Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-09
d q G E d. A NJ 0 N D S
SOME OF THE WORLDS WONDERS
IN PRECIOUS STONES.
Natures Way of Manufacturing the
Glittering Gems-C'rystallized by
Volcanoes.

Premier mine, near Pretoria South Africa,
and which was insured for lid. 600, meas
ures approximately by 2ie by Ia inches
and weighs 1882 carats, or IL pounds troy
equivalent to about one pound and six
ounces avoirdupois. The stone is almost
perfectly pure; few grains are present
and 1t contains some flaws or cleavage
planes, but fortunately they are so disposed
that they can be cut away without appreci-
ably reducing the size of the cut gem. DR.
q. A. +. Molengraaff describes the diamond
as single crystal having no twining planes
or lamellae. 1t is perfectly transparent. ard
looks ike piece of pure Ice. He says: at
Is certainly the purest OF all the very big
stones known It's structure shows that
the stone was originally much larger This
Is proved by the four fat cleavage planes
which nave the regular octahedral position.
only small portion of the natural surface
or the stone remains, and the fragments
broken off must each have been very large.
whether these fragments will ever be found
Is question which Introduces the inter-
estinS study of the formation of diamonds
1t has long been known that diamonds are
crystals of pure carbon, and 1t Is supposed.
that the crystalization took place under a
tremendous pressure and heat. The South
African mines particularly bear out This
theory. The deposits appear TO occupy the
chimneys of extinct volcanoes They form
cores OF circular or oval cross section
bounded by walls of carboniferous shale
This core, near the surface where 1t Is
subjected to the influence of the weather
is of yellowish clay, but lower down is
composed of a blush rock of igneous char
acter. called by the miners .'blue ground"
In this the precious crystals embedded.
Their broken condition and the fact that
| they are found in rock forma ton of many.
different compositions. indicate that the
| blue ground was not their original matrlx
but that the diamonds were cast UP by VOL
canfc eruptions from great depths, where
ayAI hot
were sufficient to crystalline and carbon. In
the case of the Premier diamond the force
of the eruption must have been so great
as to cleave the fragments from the stone
| during Its passage up the vent or pipe of
| the volcano. These fragments may have
| been blown out at the time of the explosion,
! or may be still awaiting discovery some
| where in the volcano chimney.
Value of the Stone.
At any rate, the portion found Is large
| enough TO satisfy the owners; indeed. 1t so
| large as to prove somewhat of burden.
| 1t seems hardly possible that it will be
| bought by any private collector. Apparent
| ly its only Office would be to grace a royal
| collection. but even rich government
would hesitate to pay the sum a diamond
| of this size should bring. The value of the
stone is, of course. a matter of conjecture
| Between the years 1759 and 1870 diamonds
| were rated according to the square of their
| weight multiplied by the value of single
| carat Thus II one carat sold for $780, two
! carats would sell for $780, three carats for
| 5000 and so on. On the same basis. the
| value of the great Premier diamond would
| be 1882 times 1902 $780, S919, 500, 400. OF
| course, no such sum will ever be paid for
| the stone. In fact, it was because of the
| large stones discovered in Africa that this
| system Of Iating diamonds was abandoned.
| 1t is considered possible that the Premier
diamond may be sold for from 81. 500, 600 to
| $5.OW.c00, but even these figures may be
at,f tpatx hSuh ovid In ,0t,, Il,
| entirely dependent the bids received.
Possibly the stone may suffer the fate of
| the large Syndicate or Tiffany diamond dug
up In the De Beers mine a few wears ago
| This stone weighed 800 carats in it's rough
state; but instead of cutting II as single
large brilliant, it was made more salable
| by cleaving In into ten smaller stones.
However. 1t seems like a desecra ton to
break so large and perfect a stone as the
great Premier diamond. thought, as we
have just stated. large stones apt to
prove a great burden, and have the repu-
tation, well borne out by past history, of
bringing bad luck to their owners. Except
for the really modern stones. all of the
large stones of the world have histories
which are black with crime.
The Syndicate Diamond.
The Syndicate or Tiffany diamond pre-
viously held the record as the largest stone.
The great Premier stone will lose much of
It's size when cut, but owing to Its present
good form and the great skill possessed by
the modern lapidary. 1t is probable that the
finished gem, II the stone be cut as single
brilliant. would weigh many times as much
as any otter cut stone now in existence.
The famous Koh-i-noor is a remarkable ex-
ample of the loss by cutting which stone
is apt to sustain. Originally it is said to
have weighed 1885 carats. An unskilled
Venetian lapidary cut II. reducing 1t to a
weight of 30 carats. Later 1t was cut to
more symmetrical shape. which still fur
Their reduced its weight to 108 1-16 carats
Many remarkable stories told of this
stone. According to one account, 1t was
worn 5000 years ago by karna, one of the
heroes celebrated in Indian legend. BY some
1t Is considered a part with the famous Or
loft stone Of the great mogul. This. how
ever, is now pretty generally discredited
The Orloff stone derives its name from
Prince Orion. who presented the gem to
Catherine II, Of Russia. 1t is now mounted
on the tip of the Russian scepter. The
diamond has rose" shape, that Is. 1t is
cut with flat base, whereas the usual cut
ting is called the brilliant
The Regent or Pitt stone Is very beauti-
full. 1t weighs 1851 carats is pure white,
and of almost perfect shape. Before the
South African mines were opened 1t was
considered the finest stone In existence.
The Florentine. or Grand Duke Of Tuscany,
belonging to the Austrian crown collection,
Is yellow stone weighing little over 133
carats. The Star of the South a remark
ably fine stone. was picked up along the
river Bogageno. Brazil. by negress In
1856. 1t is the largest diamond ever dis
covered in South America. weighing 2541a
carats in the rough. It's weight. cut, Is 124
carats The Portuguese crown jewel.
Brazil, weighing $40 carats uncut and once
valued at $2,OOO.OOO. is now known to be a
white topaz and not genuine diamond.
The Tiffany diamond. remarkable for its
yellow color. has a weight OF 125 carats;
and the Hope diamond has a rare blue color,
which gives 1t a value Of $4,000. even
though Its weight Is but Az carats.
The Sancy. 53h carats, has a remarkable
history, which has been traced back to 1477,
when 1t was lost at the battle OF Nancy by
Charles the Bold Then It came finally
through private hands to Sancy. Hugue-
not nobleman. While Sancy was ambas-
sador in Solothurn the diamond was sent to
Henry III as pledge. The bearer OF the
gem was attacked on the way and killed;
but he swallowed the gem instead Of giving
1t up to his assailants. that Sancy re-
covered the stone by opening the body of
his faithful servant and taking the precious
gem from his stomach. In 1883 It came into
the possession of James II. and later was
worn by Louis XIV at his coronation. In
1885 the Russian emperor bought II for
500 GOO rubies. In 1889 1t was again In the
market and was finally sold to q collector