BS Pi gue ha i th ke eee 
Paci acs EEN oe ag tre: 
18 78.] Diamonds. : 423 
‘tained in a conglomeritic mass. . It is composed mainly of volcanic 
material, but has evidently been deposited by water. In its general, 
physical character it may be compared to the “blue cement” 
of California, which is auriferous. 
Of all these localities mentioned, India has produced by far 
the greatest number of celebrated diamonds. The largest 
diamond of which we have any knowledge, is mentioned by 
Tavernier. It was found in 1550, was in the possession of the 
Great Mogul at the time of Taverniers visit, and weighed 900 
carats (1 Parisian carat = 205.5™8":). The present “ Great Mo- 
gul” weighs 279 carats, and may be a portion of the original one. 
‘0-hii-noor.—Tavernier gives the weight of the original Ko-hi- 
noor (“ mountain of light”) as being 787% carats, but other re- 
ports place it a little higher. Weighing 18634 carats it came into 
the possession of the British crown, but was considerably reduced 
by cutting. Lately it has been recut, from rosette form to that 
of a brilliant, and now weighs only 106 carats. 
Orloff—The Orloff, weighing 19434 carats, is in the possession 
of the Russian crown. It was purchased by Katharine II, for 
450,000 silver roubles and 4000 roubles annuity. This diamond 
is cut in rosette-form. 
The Persian—In 1832 a diamond was found in the hut of a 
Persian peasant, by a traveler. It was there utilized for the pur- 
pose of striking fire. He purchased the stone and sold it ata 
high price. The weight of the “ Persian ” is 130 carats. 
In connection with these three diamonds a very interesting ob- 
servation was made by Mr. Tennant. The Ko-hi-noor, in its first 
cut, showed two natural planes of cleavage, the Orloff still shows 
one, and the Persian one. By reproducing as nearly as possible 
` the original shapes of these diamonds, it was found that they 
probably are three fragments of one very large one. The ag- 
gregate weight would be 510% carats. It is quite possible, 
therefore, that these three formed the original Ko-hi-noor, the 
pride of Eastern nations. Tavernier mentions the fact that it had 
been cut down from its original size, which might account for the 
difference in weight. Few, if any gems have so prominent a 
position in legendary history as the original Ko-hi-noor. More — 
than 5000 years ago the East Indian hero Kama, is said to have 
worn it in the “great war” (Maha Bharata). The discovery of 
the Persian led to the above results, as it was, toa certain extent, mee 
the incentive to the comparison. 
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