The Kanzas news., 1857-08-29

miSSloneTS at fariS assigned 'pour les lap-
idaires diamantaires ne HoIlande; taille de
diamants ct roses livres au commerce, - was
well bestowed.
The Koh-i-noor, when presented to Her
Majesty Queen Victoria by the East India
Company was of an irregular eg9-form,
and the cutting had been SO unskilfdlIy exc
euted that its appearance scarcely surpassed
that of cut crystal. In the sides were
tgrooves which had been cut for the purpose
Iof fastening it in the former setting, and
near the top was small split. To remove
these without greatly reducing the weight,
presented considerable difficulties, but Mr..
Coster was of opinion that these might be
overcome in the hands of skilful workman.
Several models were presented to Her Maj
esty, out of which she selected the form it
now bears, that of a regular brilliant. To
accomplish the work of recruiting, a small
engine, of four horse-powe was erected to
drive the diamond mills. The cutting was
commenced on the 10Th of July 1852, and
finished in thirty eight working-days of
twelve hours each. In removing one of the
flaws, the speed of the revolving plane re-
quired to be increased to 5000 revolutions
per minute, and even then the object was
attained slowly. The velocity with which
the mill rotates, and pressure on the lever
which rests the diamond upon the plane,
alone give power to the workman. That
pressure may either be applied by the hand,
or weights proportioned to the size of the
stone and nature of the work. In cutting
the Koh-i-noor, it was regulated so as to be
capable of being increased from one to fif-
teen Netherlands pounds.
The process reduced the Koh-i-noor from
1856 1-6 carats to LOG lie; considerably
under the average loss, which is estimated
at one-half or more. The Star of the South,
when uncut, weighed 254 carats, and is
now 1876, the reduction being somewhat
more than half. No large diamonds were
ever before cut with so little diminution of
their weight. The "Regent," p" which be-
longs to the crown-jewels of France, lost
nearly thirds. But this is not the only
circumstance which points out the great pro-
gress made in the art of diamond-eutting.
The time required to perform the work has
been very much shortened. The Regent
occupied two years; while the Koh-i-noor,
which is only thirty-seven carats lighter,
was finished in less than six weeks; and the
Star of the South, twelve calats smaller
than the Regent, was cut in three months.
Moreover, no one can look at the cabinet of
models in Mr.. Coster's room without rec
ognising the superiority of the Koh-i-noor
and the Star of the South over any of the
other gems which belong to the sovereigns
of Europe.
The manner in which the value of cut
diamonds is calculated, makes it of the
greatest importance that the weight should
| be reduced as little as possible. A stone of
one carat is valued at f8 sterling, while
one twice the weight is worth f39; the rule
being, ''the square of the weight multiplied
by the price of stone weighing unity"
gives the true value. According to this
principle, the Koh-i-noor is worth &C.,
900, and the Star of the South E125, 900.
But the rule is never applied to stones of
a very large size; these possess value alto
gether arbitrary.
By cutting, the peculiar brilliancy of the
diamond is brought out and its value fixed.
Then the jeweler adds new beauty by taste
full setting. His skilful combination of va
rious kinds of precious stones, so that the
one may impart splendor to the other, makes
the starry rays of the diamond sparkle with
glory in the tiara, broach or necklace.-
During the last twenty years, great progress
has been made in the art of setting, of which
splendid specimens were exhibited both at
the London and Paris Exhibitions. Ru-
bies, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds are
now formed into anemones, roses, carna
tons, tulips, convolvuli, lilies, and other
flowers. Probably, the idea originated with
the glory which is seen, early on a summer
morning, when the rising sun shines on the
dewy flowers.
The revolution in France, at the end of
the last century, nearly ruined the jewelers.
of Paris, and for a time gave check to i'm
provement. Under the imperial govern
ment of Napoleon L, some progress was
again made, but the art only began to -four
ish after the restoration. At first, they
worked with stones of the second class,
such as topazes, amethysts, and algue-ma-
rines, with which trinkets of more appear
ance than value could be made. AfterWard,
it was found that by initiating flowers, the
number of precious stones, in proportion
to the size of the jewel, could be reduced
without injuring the effect; while diamonds
of less purity, such as those of Bahia, could
be more freely used. The practice of set
ting diamonds in silver, and rubies in gold,
so as to impart an apparent increase Of size
| to the one, and splendor of color to the 9TH
er, became more general; and the most beau
tiful designs have been wrought out with
the greatest neatness and taste. At no pc
Rod IN the history of the world have so fine
specimens of the jewelers. art been pro-
duced as during the present century by the
artists of London and Paris.-Ckam6ers'
Journal