ly of the Napoleonids, who sold it to the Emperor of Russia for a 
. a a is cut in rosette shape. 
424 Diamonds. [July, 
Regent—By far the most beautiful diamond of the French 
treasury is the “ Regent” or “ Pitt.” From its original weight 
of 410 carats it has been cut down to 136 1%. Its absolute purity 
and the elegance of its cutting (brilliant) for a long time placed 
it highest in rank among all the known diamonds. Its earliest 
history is somewhat obscure. According to tradition a slave found 
it in 1702 in Golconda. In order to hide it from the eyes of his 
employers he wounded himself in the thigh and placed the huge 
diamond within the wound. Having confided the secret of his 
treasure to a sailor, he accompanied him to sea. The sailor, 
however, stole the diamond and threw the slave overboard. In 
England the sailor sold it for 1000 pounds, lived merrily until his 
money was all gone, and then hung himself. Louis XV. of 
France bought it for two and a half millions of francs ($500,000). 
During the French Revolution, September. 17, 1792, the crown 
diamonds were stolen, the Regent among them. Through the 
agency of an anonymous letter they were again discovered, hid- 
den in a ditch in the Champs Elyseés. Although the Regent and 
‘many others were thus recovered, some of the most valuable 
stones could not then be found, among them the Sançy. After that 
the French Republic placed it in pawn with a merchant in Berlin. 
Napoleon Bonaparte recovered it again and had it set into the 
hilt of his favorite sword. Since that time it has remained in 
possession of the French government. 
Sancy.—The Sancy first appears as the property of Charles of 
Burgundy. He lost the diamond in the battle of Nancy, 1477. Soon 
after this it came into the possession of Count Nicolas de Sancy. 
During 1589, Count de Sancy was in Switzerland, at a time when 
Henry III of France required securities for some loans he was 
then making. His loyal vassal immediately dispatched a trusted 
` servant with the Sancy diamond as an offering to his king. Noth- 
ing was heard of the servant for a long time. Investigations 
showed that he had been waylaid and murdered. As his last re- 
source, however, to save the property of his master he had swal- 
lowed the diamond, which was found after his body had been re- 
covered. Later it formed part of the crown-jewels and was stolen, 
together with the Regent in 1792. After having been lost to ob- 
servation for a long time the Sancy again reappeared in the fami- 
TEN 
PER ey a hPL tar eee RT Ee EE AE E 
ik ile eta a ase col wa a 
P z3 At a iE ETAREN 
in aii e a a aa aiara aa ee ne A e ae T S 
PAEA NEE ites 
half million francs, in 1830. This diamond weighs 53% carats 
