The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-12-02
THE SPARKLING DIAMOND.

The diamond is not among the earliest
gems known to man and is believed to
be of comparatively recent geological
formation. Pliny, in the first century,
was the first writer to describe the
diamond 1t is found on all continents
and in almost every country on the
globe. After cutting. if laid in the sun
and then carried into a dark room, it
Will show a phosphorescence. If suf-
ficently heated viii burn like charcoal.
Though hard it is brittle and a fall on
hard floor viii sometimes crack and
ruin fine diamond.
The largest diamond ever known was
the Great Mogul, which weighed IN the
rough 1873 karats. Diamonds so small that
IJOO are required to weigh a karat are
cut in the shops of Holland. Diamonds
are of every color and shade, from
purest white TO jet black The black
varieties are 50 hard they cannot be
polished.
The Orloff diamond. weighing 1874
karats is now set in the Russian sceDter
Just under the eagle at the top. II is
believed to be responsible for 81 murders
TIE mines of GolcOnda are now ex-
hausted though at one time 10000 men
were employed in them. When the sultan
Mahmoud who reigned nT7-l209. died, he
left IN his treasury over 400 pounds
weight of Golconda diamonds. The regent
diamond was found in Golconda and
weighed 40 karats in the rough. Ii took
two years to cut it and cost So, 600 to do
So With the money raised from pawn
ing this diamond Napoleon secured funds
enabling him TO undertake the campaign
which ended at Marengo. The diamond
Is now the property of the French gov
eminent weighs 1876 karats and is valued
at nearly $780, Co.,
For ages there has been flow of gems
from Europe to India and no return. The
people of that land prefer TO invest their
money in jewels to anything else. Taver-
nuer saw in India a diamond weighing
104 karats, the center of which was so
dark and muddy as to ruin it, When the
stone was finally cut open eight karats
Of filth like that from the bottom of a
pond were yielded.
The Russian scepter is of solid gold,
three feet lOnS, and contains among its
ornaments 26S diamonds, $50 rubies and
- emeralds.
Many diamonds are consecrated to The
dead. The tomb of Mohammed is covered
with diamonds, rubies and sapphires
Borromeo was buried in Milan a large
cross OF gold set with several fine en-
eralds and diamonds was placed on his
tomb ana still remains there When
Lord Palmerston was buried in West
minister abbey the officiating clergyman
threw into the grave several diamonds
as a peace Offering.
The karat used in weighing diamonds
is a grain of Indian wheat Here is a
table showing how diamonds are valued:
Per
karat
Diamonds averaging one-half karat
each ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS so
Diamonds averaging three-quarters
karat each .......-.........-.... 50
Diamonds avera ging one karat EACH 100
Diamonds averaging IA karats each. 10
Diamonds averaging IL karats each I20
Diamonds averaging Il. karats each AS
Diamonds averaging two karats each 175
In other words, the value of the gem
increases in the geometricaI ratio of its
weight. Four diamonds weighing to-
gether two karats. are worth S120 but
one diamond, weighing just as much. is
worth $3.50. Stones weighing over two
karats are about the same price per
karat as two-karat stones: they should
be dearer. but they are not, simply be-
cause the demand for them is limited If
the demand for diamonds was as impera-
tive as the demand for beef or flour the
geometTical ratio would again come into
play and five-karat stones would be
valued in the thousands.