The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-06-29
PART II.
iContinued from June %.

The rejection OF the BraganHa would leave NJ
the head of the list of the great diamonds
of the world the Matan, which weighs 367
carats 1t was found in Borneo in l7s7, and has
always belonged to the Sultan of Borneo. How
ever, 1t is still in the rough and should not be
. compared with diamonds that are cut. 1t has Il
blue, metallic lustre, is about the size OF wal
nut, and is valued at two million dollars.
The Nizam diamond, which stands next, is at
present i'll the possession of the Nizam of
Hyderahau, the descendant of the Kings of
% G. olconda. 1t weighs in the rough 340 carats
and is valued at a million dollars. 1t was found
in the Goconda mines. Had it rot been broken
by accident during the Indian mutiny it would
weigh 440 carats
THE GREAT MOGUL
is the largest cut diamond in existence, but the
trouble is we can't be sure it Is in existence. 1t
has never been seen or heard of since Tavcrnier
reported that he saw it at Emperor AurungZebs
palace in Delhi in 1866. 1t was put down as a
( GolconGa stone weighing after being cut $50
carats. This would make it the largest cut dia-
mond in the world, but until it reveals itself
again to human eyes it would be well TO drop it
from the list of actual diamonds. IF the record
be true the Great Mogul was reduced in cutting
from 795 Carats to $50
THE GREAT TABLE
IS a diam ond which Tavernier says he saw at
,Golconda in the hands of a merchant, to whom
he offered 100000 rupees for it. Its weight. being
l,
make it second among cut diamonds. But un-
fortunately the Great Table, like the Great
Mogul, has not been seen since Taverniers time.
The Regent of Portugal. None of the records
show clearly whether this diamond is cut or not.
In the table winch forms an appendix to Mr..
Streeters book it is put in the cut column, but
that table is fun Of errors. However. as 1t is
valued at about two million dollars, we may take
it to be cut. was found by negro slave in
Brazil in 1iT5 and is now supposed to be in the
Portuguese treasury. tits put down as weighing
at present 2l5 cGrats. tits tolerably certain that
the Regent of Portugal is diamonds; in that re-
spect it has the advantage of the BraganZa, and
it is also toleraby certain that it actually exists,
in which respect it has the advantage of the
Great Mogul and the Great Table, the two cut
diamonds which weigh more.
THE ORLOFF
now adcrns the imperial sceptre OF Russia. 1t
weighs 1875 cGruts. It was one of the eyes of an
East Indian idol at Serangani. near Trichinopoli,
when stolen by a French deserter, who sold it to
trader for $4,000. The price paid to a diamond
merchant at Amsterdam in l7,6 by Prince Orlotf,
who used 1t to purchase the favor of CZarina
Catherine II of Russia, was St50,C00 in cash and
an annuity OF $4,000. 1t is about the size of
pigeons egg. 1t is valued at two million dollars,
and really in the list of cut diamonds the Orlotf
is the largest of which it can be said that there
is no doubt about its existence, its genuineness
or its whereabouts
THE DARYA-ENUR,
weighing 1856 Carats, must stand next to the Or
loft in the list Of the largest cut diamonds. Its
name sign hes the Sea River of Light" and
it is the largest diamond belonging to the Shah
of Persia. 1t is also said to have the finest lustre
Of any diamond in the world. Nadr Shah cap
turcd it when ms Persian soldiers sacked the
city of Delhi, the capital of the Mogul Empire,
in 1879.
The Persian monarchs always made speciality
of collecting jewels. Writing about the return
of the Persian Emperor ArtaXerXes from his eX-
pedition against the Cedusians, 400 years B. c.,
Rolin in his ancient history says: THE Kings
behavior in this march was much admired.
Neither the gold, with which he was covered,
his purple robes, nor the jewels that gttered all
over him and were worth six and thirty millo rs
of lvres, about seven million dollarsO prevented
his having an equal share in the whole fatigue
with the neanest soldier"
TAJ-E-MAH.
Although not next in size, the Taj.e Nah Grown
or crest OF the mOon) may be mentioned here.
1t is twin jewel TO the Darya i-Nur, the two be-
ing set in a PAIR Of magnificent bracelets belong
ing to the Shah of Persia. The Taj-eMah
weighs l46 Carats The character of these two
jewels and the use TO which they are put are
vouched for by Il number of authorities, but
chiefly by Sir John Malcolm, an Englishman,
who, IN the early part of the century, visited
Persia in an official capacity, and, returning,
wrote his experiences IN an anonymous DOCK oil
travel called Sketches in Persia" These two
Jewels are the principal ones in a pair of brace
lets valued at near five million dollars.
The Imperial, a South African stone, already
mentioned weighing after cutting $50 carats,
must be catalogued next to the Darya.i-Nur.
THE TURKEY ANDII.
There are said to be two large diamonds in the
Turkish regaa, Of which hardly anything is
known. They are pat down as weighing respect
lively l4T and 81 carats. 1t seems quito likely,
however, tnat if they ever did exist in the Sui
tan's Palace at tCOnstantnople they are not there
fifteen years ago, and Murad took his place, the
latter paid mis- banker, certain ChriStak Etfendi
the debt he owed him about S2,5OO.0OO) in da-
monds, and these two may have been in the lot
But in that case they would probably have at
tracted special attention when Christaki put
them on the market in Paris, and as nothing has
yet been heard Of them this is another case in
which il will do no harm to wait for further eYi-
existed. IN 1881 an earnest effort was made to
get some information on the subject at the Pal
ace but the effort was fruitless.
THE AUSTRIAN YELLOW.
This has at various times been called the Tus.
can, the t4orentne, the Great FloreHtine, and
the Austrian, and, under misapprehenson the
MaXimiliaD. In VaYerniers time it belonged tC
Grand Duke OF Tuscany Francis Stephen mar
ried Maria Theresa, the Empress of Austria, in
1745, it has been one of the crown Jewels of Aus
tria. 1t weighs 1891 carats, and, Though citron
This is one Of the diamonds that apOcrypha
stories have represented as having been worn
and lost by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy
at the Battle of MOrat, in 1876. But nearl v ali thf
monds can safely be rejected as this one can be
III on pE