Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1882-08-09
Great Diamonds.

uhNe xoue 20 pieces. Otnefs, IKE tne
Koh-i-noor, have been unskiliully cut SO
as to have lost their remarkable size.
And some, sad to relate. are suspected OF
imposture, are believed to be crystals or
white topaz, (which consists" We are
told, ''of fuo-sllicate mixed with sill
cate of aluminium"
This suspicion attaches unfortunately
to the stone which stands highest on the
list, the great Braganza, which is ''by
far the largest diamond not only now In
existence, but of which there is any rec
ord, if indeed 1t Is a diamond. 1t is
iealously guarded in the Portuguese
treasury. ''For obvious financial mo-
tives, the Government is naturally anx-
ious that, whatever be its true character,
it should continue to re regarded as a
genuine diamond;" and no wonder, when
We read further that it weighs over IL
ounces, or ], $50 carats, is about the size
of goose's egg, and has been valued
at f30O, 600, 900. 1t was discovered about
179S in Brazil by three convicts, accord
ing to one story and was sent to the
Regent of Portu. al, Dom John, after
ward, John vi. Authorizes differ as to
its value as well as its genuiness. We
have given the highest estimate. That
is the opinion of Rome Delisle; but an
other authority from whom Mr.. Streeter
constantly quotes, named Murray, IN his
Memoir on the Diamond, considers that
in its present form it is worth only f5,-
GA 800. There is a considerable dis
crepancy here, which Mr.. Streeter does
not attempt to adjust, but perhaps NJ.
Delisle meant francs, not pounds ster-
ling. The stone Is rough. and would
by cutting be reduced about two thirds,
or 500 carats. This necessity for cutting
down every fine diamond is one of those
things which only experts can under
stand. A jeweler says with sigh that
diamond is AZ present in the rough,
and is, no doubt, very fine, but that it
will be reduced to mere nothing by
cutting. The obvious reply would be,
''Then don't cut II" but such a reply
could only come from the mouth of some
one wholly uninitiated. Still the two
facts remain, that natural stones are
prettiest in their natural state, and that
cutting reduces them in value as well as
IN weight. The Koh-i-noor, for exam
pie, when it arrived in this country,
weighed a little over lS6 carats. 1t had
been partially cut and polishedin India,
and had barbafic magniicence about
1t which was wholly removed after NJ.
Toorsapger. of Amsterdam, had opera
ted on it. Before cutting, it looked like
very precious jewel. After cutting it
look like the prismatic drop of chan
delier. The operation, besides sacrific-
ing so much weight, cost no less than
$4,000. Prince Albert openly express
ed his dissatisfaction with the work. The
Koh-i-noor is greylsh stone. and too
thin, or, to use the jewellers expression.
has too much "spread, to be of the
finest quality; yet even since it was
robbed of its great weight it is still
valued above 100000. Mr.. Streeter
evidently thinks a great deal of it, as he
not only tells us Up. 1851 that its alleged
'.uncannie" powers have ''now ceased to
be subject of apprehension, but adds
that its '1atest history eloquently de-
monstrates the fact that tne extended
empire is blessing just in proportion
as it finds hearts and hands willing to
fulfil the high duties which increased
privileges involve" If the Koh-i-noor
can be made to teach all this, cutting
may have Improved it
We have not, however, yet answered
the question as TO which is the largest
diamond, putting aside the suspected
Braganza SO jealously guarded in the
Portuguese treasury. 1t seems that In
the Island of Borneo there is a Sultan
who reigns over the Territory OF Ma
tan, which stretches along the ewest coas
between Pontianak and Sarawak; and
this Sultan has diamond feundm 1877,
at Landak, mine in this country. 1t
weighs 367 carats. but is uncut. Sir
Stamford Raffles noted about it that on
this account "It may be difficult to say
whether it will become the largest cut
diamond ever known: for the famous
diamond of ofAurungzeb, called the Mogul,
in Its rough state weighed 795 carats,
and was then valued at $500, 900, but
when cut, was reduced to 279 carats. "
Here we have the same question as to
cutting restated, and cannot tell whether
the Great Matan is to be reckoned
really great or not. The great Mogul,
we may remark, has disappeared, and
is therefore not III the competition.
Neither is the Nizam, which belongs to
the NIzam of Hyderabad. and is $40
carats in its uncut state; nor the Stew
art, which weighs 2eS, and is the largest
Vet sent uOulc lfOul oOutu AIlCst. NcAe
comes the Star of the South, which was
found in Brazil in 1858, and weighed
254 carats, but was duly cut down to
125, so that it is surpassed by several
others. Tine next is called by Mr..
Streeter Du Toit L; and. considering
that, according to the table of weights
at the end of the book, this stone weighs
since it was cut no less than pa carats
and is therefore by far the largest cut
diamond known, we may observe as
characteristic of the whole book that
Though Mr.. Streeter devotes all Chapter
VII to it, he tells us absolutely nothing
about it except that is was found in 1875
at Du Toit's Pan. Even the weight is
not recorded here, but in the appendix.
THIS is tantalizing in the highest degree.
Vino is the owner of this wonderful
gem? what is its valae? what was its
1 weight before it was cut?-these and q