A NEW DIAMOND

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23691, 24 December 1938, Page 2

A NEW DIAMOND

FAMOUS STONE RECALLED A diamond which is claimed to be the fourth largest in the world has been discovered in Brazil. It has been named the "President Vargas," and has been valued at £BO,OOO. But there was once a Brazilian diamond for which a much more ambitious claim was made. The Braganza diamond, discovered in 1797 and named after the reigning dynasty, was said to be the largest diamond ever known, and as it weighed 1680 carats that claim would be justified. It was found, so the story runs, by three criminals who had been exiled to the unknown interior of the country and who were trying to mend their fortunes by washing for gold in a river. They took the stone to the Governor of Villa Rica, and he was so delighted with it that he gave the men their freedom. The diamond itself was shipped to Lisbon, where it was valued at the preposterous sum of £300,000,000. It was never cut. but was kept closely guarded in the Royal Treasury, and as one writer on the subject shrewdly observes, "For obvious financial motives the Government is naturally anxious that, whateve: its character, it should continue to be regarded as a genuine diamond." However, the glory of the Braganza diamond was short-lived. Later investigations proved beyond doubt that it was nothing but a large white topaz.