Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-05-24
PRICELESS SPARKLERS
Great Diamonds of the World and
Their Histories.
JEWELS WORTH FORTUNES,
wonderful Stories Told About Them,
Showing That Their Possession Has
Brought, ~ . Rule, misforsuns and
Observation-Disclosures 90 Crime.

| ray bcEouo tuht 6uoulu DC WoB
nihcsnt fortune in ITSELF 1t was il
Just such way that . man named Antoine
working with . pick-ax in a hole o
the Cape Of Good Hope, Unexpectedly turned
up huge cleaning jewel For moment Of
two he stood spellbound. fearing to dispel what
he thought must be an illusion; then. clutchine
the stone, he found in his hand what actually
was diamond weighing 2sS carats, or very
nearly two ounces troy. For two days after.
ward he was unable to eat anything aud came
very near dying Of sheer excitement This
superb crystal, Of slightly yellowish tinge, ID
now known as the "Stewart" and 10 numbered
among the great diamonds Of the world.
There Is something fascinating about the
very condensation Of riches that q diamond Of
size represents. To hold between your thumt
and finger gem no bigger than a walnut tina,
| is worth q cool 81, 900 900 is pleasure posi-
lively rapturous. Gold is precious, but 81, 00G
worth Of 1t would weigh considerably over loo
pounds, and you could not very well carry 81
much as that; 1t is not value sufficiently highly
| condensed to impress the mind in at all the
same way. 1t would be worth payink good
| price for the privilege Of once handling the
biggest diamond in the world-the "Braganza"
OF Portugal-which is the size Of goose egg
| and weighs eleven ounces, still uncut, being
valued at no less a sum than $25, 000, 600. This
| stone WAS found in q rivulet a short distance
north OF the Rio Plata, Brazil, by three out
lawed criminals, who handed it over to the
governor Of the district and received remis-
sion OF their sentences in return. Subsequently
the gem was sent to Lisbon and deposited
in the Portuguese treasury, where it now is
However, the authorities will not consent to
| show it to any one, and grave doubts are ex-
pressed by experts as to its being q genuine
diamond, the notion being suggested that it
has been found not to be real and that it is
kept hidden in order that Portugal may not
lose the financial credit that il given by the
possession Of a S25, 900 900 gem. One theory
held Il that it is in reality a white topaz. The
German Aulic Councillor Beireis Of Helmstadt,
who died in 1909, had a white topaz as big as
an ostrich egg, which he always claimed and
many believed to be diamond. After his
death it could not be found, aud it was thought
that he destroyed it rather than that his repu-
tation should suffer by a discovery of the
stones true nature.
THE FAMOUS KoH-I-YooR.
Nearly all the great diamonds have romantic
histories, but none Of them approaches in this
respect the "Koh-i-noor," now among the
royal jewels OF England. Tradition traces il
back five thousand years to a semi-myt hical
source, but it is known to have been the prop
erty Of the rajahs of Malwa for many genera
tions before. In 1904 the Sultan Aladdin
himself the actual original Of the Arabian
Knights hero-overcame the then rajsh in bat
restored it to the rajah and it remained in the
hands OF the rajah's descendants until the rise
OF the Mogui dynasty. Mohammed Shah of
that dynasty was on the throne as emperor of
Hindostan when his country was invaded and
his capital city, Delhi, was taken by the Persian
Nadir Shah. The greedy conqueror promptly
csbbaged all the Jewels in the Delhi treasury,
but the famous Koh-i-noor was missing. A
woman of Mohammed's harem gave in
formation that the emperor wore the
Id n
Nsdir finally secured it by clever
ruse. offering to exchange turbans with Mo-
manned as a token OF amity in connection
with the declaration Of peace that had just
been made At the death of the Persian war
rior Nadir the Koh-i-noor passed into the
hands OF his son and successor, Shah Hbkh,
who was soon after overthrow. Aga Mo-
manned, the usurper. put Shah Rokh to the
torture to make him give up the stone, but
Shah Rokh would not, even when his eyes
were put out with knives. Finally Aga Mo.
manned ordered his victims head to be
shaved and encircled with diadem Of paste,
thus making receptacle into which boiling oil
was poured. But even this did not induce
Shah Rokh to give up the Koh-i-noor. He
died soon after in consequence of his injuries
and gave the gem that bad brought him so
much misery to Ahmed Shah, founder OF the
Afghan empire, who had come to his assistance.
WHAT BECAME OF IT.
The Koh-i-noor descended from Ahmed Shah
to his grandson Shah Zaman, to whom it did
not bring any good fortune, for Shah Zaman
was deposed from the throne and had his eyes
put out by his brother, Shah Shuja Shah Ia
man was shut up in solitary prison cell for
many years, where he concealed the Koh-i-noor
in the plaster Of the wall. BY the merest acct
dent an officer OF the guard scratched his hand
| upon one Of the angles of the diamond which
projected almost imperceptibly, and this led to
its discovery. Shah Shuja wore it then. but
had not had time to do so very long before he
himself was deposed and had his eyes put out
by his next brother, Shah Mahmud. He with
drew to the court of Runjit Singh for protec-
ton. but Runtit wanted the Koh-i-noor and
persecuted Shuja and starved Shujas wife
until he got it. Runjit had it set in a bracelet
and it was confscated at the close Of the great
Indian mutiny and sent to England. 1t weighed
1856 carats and was reduced to l06 carats by re-
cutting. Though not of the very finest water,
having slightly grayish tinge, it is worth
100000
ANOTHER GREAT DIAMOND,
brought by Nadir Shah from the sack of Delhi,
is the "Taj-e-mah," or Mountain OF Light"
now in all probability the finest gem in the
Persian treasury, where it has ever since re-
manned. 1t was considered an important item
in the $200, 000, 600 worth of treasures taken
from the emperor of Hindustan. After Nadir q
death it was extorted from Shah Rokh by tor
ture. 1t is set at present in one of pair OF
bracelets worn occasions of state by the
present Shah Of Persia, the other bracelet be-
ing set with a diamond of 1856 carats known as
the Sea of Light" u rose-cut gem that was
also carried of from Delhi by Nadir Shah.
THE BIGGEST DIAMOND
Of which anything is positively known is, or
rather was, the 'Great Mogul." 1t was found
| in the year 1850 at the mines within the terri
| tory Of the Nizam of Hyderabad known as the
Golconda diggings, and such of its history as ia
known is remarkably romantic. 1t fell first
| into the hands of q dealor in jewels named
Jemls, who was SO rich that he was said to
count his diamonds by the sack. He gave il al
| . propitiatory offering to the then Mogul en-
peror Of Hinduism, Shah Jehan II weighed
| uncut 787 carats and was somewhat the shape
of half an egg. After it was cut it still weighed
| $50 carats and was about the bigness Of ban
tam's egg. The stone may be said to have wit.
messed great many dreauf Jul tragedies, includ.
| ing the murder by poison and otherwise OF O
majority OF the princes of the court at Delhi by
the hands Of their own immediate relatives
| and finally it saw Shah Jehan deposed by his
| own son, Aurung-zeb, and made prisoner for
years at his palace. The usurper permitted his
them the .Great MoguI" However, ap.
parently with notion Of possessing himself OF
| them. Aurung-zeb several times asked Shah
| Jehan TO lend them to him. Shah Jehan, per-
| ceiyiDg what was meant was very wroth, and
finally declared that he would pound all bis
| jewels up IN mortar. He would have done
it. too, had he not been dissuaded by his
daughter. The "Great Mogul" il thought 70
have been stolen ct the sack Of Delhi and
broken up into two or more stones to conceal its
identity. 1t il thought by an authority writing