The Hawaiian gazette., 1869-12-29
A Nine Hundred Carat Diamond.

money, would be an event calculated Il
leave q mark even on this age Of sensa
tons. We only regret that we can moi
quite announce it as a fact. A stone
however. assumed to be precious. and de
fined in successive kilograms as diamond
topaz. and a nondescript has actually
been found in the Australian gem-sand
The thing" as our correspondent irrey-
erently calls it, is as big as large lemon
it weighs between seven and eight ounces
in the scale, and it might, as people say
be anything for all that could be told. To
enable the reader to speculate on the pos
sible marvel, and appreciate the pheuome-
non at its proper worth, we will just ex-
plain what it means, or would mean, il
actually realized. Diamonds are measured
by their weight in carats. carat being
four grains. The largest diamond of which
we in this country have any practical
knowlede, is the famous Koh-i-noor, which
in its historical shape, as shown at the
Exhibition of 1851, weighed l86 carats,
or 744 grains. The new Australian dia-
mond would weigh about 900 carats, or
$500 grains-just about five times as
much. Diamonds, however, increase
enormously in theoretical value with in
crease of weight; so that whereas the
Koh-i-no0r was computed to be worth,
according to the ascending scale Of prices,
some e200O,0O0, the Australian stone
would be valued by jeweler at far more
than five times thas sum. We need hard
ly add that such calculations are merely
speculative. 1t is all very well to prove
the value of diamond by the rates of a
conventional table, but, as no purchasers
could be found with millions in their pock-
cts, the estimate is entirely nominal The
real value Of thing is what it will bring,
and no stone could actually be sold for a
million. In point of fact, this limitation
Of market values was very soon reached in
the late buoyancy of the trade. Up to q
certain point the value of diamonds rose
greatly about twenty years ago, but when
this point had been passed the prices re-
manned stationary. The enhancement. &C.
Cured solely in stones that, as the phrase
goes, were "everybody's money" A dia-
mond worth e500, or even 9l 900, would
fetch twenty or thirty per cent, in addi-
ton, but the famous Burgundy diamond,
for instance, brought only e20,000-a
very moderate price.
1t will certainly be interesting to learn
by and by what this "reputed" diamond
turns out to be, but, as regards the mere
possibilities of the case, we may remark,
that there is already ''reputed" diamond
weighing actually twice as much as the
Australian gem. This wonderful stone is,
or was, in the Portuguese Treasury, among
the crown jewels of the kingdom, and it is
known to weigh $50 carats. Unfortu-
nately, that is about the amount of knowl-
edge we possess in the case, for the gov
eminent would never allow it to be exam
ined, and it may only be white sapphire
or something less. As soon as we come
to ascertained facts, the magnitude of the
Australian discovery becomes manifest.
1t is certain there once was, and probable
that there still is, q Golconda diamond
weighing $50 carats. This stone was car
ried away from the treasures of the Great
Mogul by Nadir Shah after the sack of
Delhi in 1888, and in the boards of the
Persian sovereigns it is believed still to be
concealed. In the exhibition of 1862 a
diamond was shown which had weighed in
the rough 254 earats, but this was Bra
lillian stone of imperfect color. A larger
stone than either, known as the Mettam
diamond. has but an apocryphal history,
though there is probably truth at the bot
tom of it. NATHAN is principality in the
isle of Borneo, and in the treasury of the
Rajah this diamond is said to be preserved
An offer was once made by the Dutch
government, of 100000, and couple of
gun-boats for the gem, but refused, and as
a superstition connects the fortunes of the
Rsjah's family with the safety of the stone
and strangers are not permitted even to
see it, the facts of the case are as yet I'M
authenticated. Enough, however, has
been said to show what marvel real
diamond of 900 carats weight would be.
Instinctively the colonists appear to
have appreciated the wonder. First,
telegram from the mines announced the
discovery, with the news that an armed es-
cort was conveying the stone to Sydney to
deposit it in the Treasury; the next des-
patch reported that it had been placed in
the Mint, and, further, that a banking
company had advanced the very modest
sum of e700 at venture. The remarka-
bic thing, however, is, that there should
be any doubt about the real nature or
quality of the gem. A well known ge0lo-
gist, it is said, had been set to work upon
it, but had not yet pronounced sentence.
Tie fact is that any pawnbroker's assistant
could settle such question in five minutes.
To the eye Of an expert the mere "play"
or "fire" of stone will disclose its quality,
h,,f tho Australian f,a.,, io rrno,t
evidence is not available. Two character
istics, however, of diamond, admit of an
easy and infallible test-its hardness and
its specific gravity. Nothing but dia-
mond will scratch diamond, whereas if
the stone is only white or yellow sap
phire it may be scratched by splinter Of
ruby. In this case, it would be a crystal
Of clay instead of a crystal of charcoal,
and would still be very valuable but il,
as is probable, it is simple quartz, the mir
acle will disappear. Sufficient evidence,
however, would remain to show that the
Australian diamond mines may be rich in
unknown treasures. Our correspondent
himself had a stone 10 his hand, fresh from
the diggings, which was a perfect speci-
men of diamond without speox or flaw, of
five carats in weight. The value of such
stone in the London market would be
e3O0, whereas it was sold on the spot for
sll2. We are told. too, that diamonds
genuine diamonds-are on sale by women
and children at every cottage, and there
can hardly be q mistake, we should think,
about the nature Of the stones. At any
rate, as some of the gems have now found
their way to this country, the question of
quality can soon be set at rest.