself stabbed to death by some members of a secret
political club. The Blue Terror next came into the possession of the
Greek jeweller, Simon Montharides, who, after having sold it to the
Sultan, Adbul Hamid, was killed by accident with his wife and two
children whilst driving. Abu Sabir, the Sultan’s lapidary, was entrusted
with the polishing of the jewel, and whilst he had it he accidentally
destroyed a large pearl belonging to Abdul Hamid, who ordered him to be
severely flogged and cast into prison. A little later the keeper of the
Sultan’s jewels was found murdered, and his successor was hanged by a
mob in a street of Constantinople. The Sultan’s favourite, Salama
Zubayba, incurred his anger by wearing the blue gem and the infuriated
ruler shot her as Prince Kanitovski had shot Lorens Laduc. All diamonds,
however, would be unfortunate for Abdul Hamid. The diamond then fell
into the hands of the Turkish revolutionary party and was sold by them
to Senor Habib, a rich Spaniard, who was drowned in the wreck of the
French mail steamer, Seyne, off Singapore. The gem was not lost with its
owner, and was later sold to Messrs. Cartier Bros, of Paris and New York
by Monsieur Rosenau, a well-known diamond merchant. In 1911 it was
bought by Mr. Edward McLean, proprietor of the “Washington Post,” for
£52,000 sterling, from Cartier Bros. It is said that both Mr. and Mrs.
McLean were doubtful about the wisdom of purchasing this stone of ill
omen which, according to report, had been previously refused by the
Court of England on account of its evil reputation. Misfortunes quickly
followed the new owners, culminating with the tragic death of little
Vinson Walsh McLean, their only son, who was knocked down and killed by
a motor car close to his father’s estate. After leaving the possession
of the McLean family this stone found a purchaser in Monsieur de
Hautville. Within three months the same peculiar misfortune which had
befallen its previous owners befell them. Madame de Hautville, sharing
the same fate as little Vinson McLean, was killed by a motor car whilst
crossing a street in Paris. Following on this the eldest son, having
taken poison by mistake, died in terrible agony. Mademoiselle de
Hautville was accidentally drowned and the younger son whilst out
shooting was blinded by the explosion of his gun. Quickly the de
Hautvilles parted with this peculiar gem of ill omen. Where will it next
find a home? The weight of the Hope diamond when sold by Tavernier to
Louis XIV was 67 carats; its present weight is 44½ carats. It presents a
curious psychical study and an undeniable evidence of fatal influence
which it would indeed be difficult to explain away.
THE PAUL THE FIRST
This diamond is described as a brilliant red, weighing 10 carats. It was
one of the Russian Crown jewels, being purchased by Emperor Paul the
First for 100,000 roubles. It was a stone of ill omen for both Paul and
Russia. He was murdered in 1801, and in his nativity the planet Neptune
was, as in that of Marie Antoinette, in the sign Leo, accompanied by
unfortunate planetary afflictions.
THE DRESDEN
The Dresden diamond which is in the Green Vaults at Dresden is described
as of the purest apple-green colour. Authorities differ as to its
weight, which is variously given at 40 and 48½ carats. It is stated that
the gem was purchased by Augustus the Strong in 1743 for 60,000 thalers,
but this Augustus died of an old wound in 1733. It was probably his son
Frederick Augustus III who died at Dresden in 1763.
THE NIZAM
This gem which belonged to the Nizam of Hyderabad was, to judge by its
particular native cutting, probably employed in certain sex mysteries.
Its weight is 340 carats, and strangely enough, it fractured just before
the Indian Mutiny. The diamond is not a stone of harmony for India.
THE CUMBERLAND
After the battle of Culloden (1746) the city of London presented this
diamond, which weighed 32 carats and cost £10,000, to the Duke of
Cumberland. During Queen Victoria’s reign the stone was claimed by the
City of Hanover, to which place it was sent by the Queen’s command.
THE NAPOLEON
This diamond which was bought by Napoleon Buonaparte for £8,000 sterling
was worn by him when he married Josephine in 1796.
EUGENIE
This gem was purchased by Katherine II of Russia, who gave it to
Potemkin. It is a very pure gem of 51 carats. Napoleon III gave it to
Eugenie as a wedding gift. Afterwards it came into the possession of the
Gaekwar of Baroda.
THE POLAR STAR
This brilliant jewel formed one of the chief ornaments in the Russian
regalia. The weight is given as 40 carats.
THE SHAH
The Shah diamond was given to the Czar of Russia by the Persian prince
Chosroes in 1843. It is a flawless, pure gem which originally weighed 95
carats and was engraved with the names of three distinguished Shahs of
Persia. In the recutting this engraving was eliminated and the stone
reduced to 86 carats.
