The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1886-04-29
THE SANCY DIAMOND.


Europe down to the close of tho last
century was the famous Sancy. AS is
the case with all prominent gems of this
species, many legends, some of pleasant
somo of painful character are con-
nocted with it. One legend of the
Sancy is thus narrated:
| The beautiful diamond inventoried as
the Sancy, and of the weight of 50 1916
carats, and valued at 100000 francs,
was stolen and never recovered. This
gem has been associated with the for
tunes of the redoubtable Burgundian
warrior, Charles the Bold, and its his
tory has done more to perpetuate his
name than the record of all his misdeeds
ana his desperate battles. To prove,
however, that this is the identical gem
lost by the Swiss will be q difficult task,
Tor the antiquarios have uncarthed more
Sancy diamonds than there were Rich
monds in the field. The name of Sancy
has, indeed, become famous by en-
braclng in one story the fortunes of
three distinct gems. The crudite King
has patiently traced out the traditions
connected with the name Sancy, and
appears to prove that three stories in
stead of ono aro included in the history
OF Baron Sancy. But the stone that
was stolen from the French caskct in
!I92 Is mTentoricd at the weight of 33
ZIG carats, while the gem that has
lately gone back to India, and is sup
posed to be the stolen gem, Weighs
quite 34 carats. Here is new mystery
TOR the antiquarics to clear away. or
did Belattro and his associates, who
made out this inventory with exceeding
care, write thirty instead of tifty-thrcc?
The histories of these diamonds are SO
interesting that we will attempt to re-
peat them here, following, in paEt, the
views of King. Not long after the in
vcnton, by Berqucn, of diamond-cut-
ting by the process of abrasion, Charles
the Bold, then in the full blaze Of mar
tial glory, submitted to him three largo
rough diamonds. The native of Brugcs
succeeded SO well in polishing them
that Charles presented him with the
! prlnccly sum Of 5000 ducats. One of
these gems Charles gave to Pope Sextus
! w., and it was mounted in tho tiara,
where 1t is said to remain. The second
! was presented to Louis XI. of France;
while the third was reserved 9v the
Burgundian hero, and set in grotesquo
manner to be worn rs personal orna-
mcnt This jewel, of true barbaric de-
sign, was formed of a triangular shape,
with the ncwly-cut diamond in the
center. This diamond was five-cighths
Of an inch in its widest diameter and
was shaped as a pyramid, with the apex
cut into four-raycd star in relief.
Around the gem was sot three large
Balais rubies and four magnilccn,
! pearls, each moro than half an inch in
diameter. One of the Fuggcr family, il
| f,,1 ~.
jewel, with written description of it
and these were afterward published b,
Lcmbeccius in his "Bibliotheca Cnsa
rca;" so there can be no doubt abou
the appearance of the original diamont
of Charles the Bold in its early days
When tho duke led his band of free
hooters into Switzerland on his long
projected foray, he took most of hi!
gems along with him, not dreaming O.
disaster, and probably loving to view
his treasures even amid the hardships
of the campaign. Rough soldiers arc
sometimes rs fond of the beautiful in
art and nature as more delicate and re.
fined organizations, and Charles the
Bold and Souvarof are not the ,only
examples The terrific onslaught of the
Swiss at Grandson crushed the Burgun-
dian ranks SO quickly that Charles had
only time to escape with his sword,
leaving all his cherished treasures in
the hands of the dauntless noun
| taincers.
I'm the sack Of the camp which
speedily followed the rout, soldier
found the golden box in which the
famous pendant was kept, but regard
ing the jewel as q gaudy and worthless
baublc, he tossed it away under wagon
and retained the box only. Shortly
afterward he began to suspect that the
contents of SO beautiful q box must have
some value, and, returning to the place,
he recovered the despised jewel. He
did not long after retain his treasure,
but sold it to priest for florin. The
priest also did not appear to have Il
high regard for his purchase, for lie dis
posed OF it to the magistrates of his own
canton for 3 francs. When it became
known that the Berncsc government
had possession of the dukes famous
jewels, Jacob Fuggcr, one of the mem
bGrs of the celebrated Nuremberg fami-
ly, went to Bcrnc and negotiated for
their purchase. The famous pendant,
together with the dukes cap, which was
made of silk covered with pearls and
pal"ls luDlcS' ana 4 pune case set with
diamonds, pearls, and Balais rubics
were bought for the sum of 1900
francs. Fuggor retained the pendant
in his possession ut Nuremberg for
many years, indulging in the hope, it
has been said, that the dukes great
grandson, the Emperor Charles ",
would purchase it rs n family relic.
When the celebrated capitalist died the
ornaments was still in his possession,
but his grcat-ncphow, who inherited the
jewel, sold it to Henry VIII. of England.
After the death of this monarch his
daughter presented the diamond to her
bridegroom, and thus, by remarkable
coincidence, and after an absence OF
seyenty-siX years, the royal gem was
again restored to the rightful heir of its
original owncr.-St. Louis Globc-De,n-
| OCrat.
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