Greatest Diamonds of History.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXV, Issue 10016, 5 December 1908, Page 4 (Supplement)

Greatest Diamonds of History.

A carat seems pretty large when it is th© first diamond to come into one's possession, and it looks as big as the headlight of a locomotive to the wearer during the early days of its enjoyment. And it's only a carat. What would you say to a, diamond weighing not less than 280 carats? What sort of gasp would you give if you heard that some diamonds — or one diamond, at least—is valued at two million dollars. Well, these are facts. There are 280-carat diamonds, and £4OQ,OGO diamonds, but not a great many of them. You. could count them almost on the fingers of one hand, but you couldn't wear them there. The biggestdiamond in the world—the one thatweighs the 280 carats—is the property of the Shah of Persia, and is known as the Great Mogul, and there is only one in ail the universe. Then comes the Otloff diamond, named after Count Orloff, who bought it in 1772 for the Empress Catherine of Russia. That's the stone a couple of our leading musical comedy writers used as a test for one of the most successful of modern musical entertainments. It had been the eye of an idol in India, and a Frenchman, who was impressed by its appearance, conceived the idea of making a glass eye that would look just as good to the Indians and substituting it for the diamond. He executed the plan, too, but lie never thereafter included India in his itinerary. The "remover" disposed of his loot to a ship captain for £2OOO, and the captain got £20,000 for it in Europe, and b'nally it landed in the office of a diamond dealer, who told Count Orloff about it, and the count paid out £90,000 in cash and agreed to give the dealer in addition £4OOO a year for the rest of lus natural life. The dealer was also ennobled by the Empre-s because of putting her Count in touch with the marvellous stone, shaped like half a pigeon's egg and weighing 195 carats. The diamond now .serves as an adornment tor the point of the seepire of the Russian Emperor. Another wondrous diamond is the Hegent. cr Pitt stone, which was found in India and bought by Governor Pitt, of Madras, in 1702. The Governor paid £20,0C0, but the next price —that paid by the Duke of Orleans, acting as Regent tor King Louis XIV.—. was greatly in excess, £150,000 —-no less. To-day it is easily worth double the latter sum. It took two years to cut it. and the diamond powder us;d in the process cost not less than £B3O. You wouldn't think you could buy tor half a dollar a- diamond weighing 159 carats, would you? And you can't, ordinarily. But a certain priest of long ago made such a bargain, paying- the th-en equivalent of fifty cents for the stone known as the Florentine, or Austrian diamond, which had been lost by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, at the battle of Grausou, in 1476. A Swiss peasant picked up the precious sparkler from the ground a::d was glad to take the small piece of money the priest gave him. The priest, in turn, considered himself tucky to get £2OOO for it from Bartholomew May. of I'en.e, ami so it passed from hand to hand until it fell into the possession of Pop-o Julius 11.. who made a present of it to the Austrian emperor. A poor negro of Brazil found a diamond weighing in the rough 254j carats, in the year 1855, and it received the name of the Star of the South. What the finder got is not on record. At all events, the Star of the South ivu- tent to Amsterdam and cut until its weight was reduced to 126 carats, when it wis bought by the Earl of Dudley and became known as the Dudley diamond. Probably the Kohinoor is the best generally known diamond in the world, though it is not nearly the largest. It weighs in its oreffent shape 16 carats hut it's value is put ia round figures at £4OOXOO. Xobody knows just how long ago the Kohinoor. was found in the Gotconda mines, but if vou take the Hindoo word for it it belonged three thousand years ago to Kama, Kine of Anga. Others say the stone was stolen by a certain General Minizola. and by him given to the Great Mogul, the < shah Jehan, about the year 1640. The < Kohinoor in the rough weighed 800 carats, the record weight of any diamond in the world. The cutter who originally handled

the stone appears not to have been the most expert, and it was reduced to 279 carats. For many years it was changing hands among the various princes of India, who were not always particular how they came to acquire it. Its history for the last hundred years is pretty well ascertainable. In the early part of the nineteenth century it was in the possession of the Khan of Cabul, but a treacherous slave was instrumental in transierring it to Kunjeet Singh, and then to that worthy'sfollowers on the Lahore throne. England i'ot the Punjab in 1850, and the Kohinoor was one of the fruits of victory and was sent to Queen Victoria by EDecial messengers, Colonel Mackesan and Captain Ramsey. The court ieweller directed the cutting of the gem a second time, and as a courtesy to officialdom the Duke of Wellington gave the first touch of work on the dainty job. The diamond was then brought down to 106 carats, but with its brilliancv inestimably enhanced, and its nrice greatly advanced. It is one of the cherished possessions of the British crown.