MOON OF THE MOUNTAINS
Nadir Shah, having stolen this gem from Delhi, it was after his
assassination taken by a soldier who sold it to Shaffras, an Armenian.
It was included in the Russian Crown jewels. Many diamonds adorned the
regalias of Russia, but they are no more fortunate to Russia than they
are to India.
AKBAR SHAH, SHEPHERD’S STONE
This gem belonged to Akbar, the Great Mogul, and was formerly engraved
with Arabic writing. After having been lost for some years it was
identified as the Turkish Shepherd’s Stone. It originally weighed 116
carats, and was reduced by cutting in the elimination of the engraving
to 71 carats. It was purchased by the Gaekwar of Baroda for £23,330
sterling.
RIVER OF LIGHT
This beautiful rose diamond of 186 carats was seized by Nadir Shah at
Delhi. It adorns the Persian regalia and is known as the Darya-i-Nor, or
River of Light.
GRAND MOGUL
This remarkable diamond was seen by Tavernier amongst the jewels of the
Emperor Auranzeb in 1665, five years after its recorded discovery in the
Golconda mines. Its original weight is given as 787 carats by some
records and as 787½ by others. This was greatly reduced in cutting to a
rose shape by Hortensio Borgio when, it is said on account of numerous
flaws, it lost 547 carats. Tavernier describes it as “rounded rose cut,
taller on one side.” The present whereabouts of the “Grand Mogul” is
unknown.
THE GRAND TABLE
This gem is also recorded by Tavernier who saw it at Golconda in 1642.
Its weight is given at somewhat over 242 carats. Where it now is, is not
known.
THE NASSAK
This gem which came from the Deccan loot was sold in London in 1837. Mr.
Emanuel, into whose possession it came, sold it later to the Duke of
Westminster for £7,200 sterling. Its original pear-shaped form was
altered to triangular, an operation which left the weight at 78⅝ carats.
THE PIGOTT
Lord Pigott obtained this stone in India in 1775, and disposed of it for
£30,000 sterling. The weight is given as 47½ carats. Ali Pacha, the last
owner of the gem, left instructions to destroy it at his death, and his
wishes are said to have been respected.
THE PACHA
This brilliant of 40 carats is mentioned as having been acquired by
Ibrahim Pacha for £28,000 sterling. Very little seems to be known about
it.
THE TUSCANY
This yellow-tinged stone, of double rose cut and 133¾ carats, was
formerly in the possession of the Dukes of Tuscany. Mr. King states
that, being mistaken for a piece of yellow quartz, it was purchased for
a trifle at a bric-a-bric stall in Florence.
STAR OF ESTE
This diamond which weighs 25½ carats is mentioned by Dr. Smith “for its
perfection of form and quality.” It belonged to the ill-starred Archduke
Franz Ferdinand.
WHITE SAXON
The White Saxon is a square gem, 48¾ carats in weight, for which
Augustus the Strong is said to have given a million thalers.
THE GREAT WHITE
This large, clear diamond is also known as the Imperial or Victoria. Its
weight before cutting is given as 457 carats, and after cutting at 180
carats. The Nizam of Hyderabad purchased it for £20,000 sterling in
1884.
THE MATTAM
The Mattam is a pear-shaped diamond of the purest water, recently—and
probably still—in the possession of the Rajah of Mattam. Found in
1760—Dr. Smith says 1787—at Landak, Borneo, it is held responsible for
much worldly trouble. Its weight is stated as 367 carats. Mr. Emanuel
says: “The Dutch Governor of Batavia offered two gun-boats with stores
and ammunition complete and £50,000 sterling for it: but the offer was
refused, the Rajah replying that on its possession depended the fortunes
of his family.” Its genuineness is doubted by Dr. Smith.
THE STAR OF THE SOUTH
This most perfect brilliant was discovered at Bagagem in July, 1853. It
is said to be the largest Brazilian diamond yet found. It weighed 254½
carats in the rough, and 125½ carats when cut by Mr. Coster of
Amsterdam. Although not perfectly white, it is regarded as one of the
finest large diamonds of the day. £40,000 sterling was paid for it
before cutting.
THE ENGLISH DRESDEN
This brilliant was also found at Bagagem in Brazil four years after the
“Star of the South.” Its weight before cutting was 119½ carats, which
was reduced in cutting to 76½ carats. Its present form is an egg-like
oval drop.
THE DE BEERS DIAMONDS
These were discovered in the famous De Beers mine; the first, a pale
yellow, 428½ carats in the rough, 228½ when cut, in 1888; the next 503¼
carats, of similar hue, in 1896. Some others weigh 302, 409 carats, etc.
THE STAR OF SOUTH AFRICA
This gem was found in the Vaal River diggings in 1869. Weight before
cutting was 83½ carats, after cutting 46½ carats. It is triangular in
shape, and was bought by the Countess of Dudley for £25,000 sterling.
