The Red Cloud chief., 1896-12-11

IlS dIOuIlu lOOSp III
the house may 10Y
acquire this gem as soon as the cutting
process is finished.
In the rough the diamond was valued
Mt $500, 600. How much the cutting
may enhance this valuation or depre-
clate 1t only the future can tell. If ii
rails into the hands of a particularly
skilful man he may easily add $500. 600
TO IL. III, on the other hand, the cut
ting Is unskilfully done, $500, 900 may
be cut of with equal ease. The stone
has never been out of the possession
or the great diamond syndicate. of
winch Cecil Rhodes is the head, and
Wnlch controls the entire diamond out
put or South Africa. 1t was found by
one of the syndicate's workmen in
June, 1893. In the JAEGER Fontein mine,
near Kimberly. 1t is known as the
lager Fontein Excelsior. From the
moment of its discovery up to the
present time 1t has been guarded as
carefully as h treasure in the Bank
OF England. To make its security all
the greater, strict secrecy has been
observed as to its exact location. 1t
was first kept under military guard at
the syndicate's South African place,
n Their sent under special escort to
London. There it has remained ever
since. But. beyond the fact that il is
IN the city somewhere, no one has been
permitted to know anything about it.
Inc secret of its location has been kept
by the officers of the company and a
Few trusted employees. No effort has
heretofore been made for it's cutting,
because a customer for a two and a
half million solitaire is not to be picked
up every day. AS the cutting process
Is very expensive. the syndicate did not
care to go ahead with the work until
there was some prospect of a sale. IL
taxes an emperor or n king to secure
control of such a stone az this, and the
emperors and kings of Europe are rath-
er hard up at present. Who it Is that
has finally promised to take the lager
Fontein Excelsior off the s%yndicate's
hands Is not known. 1t Is rumored in
London, however, that like all The 9th
err great things in the world. the big
diamond Is coming to America to some
great American millionaire. Compared
with the lager Fontein Excelsior all
the other great stones at present in
existence are as hazel nuts to hens
eggs. 1t weighed whom exhumed 96Ola
carats. It's extreme girth in width was
5ss inches, n its extreme girth in
length was Ga inches. It's greatest
length on any side was 21s inches, and
its greatest width on any one side was
2 inches. It's smallest width was IA
inches. Altogether it Is not unlike a
small baseball in size. There are per-
haps a half dozen diamonds in the
world that will rank with the lager
Fontein as among the greatest gems in
existence, though nom of them ap-
proach it in any sense. either in value |
or size. The Mogul diamond. which Is |
among the Persian crown Jewels, |
weighs $50 carats. 1t is one of the chief
assets of the Shah OF Persia, and all
sorts Of fabulous prices have been Of
fered for 1t.
The Orloff diamond in the sceptre OF
the Russian Car weighs 1919 carats. |
According to m story, 1t formed the
eye of an Indian idol and was stolen by
a French deserter; another that 1t be-
longed to the Nadir Shah of Persia, and
on his murder anne into the hands of
an Armenian merchant, who brought il
to Amsterdam. 1t was sold to Russia
in 1772 for $3.50, 900, with an annuity of
$4,000 and a title OF Russian nobility.
Among the British crown jewels Is
shz Hah,paA TIL. ...- - |
most remarkable history, and until 1t
fell into the hands of Queen Victoria
caused wars innumerable. At a date
not fixed by history, it was discovered
in the CAM mine near the famous
mines of Golconda. In 1926, at the
sack of Delhi by Ala Ed Din, the Sui
tan of the Mogul dynasty, it fell into
the hands of the conquerors, who, it Is
related, esteemed ii at the sum of
the daily maintenance Of the whole
world"
At this time 1t weighed 1893 karats.
The gem passed along from generation
to generation, until the Emperor Au-
rengzebe came to the throne. This
old gentleman became tainted with
western heresies, and concluded that
the MOgul in its state of cutting was
not fashionable enough To serve for
court purposes. So he had a western
lapidary, Borgio by name, take it under
to cut 1t according to Euro
pean ideas. Borgio was highly pleaaed
at the commission. but before he got
through he d~evoutly wished that he
might have been drowned before the
emperor ever sent for him. For six
months the stone was in the lapidary's
hands. and when he had finished his
job he returned 1t with much pride to
Its royal owner.
1t took the Emperor Aurengzebe Just
three seconds TO order that Borgio
should be boiled in oil, torn limb from
limb, have his head cut off and nailed
the city gates by the ears, and to
~ apintC Atho, o,,,,Ii. l.o.t.-