The Pigott was a splendid gem of 47¹⁄₂ karats, and derived its name from its importer. In 1801 it was placed in a lottery in London, and valued at $150,000. The lucky drawer of the prize was content to part with it for $30,000 to an English jeweller, who afterwards sold it to Ali Pacha of Egypt. The Egyptian prince conceived a strange attachment to the gem. He did not display it among the ornaments on his person; but concealed it in a silken bag which he attached to his girdle. The story goes that when Ali was mortally wounded by Reschid Pacha he gave orders to have his favorite wife, Vasilika, strangled, and also commanded Captain D’Anglas to crush the diamond in his presence. A single blow of the hammer crushed to atoms this beautiful gem, which was really one of the finest in Europe on account of the perfection of its form and the absolute purity of its water. The model alone remains. The fascinating Vasilika by some means managed to escape the sentence of death. The Nassac diamond was brought from India by the Marquis of Hastings, and formed a part of the Deccan booty. After passing through several ownerships it was finally purchased by the Marquis of Westminster for about fifty thousand dollars. It has since been recut into a triangular form, and its original weight reduced from eighty-nine to about seventy-eight karats. In its new form it has gained vastly in lustre and brilliancy. The famous blue diamond known as the Hope diamond, from the fact that it belonged to one of the distinguished family of bankers of that name, is really one of the most valuable diamonds in Europe, for it is indeed one of the marvels of the mineral kingdom. Its weight is 44¹⁄₂ karats, but its history is unknown; and this obscurity leads to the suspicion it may be the lost gem of the French casket since reduced in size. It is now mounted as a medallion with a border of rose-cut diamonds and twenty brilliants, each of one karat weight and of the finest water. This beautiful gem was shown to the public at the great Exhibition of 1851 in London, and the description given of it by Mr. Hertz is worth repeating here. It is “a most magnificent and rare brilliant of a deep sapphire-blue, of the greatest purity and most beautifully cut: it is of true proportions, not too thick nor too wide-spread. This matchless gem combines the beautiful color of the sapphire with the prismatic fire and brilliancy of the diamond; and on account of its extraordinary color, great size, and other fine qualities, it certainly may be called unique, as we may presume that there exists no cabinet nor any collection of crown jewels in the world which can boast of the possession of so curious and fine a gem.”