792 



DIAMOND 



DIAMOND NECKLACE 



the Landak mines, near the west coast of Borneo. 

 It is described as being an egg-shaped stone, in- 

 dented on one side, and weighing, in its uncut state, 

 367 carats. Great doubt, however, exists as to the 

 genuineness of this stone, and the Dutch experts 

 who examined it a few years ago pronounced it 

 to be simply rock-crystal. Among other diamond 

 localities may be mentioned the Ural Mountains 

 and several of the United States. The largest 

 diamond yet recorded from North America was 

 found at Manchester, Chesterfield county, Vir- 

 ginia. It weighed 23f carats, and yielded, when 

 cut, a brilliant known as the ' Ou-i-nur,' which 

 weighed, however, only llf carats. 



A few special diamonds, from their exceptional 

 size or from the circumstances of their history, 

 deserve notice. Of all the great diamonds, the 

 ' Koh-i-nur ' is perhaps the most interesting (see 

 fig. 4, c). While tradition carries it back to 

 legendary times, it is known from history that 

 the Sultan Ala-ed-din in 1304 acquired this gem 

 on the defeat of the Rajah of Malwa, whose family 

 had possessed it for many generations. In 1526 it 

 passed by conquest to Humaiun, the son of Sultan 

 Baber. When Aurungzebe subsequently possessed 

 this stone, he used it as one of the eyes or the pea- 

 cock adorning his famous peacock throne. On the 

 conquest of Mohammed Shah by Nadir Shah in 1739, 

 the great diamond was not found among the Delhi 

 treasures, but learning that Mohammed carried it 

 concealed in his turban, Nadir, on the grand cere- 

 mony of reinstating the Mogul emperor on the 

 throne at the conclusion of peace, offered to ex- 

 change turbans, in token of reconciliation, and by 

 this ruse obtained possession of the gem. It was 

 when Nadir first saw the diamond on unfolding the 

 turban, that he exclaimed, ' Koh-i-nur,' or ' Moun- 

 tain of Light,' the name by which the gem has ever 

 since been known. At Nadir's death it passed to 

 his unfortunate son, Shah Kokh, by whom it was 

 ultimately given to Ahmed Shah, the founder of 

 the Durani Afghan empire. By Ahmed it was 

 bequeathed to his son, Taimur Shah ; and from his 

 descendants it passed, after a series of romantic 

 incidents, to Runjit-Singh. On the death of Run- 

 jit, in 1839, the diamond was preserved in the trea- 

 sury of Lahore, and on the annexation of the 

 Punjab by the British in 1849, when the property 

 of the state was confiscated to the East India 

 Company, it Avas stipulated that the Koh-i-nur 

 should be presented to the Queen of England. It 

 was consequently taken in charge by Lord Dal- 

 housie, who sent it to England in 1850. After the 

 Great Exhibition of 1851, where it had been ex- 

 hibited, it was injudiciously re-cut in London by 

 Voorsanger, a skilful workman from Messrs Coster's 

 factory at Amsterdam. The re-cutting occupied 

 38 days of 12 hours each, and the weight of the 

 stone was reduced from 186 T V to 106^ carats. The 

 form is that of a shallow brilliant, too thin to dis- 

 play much fire. According to Lady Burton, it is 

 believed to bring ill-luck to its possessor. 



Another famous Indian diamond is the ' Great 

 Mogul' (fig. 4, a), which appears to have been found 

 about 1650, in the Kollur mine, on the Kistna. It 

 was seen by the French jeweller Tavernier at the 

 court of Aurungzebe in 1665, and is described as a 

 round white rose-cut stone of 280 carats. Its sub- 

 sequent history is unknown, and it is probable that 

 at the sacking of Delhi by Nadir Shah in 1739 it 

 was stolen and broken up. Some authorities have 

 sought to identify the Great Mogul with the Koh-i- 

 nur, and others with the Orloff. 



