DIAMOND: LARGE AND FAMOUS STONES 247 



4. LARGE AND FAMOUS DIAMONDS. 



There are a comparatively small number of diamonds in existence which, either on 

 account of their size, beauty, or historic and ancient associations, possess a special interest. 

 \Vhile the origin and early history of many stones in existence at the present day is a 

 complete blank, there are others, of which reliable accounts and drawings are given in 

 ■ancient writings, whose present whereabouts is entirely unknown ; the latter may have been 

 destroyed or lost, or, on the other hand, they may lie hidden in the treasure-houses of some 

 Oriental princes, whose predecessors possessed a taste for the collection of gems. 



All the older famous diamonds of large size and enormous value, which are known by 

 special names, come from India ; only in comparatively recent times, namely, about the 

 middle of the eighteenth century, have stones of remarkable size been found in Brazil, while 

 the discovery of the South African diamonds was still later. The South African deposits 

 have already yielded more large stones than are comprised in the aggregate yield of India 

 and Brazil during hundreds of years ; these stones are usually, however, of a yellowish tinge, 

 and are, in consequence, less highly valued than are the blue-white diamonds of India and 

 Brazil. Only a few of the many large stones which have been found in South Africa have, in 

 consequence, received distinctive names. The value of these rare stones is naturally enormous, 

 and they usually find a place amongst the crown jewels of different countries, rarely entering 

 the possession of private individuals except in the case of wealthy collectors, especially in 

 eastern countries. 



The subject of famous diamonds is specially dealt with in a book entitled, The Great 

 Diamonds of the World (London, 1882), by Mr. E. W. Streeter ; also in Le Diamant (FeLUs, 

 1886), by Mons. E. Boutan, who has made a careful study of the tangled history of each 

 stone. Much of the information given in the account which follows has been derived from 

 these sources, as well as from older works. Most of the well-known famous diamonds are 

 figured in their cut condition and actual size in Plates X. and XI. ; the form of cutting 

 most general is that of the brilliant, but examples of other forms will be found. 



A few of the large stones, of which accounts have been given, are very probably not 

 diamond at all, but some one of the minerals with which diamond is often confused. Among 

 these is, in all probability, the " Braganza," which, if genuine, would rank as the largest of 

 known diamonds. This stone, which is the size of a hen's egg, and weighs 1680 carats, 

 came from Brazil, but the exact locality is unknown. It is preserved with the Portuguese 

 crown jewels, and is not available for detailed examination ; should it be proved to be topaz, 

 which is very probably what it is, its value, formerly placed at .^£'224,000,000, would at once 

 sink to a comparatively insignificant amount. 



Another large diamond, the genuineness of which is open to question, is a stone belonging 

 to the Rajah of Mattan, in Borneo ; it is known there as the "Danau Rajah,'' but is generally 

 referred to as the " Mattan." It weighs 367 carats, and, if a genuine diamond, is by far the 

 largest ever found in Borneo. It is pear-shaped, and about the size of a pigeon's egg, and is 

 said to have been found in 1787, in the district of Landak, in western Borneo ; the name 

 " Danau Rajah," however, suggests the neighbourhood of the River Danau, in the south-east 

 of the island, as a more probable locality. The stone is said to have been examined at 

 Pontianak, in Borneo, in 1868, when it was declared to be rock-crystal ; this decision is 

 generally accepted, although it has been stated that an imitation, and not the real stone, was 

 submitted for examination. 



The genuineness of the diamonds now to be described is unquestionable ; of these the 

 Indian stones will be first considered, and afterwards the Brazilian and the South African. 



