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 163? 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

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 242³/₁₆ 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 78? 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 1¹/₁₂ 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 288? 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 67?, 45¹³/₁₆, 45¹¹/₁₆, 39³/₁₆, 34, 27?, 25?, 23¹¹/₁₆, 16¹¹/₃₂, 13½ carats respectively, and the total weight of the cut stones amounting to 364³/₃₂ 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

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 1? 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.

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 309³/₁₆ 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 18?, two marquises 8⁹/₁₆ and 11¼, an oblong stone 6?, a pendeloque 4⁹/₃₂, and 96 small brilliants weighing together 7?; the total weight of the cut stones amounts to 1036⁵/₃₂ 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).

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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.

(1) Hope

The largest of coloured diamonds, the Hope, weighs 44? 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 125? 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.

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