The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-02-03
New York dispatch to the Cincinnati En


 quirer.
 @ ABLES from London telling of the
 S finding of diamond at the Pre-
 O mier mine in South Africa worth from s15,00O, coo to s20,oO0,00O, and weighing more than all the famoas diamonds oS the world put together, is attracting at tention to the precious gems of that char acter owned by New Workers The value placed on the newly discovered gem is about one-thrd the value of all the dia- monds owned in this city, and one-tenth of all owned in the United States.
 The new gem weighs 3032 carats, enough to supply as many Cincinnati girls with engagement rings of creditable size and luster, were it to be divided. But the value of this and other titans of the dia- mond world far exceeds that of any aggregation of small stones. In the world of gems many a nickel does not make a muckle and the popular proverb is belied. Before the stupendous size and value of this great diamond the Kohinoor, the chief ornament of the British crown, and hitherto the most beautiful gem
  estimated value of the latter is $1,2O0,0OO, but this is not due to it's weight, which is only 106 carats, but to its remarkable whiteness and purity.
 The Czar of Russia owns the Shah, very ancient Persian jewel, weighing S6 carats and valued at s1,5O0,0OO, and the chief ornament of the Russian crown is another diamond known as the orloff, which weighs 1922 carats, and has been estimated at $3,0O0,OC0.
 The Regent the chief state jewel of
 France, weighs 1864 carats, and is also valued at S3000,000.
 Other tremendous diamonds are the Mattam, weight 367 carats, value $2,5 900, owned by an Indian potentate, the Rajah of Mattam; the Jaegersfontein African
 diamond, owned by an Egnlish syndi- cate and valued at sl5oO,OOo; the Austrian yellow diamond, weighing 139 carats, and owned by the Emperor Franz Josef, valued at $7Oo,0OO.
 Until the discovery of the new gem the largest, though not the most valuable, stone in the world was diamond valued at $l ,O0O, 900 which was presented by Dom Paul Kruger, then President of the South African republic, to Pope Leo XIII Notable among the famous diamonds of the world is the dazzling blue stone once the property of Lord Francis Hope, formerly the husband of May Yohe. which in 1902 was purchased by a New York dealer, who refused an offer of $S50,0O0 for it. It was expected that the famous stone would be sought by some rich New Yorker for the chief ornament of his wife,s tiara But the wives of American lti-millionaires. though displaying a fondness for gems that makes this coun- try the greatest diamond market on earth. are chary of acquiring the immense stones. and dealer who brought one of the iumbos of the diamond world to New York would be apt to discover that he
 had literally an elephant on his hands. The women of New York's -four hum ! ured' own some of the most valuable jewels on earth. but their collections arc more remarkable for their dazzling beauty than their size. Of gems of all kinds in America the estimated value is s5Oo, 600. Of these s17O,OO0,O00 are owned in New
 York. On any gala night at the Metropol- itan opera house there is said to be lover 100000 worth of jewels in the
 boxes. The value of the most important of the individual collections. estimated | by Thomas Jacob, editor and publisher Of the Jewellers Review. is as follows: Mrs n IT p. Belmont. $500 900 Mrs. Frederick Vanderbilt .........- Soo0oo Mrs Clarence Mackay ........ 300 900 Mrs ceorge Vanderbilt ... 100 900 Mrs Astor SS5 900