264 PRECIO US STONES. 



tavian government by Napoleon I, stolen by robbers, and its hiding place 

 revealed at the gate of death by one of the reckless band, and mounted in 

 the State sword of the First Napoleon, finally glittered in the imperial dia- 

 dem through the palmy days of Napoleon III." 



The adventures of the Kohinoor, how it passed from one hand to 

 another, how it was made the pretext for fraud, for intimidation, for mur- 

 der, and even for war, are all so well known that their recapitulation is 

 mseless here. 



" When the Kohinoor was brought to England it weighed 186 1-16 car- 

 ats, and was valued at about $700,000. At that time it was merely surface 

 eut, and was also disfigured with several flaws, so that recutting seemed 

 advisable ; and it was decided to give it the form of the brilliant. The cut- 

 ting was begun on July 16, 1852, the Duke of Wellington being the first 

 person to place it on the cutting mill, and was finished September 7, thus 

 occupying in all thirty-eight days of twelve hours each. In cutting its 

 weight was reduced to 122f carats, but the stone is nevertheless valued at 

 the same price it was before, on account of the improvement in brilliancy 

 and effect. Besides the Kohinoor and a great number of fine pearls, the 

 crown of Queen Yictoria contains 497 diamonds, of which the value is esti- 

 mated at more than $372,000." 



"The country most rich in diamonds at present is Eussia. Besides 

 special collections of diamonds in the treasury of this empire, there are 

 three crowns of which they form the sole jewels. The first, that of Ivan, 

 contains 881 ; that of Peter the Great, 847 ; and that of Catherine the 

 Great, 2,536. Among the large diamonds in Eussia the most remarkable 

 3S the Orlow. It weighs 193 carats, and is one of the ornaments of the im- 

 perial scepter. This beautiful diamond was originally from India. It 

 formed for a century and a half one of the eyes of the famous idol of Ser- 

 ringham, in the temple of Brahma ; the other eye was a diamond of the 

 same order. At the commencement of the eighteenth century the idea 

 seized a French soldier of one of the French garrisons in India, to steal the 

 eyes of this celebrated idol. He pretended to be inspired with a wonder- 

 ful zeal for the Hindoo religion, and gained to that degree the confidence 

 of the priests that they confided to him the care of the temple. He chose 

 his time, and one stormy night, carried off one of the diamonds; the other 

 could not be freed from the socket. He fled to Madras, where he sold the 

 stolen treasure to a Captain of the English navy for $9,300. Conveyed to 

 England it was bought for $55,800 by a Jewish merchant, who some time 

 after sold it to Catherine II for $418,500 and a pension for life of $18,600. 

 A precious stone without rival is the blue diamond of Mr. Hope. Its 

 weight is 44^ carats, and its color is the blue of the most beautiful saj^- 

 phire, added to an adamantine luster of the utmost brilliancy. It was pur- 

 chased for $83,700, but competent judges declare that it is worth more." 



The classification of jewels by the author arranges all precious stones 

 in three classes. The first comprises a single stone — the diamond — which 



