DIAMOND. 



oil. Diamonds have, also, been made into 

 lenses for microscopes, but the advantage 

 resulting from its slight chromatic aberra- 

 tion, and the large tield of view it conse- 

 quently affords, is counterbalanced by an 

 irregufaritv of internal structure which' ren- 

 ders it unfit for the purpose, even when suf- 

 ficiently clear. 



The largest Diamond of which there is 

 any record is that described by Tavernier as 

 belonging to the Great Mogul. It was found 

 in 1550 in the mine of Colone, and, in its 

 original state, weighed 900 carats or 2844 

 grains, but was reduced in cutting to 272-46 

 carats, or 861 grains. 



The following are the names and weights 

 of some celebrated Diamonds : — * 

 Eussian diamond, 194 carats, sold for 



£90,000 and an annuity of £4,000. 

 Austrian diamond, 139 carats, valued at 



£9,250. 

 liegent or Pitt diamond, 1S6| carats (430-55 



grains), sold for£12o,0!'0. 

 Pigott diamond, 49 carats, valued at 



£40,000. 

 Blue diamond, 44^ carats, valued at 



£30,000. 

 !i\assuck diamond, 11*23 carats (35J grains), 



purchased by the Marquis of VVestminster 



for £7,200. 



The most celebrated Diamond of modern 

 times is the Koh-i-noor f, which became the 

 property of the Queen of England on the 

 annexation of the Punjaub by the E. I. 

 Company in 1850. In addition to its intrin- 

 sic value, this Diamond is highly interesting 

 from its great antiquity and the historical 

 associations connected with it. It is re- 

 puted to be 4,000 years old by Indian tra- 

 ditions; certainly 50 B.C. it is said to have 

 belonged to the Kajah of Mjayin, and to 

 have remained in the possession of his suc- 

 cessors until India was subdued by the 

 Mahomedans. 



It is mentioned by Tavernier in 1665, as 

 the property of the Mogul Emperor. He 

 says it weighed 279JI carats, and was esti- 

 mated to be worth half a million sterling. 

 The original weight is variously stated at 

 787^ and 793 carats. It was called Koh-i- 

 noor, or " the hill of lustre," in allusion to 

 Mount Sinai in Arabia, where God appeared 

 in glorv to man. 



* Models of these and other celebrated Di i- 

 monds are exhibited at the Museum of I'ractical 

 <^enlo^v. See Horse-shoe Ca^e on the Principal 

 Floor, Nos. 5 to 16. 



t see M. F G. Horse-shoe Case, No. 11, for 

 models 01 uie Koh-i noor (and pendants), both in 

 its original and in its present state. 



DIAMOND. lit 



When brought to this country it mea- 

 sured about 1^ inch in its greatest diame- 

 ter and above f of an inch in thickness, and 

 weighed 186 j'g carats. The beauty of the 

 stone being greatly marred by its irregu- 

 larity of form and the imperfect manner in 

 which it had been cut (the principal face 

 and one or the largest sides having been 

 discovered by Mr. Tennant to be merely 

 cleavage-planes, one, to all appearance, not 

 polished), it was determined to recut it. 

 This was skilfully and successfully accom- 

 plished by the IMessrs. Garrard in 38 days, 

 each of 1*2 hours' uninterrupted labour. Al- 

 though the weight of the stone has been re- 

 duced from 186_''g to 103f carats, its bril- 

 liancy and general appearance have been 

 greatly improved. 



From a careful examination of the stone 

 befoieit was rscut. Prof. Tennant arrived at 

 the conclusion that it had originally formed 

 a portion of a larger Diamond, the form of 

 Avhich was a rhombic dodecahedron. He 

 also suggested that the great Russian Dia- 

 mond, and another slab weighing 130 carats, 

 had been taken from it. This division of 

 the original dodecahedron into three, was, 

 most likely, the result of accident, as a very 

 slight blow inadvertently struck in the 

 direction of the planes of cleavage, in set- 

 ting the stone, or a fall, would have the 

 effect of causing it to split in the manner 

 pointed out. Possibly the slab alluded to 

 above may have formed the diamond, with 

 a flat surface, nearly as valuable as the Koh- 

 i-noor, which Forbes, in his Oriental Me- 

 moirs*, describes as being with it in the 

 royal treasury at Ispahan, and called the 

 Doriainoor, " the ocean of lustre." 



Both these jewels formed part of the plun- 

 der seized by Nadir Shah at the taking of 

 Delhi in 1739, when the riches he carried off 

 exceeded £70,000,000 in value.f 



The most celebrated mines of India were 

 those of Golconda, in the territory of the 

 Nizam ; and at Raolcondal, near Visiapoor, 

 in the Mahratta empire. The Koh-i-noor 

 Avas found in the former district at Purteal, 

 between Hyderabad and Masulipatam, but 

 now there are only one or two pi -ices of ex- 

 ploration, and the mines have gradually be- 

 come all but valueless, since the discovery of 

 the diamond mines of Brazil in 1728. Dia- 

 monds also occur in Bundelcund, near Panna, 

 and on the Mahanuddy, near Ellore. 



* Vol. ii. p. 84. 



t An interesting history of the Koh-i-no3r will 

 be found in R. Hunt's Handbook of the Great Ex- 

 hibition of IS.'il. See also Ure's Dictionary of Arts, 

 S[c. 5th Edition, vol. ii., p. 17, art. Diamond. 



