Gem-Stones and Their Distinctive CharactersSmith, George Frederick Herbert
Science
Gem-Stones and Their Distinctive Characters
Smith, George Frederick Herbert
Precious stones
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
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