The ' Orloff ' ( fig. 4, e ) is an Indian stone which was 

 purchased at Amsterdam in 1776 by Prince Orloff 

 for Catharine II. of Russia. The stone at one time 

 formed the eye of an idol in a temple in the island 

 of Seringham, in Mysore, whence it is said to have 



been stolen by a French soldier. It weighs 193 

 carats, and is mounted in the imperial sceptre of 

 the Czar. 



The ' Regent ' is a famous diamond preserved 

 among the national jewels in Paris. It was found in 

 1701, at the Parteal mines, on the Kistna, by a slave, 

 who escaped with it to the coast, where he sold it 

 to an English skipper, by whom he was afterwards 

 treacherously killed. Thomas Pitt, grandfather of 

 the first Earl of Chatham, at that time governor of 

 Fort St George, purchased the stone, and had it 

 re-cut in London, whence it is often known as the 

 ' Pitt. ' Its original weight was 410 carats, but it was 

 reduced in cutting to 136f ; the result, however, 

 was a brilliant of fine water and excellent propor- 

 tions. Pitt sold it in 1717, through the financier 

 John Law, to the Duke of Orleans, then Regent of 

 France during the minority of Louis XV. The 

 price paid was 135,000, and its value has since 

 been estimated at 480,000 (see fig. 4, d). 



The large ' Sancy ' is an historical diamond, about 

 which many contradictory stories have been told. 

 It appears that the Sancy was an Indian stone, pur- 

 chased about 1570 by M. de Sancy, French ambas- 

 sador at Constantinople. It passed temporarily 

 into the possession of Henry III. and Henry IV. of 

 France, and was eventually sold by Sancy to Queen 

 Elizabeth of England. By James II. it was dis- 

 posed of to Louis XIV., about 1695, for 25,000. At 

 the beginning of the 19th century it passed to the 

 Demidoff family in Russia, and by them it was sold 

 in 1865 to Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy. In 1889 it 

 was again in the market, the price asked being 

 20,000. 



Of coloured diamonds there are a few possessing 

 historical interest. Diamonds occur of all tints, 

 and when the colour is well pronounced, they are 

 prized as fancy stones. A pale green diamond, 

 weighing 48| carats, is preserved in the Green 

 Vaults at Dresden. But one of the most superb 

 coloured diamonds at present known is the sapphire 

 blue brilliant termed the ' Hope' diamond, valued at 

 20,000 to 30,000. This gem formerly belonged 

 to Mr H. T. Hope, and weighs 44 carats. It is 

 believed to have been cut from the large blue 

 diamond, weighing in the rough 112J carats, sold 

 by Tavernier to Louis XIV., which disappeared 

 amid the troubles of 1792. The two most wonder- 

 ful coloured diamonds known after the Hope are 

 an emerald green diamond of 6 grains, which is 

 valued at 1000, and a ruby red diamond of 5 

 grains, valued also at 1000. 



For further information on historical diamonds, see 

 The Great Diamonds of the World, by E. W. Streeter 

 (1882); and on diamonds generally, consult Precious 

 Stones and Gems, by the same author (4th ed. 1884); 

 Le Diamant, by H. Jacobs and N. Chatrian (Paris, 1884); 

 and Le Diamant, by E. Boutan (Paris, 1886). 



Diamond Beetle. See WEEVIL. 



Diamond Harbour, a port and telegraph 

 station on the Hugh, 38 miles SSW. of Calcutta 

 by rail, 41 by river. Formerly, the Company's 

 ships anchored here ; now there is not even a 

 village at the spot, but a customs establishment 

 is maintained, and shipping movements are tele- 

 graphed to Calcutta. 



Diamond Necklace, THE, a wonderful piece 



of jewelry, made in Paris about the year 1775, 

 and intended for Madame Dubarry, the favourite 

 of Louis XV. She, however, was excluded from 

 court on the death of Louis ( 1774), before the neck- 

 lace was finished. After being made, this beauti- 

 ful ornament, adorned with 500 diamonds, was 

 found to be so costly that no one could pur- 

 chase it. It was valued at 1,800,000 livres, equal 

 to about 80,000 of modern money. 

 The Prince Cardinal de Rohan, a wealthy, vain, 



