The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1886-04-28
THE SANCY DIAMOND.


Europe down TO the close of the last
century was the famous Sancy. As is
the case with all prominent gems of this
species, many legends, some of pleasant
some of painful character, are con-
ncctcd with ii. One legend of the
Sancy is thus narrated:
The beautiful diamond invcntoricd as
the Sancy, and of the weight of 33 1916
carats, and valued ut 100000 francs
was stolen and never recovered. This
gem has been associated with the for
tunes of the rcdoubtablc Burgundian
warrior, Charles the Bold, and its his
tory has done more to perpetuatc his
name than the record of all his misdccds
| and his desperate battles. To prove,
however, that this is the identical rcm
lost by the Swiss will be difficult task,
Tor the antiquaricS have uncarthcd more
Sancy diamonds than there were Rich
monds in the field. The name of Sancy
has, indeed, become famous by en-
| bracing in ono story the fortunes of
| three distinct gems. The eruditc King
has patiently traced out the traditions
connected with the name Sancy, and
appears to prove that three stories in
stead of one are included i'm the history
! OF Baron Sancy. But the stone that
was stolen from the French caskct i'm
! 1892 is invcntorcd at the weight of 33
l2-lG carats, while the gem that has
lately gone back TO India, and is sup
! posed to be the stolen gem, weighs
! quite J4 caratS. Here is Il new mystery
! 1or the antlquaricS TO clear away, or
| did Bclattrc and his associates, who
made out this inventory with exceeding
! care, write thirty instead of ffty-thrccp
| The histories of these diamonds are so
| interesting that we will attempt to re-
| peat them here, following, in part, the
! views of King Not long after the in
vcntion, by Bcrqucn, 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 large
rough diamonds. The native of Brurcs
succeeded SO well in polishing them
that Charles presented him with the
princcly sum Of 5000 ducats One of
these gems Charles gave to Pope Scytus
w., and it was mounted in the tiara,
where 1T is said TO remain. The second
was presented to Louis NJ. of France:
/ while the third was reserved bv the
Burgundian hero, and set in grotcsquc
manner to be worn as Il personal orna-
mcnt This jewel, of true barbaric de-
sign, was formed of Il triangular shape,
with the ncwly-cut diamond in the
center This diamond was fvo-eighths
of an inch in its widest diameter, and
was shaped rs pyramid, with the apex
cut into four-raycd star in relief
Around the gem was set three large
Balals rubics and four magnificent
| pearls, each more than half an inch in
| diameter. One of the Fuggcr family, in
l555,, made careful drawing of the
] N1nl NtItl Il,
and these were afterward published by
LcmbccciuS i'll his "Bibliothcca Casa
rea;' so there can be no doubt about
the appearance OF the original diamond
of Charles the Bold in its early davs.
When the duke led his band of free
bootcrs into Switzerland on his long
projected foray, he took most of his
! gems along with him, not dreaming of
| disaster, and probably loving to view
his treasures even amid the hardships
of the campaign. Rough soldiers are
sometimes rs fond of the beautiful in
art and nature as more delicate and re-
tined organizations, and Charles the
Bold and Souvaroif 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 dauntlcss noun
tainccrS.
In the sack of the camp which
speedily followed the rout, a soldier
found the golden box in which the
famous pendant was kept, but regard
ing the Jewel rs II gaudy and worthless
baublc, he tossed it away under n wagon
and retained the box only. Shortly
aftcrward he began TO suspect that tho
| contents of so beautiful box must have
some value, and, returning to the place,
he recovered the dcspiscd jewel. He
did not long after retain his treasure,
but sold it to priest for florn. The
priest also did not appear to have
high regard for his purchase, for he dis
posed OF % the magistrates of his own
canton for 3 francs. When it became
known that the BcrncSc government
had possession Of the dukes famous
Jewels, Jacob Fuggcr, one of the mem
bcrs of the celebrated Nuremberg fami-
IS, 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
Balals rubics, and Il plume case set with
| diamonds, pearls, and Balais rubics
were bought for the sum OF 47,OOO
francs. Fuggcr retained the pendant
in his possession at Nuremberg for
many years, indulging in the hope, it
has been said, that the dukes great
grandson, the Emperor Charles ",
would purchase it as family relic.
When the celebrated capitalist died the
ornament was still in his possession,
but his grcat-nephcw, who inherited the
jewel sold il 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
sevcnty-six years, the royal gem was
again restored TO the righiful heir of its
original owner 81. Louis Globc-Den,-
Ocrdt.
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