Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1896-12-10

the house may now
lcquire this gem as soon as the cutting
process Is finished.
In the rough the diamond was valued
/, ut S2,5OO,0O0. How much the cutting
nay enhance this valuation or depre-
slate 1t only the future can tell. II 1t
hlls into the hands of q particularly
Ikilful man he may easily add 100000
10 1t. If, on the other hand, the cut
ling is unskllfully done, 100000 may
be cut off with equal case. The Btone
has never been out of the possession
Df the great diamond syndicate, of
which Cecil Rhodes Is the head, and
which controls the entire diamond out
put OF South Africa. It 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 the treasure in the Bank
Df 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,
and then sent under special escort to
London. There it has remained ever
since. But, beyond the fact that 1t is
In the city somewhere, no one has been
permitted to know anything about it.
The 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
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 sale. 1t
lakes an emperor or king to secure
control Of such a stone as this, and the
Imperors and kings Of Europe are rath-
n hard up at present. Who 1t Is that
aas finally promised to take the jaeger
Fontein Excelsior off the syndicate's
hands Is not known. 1t Is rumored in
London, however, that like all the 9TH
er great things in the world, the big
Hammond is coming to America to some
great American millionaire. Compared
with the JAEGER Fontein Excelsior all
the other great stones at present in
existence are as hazel nuts to hens
Eggs. 1t weighed when exhumed 960B
sarats. Its extreme girth in width was
5B inches, and its extreme girth in
length was 81 inches. It's greatest
ength on any side was az inches, and
It's greatest width on any one side was
inches. It's smallest width was ~
inches. Altogether it is not unlike
small baseball in size. There are per-
haps a half dozen diamonds in the
world that will rank with the jaeger
Fontein as among the greatest gems in
existence, though none of them APP
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 it.
The Orloff diamond In the sceptre Of
the Russian Gar weighs 104% carats.
According to one story, 1t formed the
eye of an Indian idol and was stolen by
French deserter; another that it be-
longed to the Nadir Shah of Persia, and
on his murder came into the hands of
an Armenian merchant, who brought it
to Amsterdam. 1t was sold to Russia
in 1772 for $45O,OOO, with an annuity of
$4,000 and a title Of Russian nobility
Among the British crown jewels is
the Kohinoor This stone has had a
most remarkable history, and until it
fell into the hands of Queen Victoria
caused wars innumerable. At 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 bin, the Sui
tan of the Mogul dynasty, it fell into
the hands Of the conquerors, who, it is
related, esteemed it at the sum Of
the daily maintenance Of the whole
world"
At this time it 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 it's state of cutting was
not fashionable enough to serve for
court purposes. So he had western
lapidary, Borgio by name, take It under
contract to cut 1t according to Euro
mean ideas. Borglo was highly pleased
at the commission, but before he got
through he devoutly 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 it with much pride to
it's royal owner
1t took the Emperor Aurenszebe just
three seconds to order that Borgio
should be boiled in oil, torn limb from
limb, have his head cut on and nailed
to the city gates by the ears, and to
undergo various other equally pleasing
and cheerful experiences. In cutting
the diamond, Borgio had been com
PEELED to reduce it three-quarters in
: size. That the job was scientifically