The Portland daily press., 1883-01-08
A Story of Diamonds.

A Story of Diamonds.
IN. Y Evening Post.l
The diamond trade in this city has lately
been much interested in the singular good for
tune of one of its members, who has come into
the possession of pair of gems that may safe
" be called unique. jealousy guarded in the
safe of diamond importer in Maiden Lane,
aud exhibited to only few favored dealers.
lie two stones that have an eventful history,
and whose intrinsic qualities such as to
command the most enthusiastic admiration of
experts. They are a pair of old Indian-mine
diamonds, cut in cushion shape, weighing eight
and one-half carats each, and of a remarkable
pale blue color. Their tint is far deeper than
''steel blue" but much lighter than the sap
phire blue of the celebrated Hope diamond.
They are SO full of fire that many pure white
diamond is dimmed by contrast with them,
and so absolutely perfect that the slightest flaw
cannot be discovered in either by the aid of
the most powerful magnifying glass. Their
combined weight of seventeen carats is almost
exactly divided between the two, they are alik,
beautifully proportioned, and the peculiar
shade of blue is precisely the same in each.
In all respects the equality Of the two is iden-
tical Their hue is of a kind that is usually
found only in very small and imperfect stones.
So completely are they "twins' that experts
are not wanting who refuse to believe that SO
extraordinary match could ever have been
made originally between two distinct gems,
and insist that one huge diamond was split to
make the pair. Such a stone may have been
SO shaped in the rough, they say, that it could
not have been cut as single gem without
great loss in weight, and yet may have lent
itself readily to division. On the other hand,
It is argued that in such separation several
fine one and two-carat stones must have been
Clipped out, and the question is asked, what
has become of them? as even these would be
sufficiently curious, from their color, to be-
come known in the trade. The obvious an
swer to this is that, if any gems were fashioned
from such "ehips," they may never have left
their native East.
The early history of the twin diamonds is
wrapped in the twilight that surrounds the an
cient thrones and temples of India. That
they are very old cannot be doubted, as stones
of such size have not been mined in India
for at least two centuries. They NAV have
decked the turbans of rajahs, sparkled on the
necks OF begums, or formed the eyes OF some
magnificent idol. Unquestionably they must
have been ranked among royal treasures and
perhaps they changed ownership more than
once during the wars between petty Kingdoms.
At length, it is said, they passed into the pos
session of Warren Hastings, when he was the
governor-general of India, but they soon re-
turned to native ownership, and came to light
again at the time of the Indian mutiny. At
ter this they were bought by wealthy Rus
sian nobleman, who had them recut in AM
sterdam. This recruiting, though it slightly
diminished their weight, greatly increased the
lustre and beauty of the gems. At this time
the unique pair attracted considerable atten-
tion in the diamond trade, and it is said that
A1AsA L
native country, was embarrassed by Of
fers to purchase the stones on behalf of the
czar, which he did not wish to accept.
This nobleman got into some political trouble
in Russia, and at last left the empire, being
fortunately able to take with him his jewels
and other personal property. He was not SO
fortunate at the gaming tables of Monaco
where he played high and lost heavily. In
the course of his gambling he staked or
pledged one of his blue diamonds. and
1t passed into the hands of M. Blanc,
the noted gaming-house proprietor, whose
daughter was married about two years ago to
Prince Roland Bonaparte. The Russian no.
ble's affairs do not appear to have improved,
for, some time afterward, the second blue dia- |
mond found its way into the hands of Paris |
jeweler. In the course of time efforts were made
to find the mate for it, which was known to ex-
ist, but in some way (perhaDs owing to the Rus
slams deatb) all c'ew to the other stone had
been lost. The Paris stone passed about in the
trade, from one dealer to another, until it was
purchased by the eccentric duke of Brunswick,
who lavished immense sums on collection of
precious stones, and bequeathed his property
to the city of Geneva. The duke also tried to |
find the twin gem, but, being unsuccessful, |
sold or exchanged the one he had bought, |
which then drifted about again, in the trade |
and in private ownership. 1t was set as a |
brooch, in a necklace and in various other de- |
signs. beautiful and singular gem, 1t was |
always held at high price, but its value was |
OF course much lessened by the disappearance |
of its perfect counterpart. The latter, mean |
while, was still quietly resting in the possess |
sion of the Blanc family, who probably never |
heard that it. was one of pair, and who evil |
dently must have displayed it in public but |
seldom. Finally it reappeared about year
ago, when it was sold in Paris with other Jew |
els belonging to Nine. Blanc, the widow of the |
gambling-house magnate. 1t was then bought, |
for what sum is not stated, by an agent of the |
New York diamond merchant already men,
toned.
Some years before this the Paris stone-the |
one which had been owned by the duke of |
Brunswick-had in its turn disappeared, van
lshing completely from the knowledge of the |
trade. 1t is suspected that it shared the fate
OF many other noted gems, and was stolen. The |
purchaser of the Blanc diamond had no hope |
Of discovering its mate, bnt held it on its ind |
vidual merits He was not in any hurry to sell |
it, and after the habit of diamond dealers with |
a fine stone, kept it very close from inspection.
About two months ago member of his firm |
the course of which he visited Chicago. By |
mere accident he encountered there a certain |
wealthy pork-packer, and, with mingled feel
ings of amusement, hope and delight, saw
cleaning on his shirt front large blue dia- |
mond, which seemed to be wonderful match
for the rare stone locked up in the home office.
He telcgraphed Immediately to his partners
here, and, after the exchange of a few dis
patches a trusted clerk hastened from this city
to Chicago, bearing with him the Blanc dis-
Ynond for fha nurnOSa of cOmnarisnn Tho |
ter was so important and delicate, however,
that the clerk was mt informed of the true OBJ
ject of his mission, but believed that the dia-
mond was sent on to be sold. When the trav-
cling partner received it, he compared it fur
lively with the pork-packer's stud, aud saw
that, beyond the faintest doubt, the latter was
its long-missing mate. He telegrapbed the
fact to the head of his firm, and received
prompt instructions to secure the pork-packers
gem at any price demanded. Copcealing his
eagerDess, he entered into negotiations for it's
purchase, and finally became its possessor for
sum which, though large, was much below its
value as one of the remarkable pair.
The pork-packer had worn his diamond for
several years, in entire ignorance of its history
and of the fact that its exact duplicate had ev.
or existed. During visit to England he had
bought it from Hebrew diamond dealer in
London. For obvious reasons, the prices which
the stones have fetched singly, at different
times, are not mentioned by the persons who
have been most interested in tracing their
history. As pair it would be very
difficult to estimate their value and
the present owners. The news of their reunion
has excited some diamond merchants in Paris,
who are very anxious to secure them and have
been sending cable messages on the subject
during the last few days. 1t is not believed,
however, that the gems will be permitted to
leave this country.
John, the new colored boy, being rather