Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1877-07-18
BIGGEST OF DIAMONDS.
One Stone valued at s 500. 100000
How Diamonds are Injured BY

One Stone valued at s 3 90. 100000
Cutting
ii is not very easy to make ont
which is the largest diamond now in
existence. Two are mentioned as en-
titled to the honor--the Braganza in
the crown ofPortugal, and one which
belongs to the raiah of Mattan in
Borneo. The Portuguese jewel is of
doubtful quality. 1t weighs 1850 ca
rats, and is the size of a hens egg,
but is believed to be only a white to-
paz. The Portuguese government
withhold any information on the sub
ject, but if it is genuine it is worth
nearly S3o0,000,000. The Borneo gem
was found on the Island about one
hundred and twenty years ago, and
weighs 36I carats. A governor of
Batavia is said to have offered $780,
900 and two men-of-war for itwith-
out success, and though many battles
have been fought over it, the rajah
regards it as ,alisman. and it is still
in possession of the same family
The Orloff diamond in the Russian
imperial sceptcr weighs 1919 carats !;
Catharine / gave S450,000 for il and
pensioncd the merchant who brought
il to her at $4,000 year. 1t is not
cut to advantage, and another among
the Russian crown jewels which
weighs S. carats, is but partly cut. II
is easy to understand a reluctance to
have diamonds cut. The advantages
of cutting are not always very plain,
while the enormous diminution OF
weight which commonly cnsues af-
fccis the public estimation more than
the increase of brilliancy. The IA
nous diamond which the Regent Or
leans bought from Gov. Pitt for $685.
600 formerly weighed 4l0 carats, but
was reduced by cutting to 1864. The
duke of Westminster has one which
was reduced by cutting from 50 to rs
carats. But the most prominent cx.
ample of the kind is afforded by the
recent history of the Koh-i-noor
which weighed lS6 carats when it ar.
rived in England, and lost so by cut
ting in 1851. Why it was cut at all
nobody seems very well able to say
and competent judges deny that it.
DCSit iHtl StsCtt ~ suSi
an extent as to make up for the loss
Sir David Brewster warned Prince
Albert of the impossibility of i'm
proving the lustre without serious
diminution Of weight; but foreign
diamond merchant thought different
ly, and, as is usual in England, any
opinion on matters of the kind is ia
ken before that ola native. The vnl
garity of taste which only admire
regularity has deprived the world o
many great diamonds, and we shall
probably have to wait long before i
is universally acknowledged tina
/ symmetry is not absolutely nccessar,
to beauty. The ancient regalia o
the Nisigothic kings in the Hotel Gu
ny. the so-callcd sword of Charlie
imagine in the Louvre. the ruby in tn
English crown at the Tower, are no
less beautiful because they look lit
tie rough. The great jewel wearer
and collectors, the raiahs of India
seldom have their diamonds cut int
regular forms, and the Koh-i-noo
was no exception. Its history ma,
be traced for nearly 100000 years
and it seems that OF some remote pc
! Rod ii weighed 1885 carats; but tina
, Shah Senah had il cut by Venetian
in his service, who contrived to reduc
, it to the lS6 which it weighed whe
, it reached England.