THE JUBILEE
This faultless brilliant was found in the Jagersfontein mine in 1895.
Before cutting, its weight was 634 carats; after cutting, 239 carats.
The Jubilee was exhibited at the Paris Exhibition of 1900.
THE STAR OF AFRICA
This remarkable stone was discovered in the Premier mine near Pretoria,
January 25th, 1905. It was named the “Cullinan,” after the chairman of
the Premier Company, Sir T. M. Cullinan. It was renamed the “Star of
Africa,” at the desire of King George V. Dr. Smith writes as follows
with regard to it: “The rough stone weighed 3025¾ carats (about 1⅓
lbs.): it displayed three natural faces and one large cleavage face, and
its shape suggested that it was a portion of an enormous stone more than
double its size: it is transparent, colourless, and has only one small
flaw near the surface. This magnificent diamond was purchased by the
Transvaal Government for £150,000 sterling and presented to King Edward
VII on his birthday, November 9th, 1907. Messrs. I. J. Asscher & Co. of
Amsterdam, cut from this a drop brilliant 516½ carats, a square
brilliant 309-3/16 carats, another drop brilliant 92 carats, a
square-shaped brilliant 62 carats, a heart-shaped stone 18⅜ carats, two
marquises 8-9/16 and 11¼carats, an oblong stone 6⅝ carats, a drop
brilliant 4-9/32 carats, and 96 small brilliants weighing together 7⅜
carats: the total weight of the cut stones amounts to 1036-5/32 carats.”
The large drop brilliant adorns the sceptre, the large square brilliant
the crown. The “Star of Africa” comes from the mine to adorn the regalia
of the British sovereigns. It has no record of evil, no doubtful past,
nor is it tainted with evil desires, violence or sorrow.
THE BRAGANZA
This stone, the weight of which is given as 1680 carats, is in the
Portuguese regalia. It is believed, on good grounds, to be a large white
topaz.
THE TIFFANY
This orange-tinted brilliant which was found at Kimberley, South Africa,
in 1878, is in the possession of Messrs. Tiffany. Its weight is given as
125⅜ carats.
STAR OF MINAS
This stone was discovered at Bagagem in Brazil, in 1911. Its weight in
the rough is given as 174¾ carats.
THE ARABIAN DEATH
The first Earl Lytton became possessed of a fine diamond on which were
engraved certain Arabic words, and his death which took place soon after
he had obtained possession of it has been attributed to its malignant
influence. The gem was bequeathed by Earl Lytton to Madame la Comtesse
Greffuhle, who showed it to a learned Indian Prince who was in Paris at
the time. After reading the mysterious Arab words the Prince told the
Comtesse that it was a stone of death, and advised her not to keep it.
The lady, desiring to end the power of the stone for mischief, threw it
into the river Seine from the Pont Neuf.
THE MOONSTONE
The famous novel by Mr. Wilkie Collins entitled “The Moonstone,” is
based on the histories of “the magnificent stone which adorns the top of
the Russian imperial sceptre, once the eye of an Indian Idol,” and the
Koh-i-Noor. Some writers confuse this Moonstone with the well-known
orthoclase feld-spar. The following extract from the Prologue of Mr.
Collins’s book states: “The earliest known traditions describe the stone
as having been set in the forehead of the four-handed Indian God who
typifies the Moon. Partly from its peculiar colour, partly from a
superstition which represents it as feeling the influence of the Deity
whom it adorned, and growing and lessening in lustre with the waxing and
waning of the Moon, it first gained the name by which it continues to be
known in India to this day—the name of the Moonstone. A similar
superstition was once prevalent, as I have heard, in ancient Greece and
Rome: not applying, however, as in India to a diamond devoted to the
service of a god, but to a semi-transparent stone of the inferior order
of gems supposed to be affected by the lunar influences—the Moon, in
this latter case also, giving the name by which the stone is still
known. The adventures of the Yellow Diamond began with the 11th century
of the Christian era. At that date the Mohammedan conqueror Mahmoud of
Ghizni crossed India: seized on the holy city of Somnauth and stripped
of its treasures the famous temple ... the Moon God alone escaped the
rapacity of the conquering Mohammedans.... An age followed another until
the first years of the 8th Christian century saw the reign of
Aurungzebe, Emperor of the Moguls. At his command havoc and rapine were
let loose.... The shrine of the four-handed God was polluted ... and the
Moonstone was seized by an officer of rank in the army of Aurungzebe ...
The warrior who had committed the sacrilege perished miserably. The
Diamond fell into the possession of Tippo, Sultan of Seringapatam, who
caused it to be placed as an ornament in the handle of his dagger—and
after, General Baird himself found the dead body of Tippo under a heap
of slain.” (See Koh-i-Noor, Regent, Orloff.)