Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1895-12-28
ROMANCE or 4 DIAMOND.

ROMANCE OF A DIAMOND.
history Of Q Unique and Decidedly
Hamous Gem.
Tho Hope diamond u for sale. % the
0ble informs IA That greatest Of I'll
elue diamonds 10 10 be disposed Of BY
10 trustees Of the bankrupt estate q
Lard Trands Hope, known 10 Burke
md 10 ths peerage - the brother Of tho
Duke Of Newcastle, but nearer and
hearer to the public heart 40 the hus.
hand q the w1nsome, the eccentric, tho
|6ascinating May Yohe. II 10 said that
me trustees have refused 100000. Of.
tered for the stone by an American.
But II 10 understood that they would
accept f24.0OO.
The Hope diamond 10 unique In very
Wy. 10 begin with, It h the only large
blue diamond known 70 the jewelor(
Of to-day. II weighs ~ karats. There
= an almost ridiculous fall from this
% the 1O% karats OF the Brunswick
blue stone. Yet the Brunswick stone
comes next In size among this species
Of diamond. And the Brunswick stone
y itself believed to have formed Q pars
q the-but We are anticipating.
The history Of the Hope diamond b
fun Of bewildering romance, marvel
and mystery. Let 10 begin at the be.
ginning. In the year 1883 the famous
traveller and jeweler. Jean Baptlsts
Tavernier, came back to Paris from
his last tour In the diamond countries
Of the orient. He brought with him
twenty-five diamonds, all Of which hs
cold 10 Louis XIV. for half . million
dcliars. The grand monarque was %
pleased with his bargain that lie threw
IN the title Of Baron d'Aubonne. which
Tsvernier wore to HE death.
! Among the brilliants was q blue dia.
mond, still In the rough, weighing 112N
lcaratD. II was q magnificent specimen,
but being Dat and Ill formed. was con.
sidersbly reduced In the cutting, aftcl
which It weighed only 671S karats. On
the historic occasion when Louis XIV,
In 1716, welcomed to his presence the
recently arrived Persian ambassador,
me aged monarch's clothes were ablass
with jewelry valued at the incredible
sum Of e12,O00.O0O. and the blue dia.
mond, the most valued brilliant Of all
his gems, hung by blue string around
his neck.
Tho Tavernier diamond was amona
the crown Jewels captured BY the
French revolutiouists in 1902. All were
deposited IN the Guarde Meuble. Al
this time It appears that further cut.
ting had reduced the Tavernier 10 673t
karatA Still II was the most coverted
prize Of all. It mysteriously disap.
peared. For almost half . century
nothing was heard Of It.
Suddenly, in the year 1880, blue dia.
mond Of Az karats appeared unher.
aided on the markets. Nothing wal
known Of its history. Ito owner, Dan.
isl Eliason. had bought 1t from q
stranger. 20 his story ran. He had
asked no questions and he could an.
swer none. Henry Thomas Hope, the
famous banker, purchased the stone
from E1iason. The rumored price wal
&18, 900. which was considered far lesl
than IT. value. 1t has ever since been
known a. the Hope diamond, and hal
been greatly admired a. q combination
Of the beautiful blue Of the sapphire
with the dramatic fire and sparkle o.
tho diamond.
Nnw +1,o uu>vnle@,,>A srvoa~a n~o a,
this unique specimen upon the market
cot wiseawes to thinking. It Was OBJ
vious that tho purloiner Of the Taver
nier diamond would never have dared
to dispose Of It In its original shape
What more natural than that he shouit
have reduced It by cleavage 10 two o.
more pieces. Arst selling OF the smaller
piece or pieces and finally the larger
Now York Herald.