950 SYSTEMATIC DESCRIPTION OF PRECIOUS STONES 



One of the largest of Indian diamonds is the 13'izam, a stone of 277 carats, which has 



been known only since 1835, and which is supposed to have been picked up by a child on 



the ground in the neighboin-hood of Golconda. This, however, is not the only version of 



the discovery of this stone, and its original weight has been placed at 440 carats ; it is 



supposed to be at present in the possession of the Nizam of Haidarabad. 



The Great Table, of Tavemier, was seen in 1642 at Golconda by this traveller, who 



states that it weighed 242xV carats, and that it was the largest diamond he had seen in 



India in the hands of dealers. His offer of 400,000 



rupees for the stone was rejected and, as in the case of 



the " Great Mogul," its subsequent history is obscure. 



The Shah of Persia is in the possession of two 



large diamonds of which also very little is known. 



One of these, the Darya-i-noor (Sea of Light), 



weighs 186 carats, and the other, Taj-e-mah 



(Crown of the Moon), weighs 146 cai-ats. Both are 



of the purest water and cut as rosettes ; they were 



Fig. 47. The " Great Tatle," a large „ ,^. .,- , i-i "ij 



Indian diamond mentioned by Tavernier. formerly set in a pair of armlets which were valued 



at one million sterling. 



A large diamond of singular beauty, perhaps the most perfect of all, is the Regent or 



Pitt, at present preserved with the French crown jewels. In its rough condition it was the 



largest of all Indian diamonds, the genuineness of which is unquestionable. It was found in 



1701 in the Partial mines on the river Kistna in southern India (or according to another 



account in the Malay Peninsula), and was bought for =£"20,400 by Governor Pitt of Fort St. 



George, Madras. In 1717 it was acquired in its rough state by the Duke of Orleans, then 



Regent of France, for 2,000,000 francs (^^80,000). The operation of cutting was 



performed in London ; it occupied two years and cost ^5000 ; the weight of the stone was 



reduced from 410 to i36Yf carats, and the portions detached in the cuttings remained the 



property of the former owner. The stone when cut (Plate XL, Figs. 8a, 86, 8c), was a 



brilliant of the most perfect form ; its colour, however, does not reach the same high standard 



of perfection. In the valuation of the French crown jewels, made in 1791, this diamond was 



stated to be worth 12,000,000 francs (=^480,000). In 1792 it was stolen in company 



with many other crown jewels, but was subsequently recovered, and after being pledged at 



the time of the Revolution was redeemed by Napoleon. Being an object of general interest, 



it was not disposed of with the other crown jewels, but has remained up to the present time 



one of the most beautiful and valuable of the jewels belonging to the French nation. 



The Florentine, " Grand Duke of Tuscany " or the " Austrian," is a large diamond 



now in the treasury of the imperial palace at Vienna. It has the form of a briolette (Plate 



XL, Figs. 10a, 106), with the facets arranged in nine groups radiating from the centre. Its 



weight is 133^ Vienna carats (27"454 grams), the weight of 139^ carats, which is sometimes 



given, being in the smaller Florentine carats. The stone though distinctly yellow in colour, 



is beautifully clear and shows a fine fire. According to the usual but disputed account, 



this stone was cut by L. van Berquen for Charles the Bold, who lost it on the battlefield of 



Granson, where it was found by a Swiss soldier. After frequently changing hands, it passed 



into the possession of the Grand Duke Francis Stephen of Tuscany, who brought it to 



Vienna, its present resting-place. 



The Sancy diamond, a stone of 53y|- carats, though much smaller is very similar in 



form to the " Florentine," and is also stated to have been cut by L. van Berquen for Charles 



the Bold. At the death of the latter, at the battle of Nancy in 1477, the stone is supposed 



