117 



or upper part ; 25 in the " pavilion " or l:wer part, the central one 

 of these, parallel with the table, but considerably smaller than 

 it, is the " collet " or " culet." The " girdle " is the edge where 

 the crown and pavilion meet and is mostly concealed by the 

 setting. The " rose " was used as far back as 1520, but is now 

 out of fashion. It is flat below and it forms above a low pyramid 

 covered with facets. The number of these varies and may be 12, 

 24, or 36. 



Although the typical diamond is colourless many specimens 

 are tinted. The commonest tint is yellowish or brownish and may 

 be present in all degrees from those in which the stone is just 

 " off colour " to those in which it is nearly black. Such coloured 

 stones are usually reckoned much inferior in value to those which 

 are colourless and "of the first water." In certain cases, how- 

 ever, a coloured stone may, if the colour be very rare and very 

 beautiful, greatlv exceed in value a colourless stone of the same 

 size. Of ruby-red stones only about two specimens are known 

 although there are many, comparatively, with a rosy tint. A very 

 few green diamonds have been found and a few blue ones. The 

 best known of these is called the Hope Blue Diamond, a brilliant 

 of 44^- carats. Mr. Streeter has investigated the history of this 

 stone. He says that in 1668 Louis XIV. bought a blue diamond, 

 the first known in Europe, that came from India and weighed 

 112J carats in the rough. Louis seems to have had this cut and 

 wore it when in 171 5 he gave audience to the Persian Ambassa- 

 dor. The stone, reduced by the cutting to 67! carats, formed 

 part of the French Regalia seized in the Revolution and it dis- 

 appeared in September, 170,2. The Hope Diamond appeared in 

 1830, no account as to its origin or history being forthcoming. 

 Mr. Streeter has no doubt that it is part of the blue diamond of 

 Louis XIV., and he has traced two smaller fragments of the same 

 stone, one being the " Brunswick Blue Drop " and the other, a 

 stone of 1 carat, he found in Paris and bought for ^"300. 



Many of the larger, and more valuable diamonds have proper 

 names and histories. The history of the Koh-i-nur can be traced 

 back, for instance, for more than 600 years. It forms part of the 

 Crown jewels, was recut in 1851 and now weighs about 106 carats. 

 Other famous Indian diamonds are the Orloff, the Regent and the 

 Sancy. The largest known Brazilian diamond is the Star pf the 

 South. This was found in 1853, weighed 254^ carats before and 

 125 carats after cutting. It was bought by the Gaekwar of 

 Baroda for ^80,000. From South Africa many large diamonds 

 have come. The Victoria, weighing 180 carats, was cut from a 

 rough stone of 457^- carats, the Nizam of Hyderabad gave 

 ,£400,000 for it. In 1893 the Excelsior was found. This was the 

 largest that had, up to that time, been discovered. It we ; ghed 

 971 carats and was cut up into 10 stones varying from 68 to 13 

 carats. The largest diamond ever found was the Cullinan, dis- 

 covered in January, 1905, in the mines of the Premier Diamond 

 Mining Company. This monster weighed in the rough 3,025! 



