The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1908-11-10
IHL SANGY DIAMOND.
Legend Of Louis ts aeln and
tie Celebrated Sei
a aNIGHI.- LIE F0R IlNe.

la NIGHT LAMP FOR KING
chssssrsd carser 81 tis Brilliant stans.
After the Death OF Charles the Iirlid.
some Faets Abert the Invention Of
Diamond Cutting.
Louis de BerqueTa. says tradition,
was q poor jewelers. workman, but
/ he tell In love with the dnughter OF a
wealthy je3veler. 4,his avarfcfous IA
lther would not give his daughter IN
! marriage to any man not possessed OF
/ gold. Louis, having neither xpecta-5#
ti6nsg from relatives nor favor at
court, sought to make his fortune. BE
I had often heard the father of his be-
1 loved remark That the man who dfseov-
4 cred a method OF cutting diamonds
would become very wealthy. for MP to
\ that time they knew nothing more
lthan to scrape on the gravel. and the.
diamond was left in It's native state.
NeIher line. IRE nor the mill could aft
feet the diamond.
After many Investigations ana deep
thought Louis bethought himself that
4 iron Is FASHIONED with steel. which ds
only hardened iron. and st occurred to
him that perhaps the diamond would
yield to the diamond. He made an
I axperiment which was at once crown
ed with success
a few days later he presented him
self before the rich jeweler with two
! diamonds cut into facets. he Obtained
tIfe hand ne sought and anassed q
great fortune by his secret, which he
wealthy.
King Charles the Timid was the
principal customer of Louis de Ber-
uuem. The fastIdfous enemy of LoIIts
IXI. then possessed a large diamond.
since become celebrated. accounted
lamong the finest Of precious stones
But this diamond was III shapen, and
the fires which It held burned I'm vain.
Louis de Berquem cut and polished
! this stone, and nothing could equal the
Z 10Y of Charles the STimid VIXEN the
1 jeweler brought him the great dfa-5
mond, so glittering with light That It
INT up the darkness, and this to such
an extent that the prince said, 1T VIII
serve me as night lamp" Berquem
received 8 600 ducats for his work,
AS for the diamond, this is the one
which was found in January, 147T, on
the body Of Charles the Tlmid after
the battle OF Nancy. A soldier picked
1t up sold it for one gold piece to
priest, who in turn sold 1t for three
pieces of gold TO a merchant, who took
it to the Duke OF Florence.
From the hands OF this prince 1t
Dnssed into the possession OF tl1e king
of Portugal He sold it for 10000
francs to one of the companions of
Henri III, Nicholas de HHrlay, baron
of sancy. Since this time the first
lnrge diamond to be cut is known as
! the Sancy.1
This legend leads to other consldera-
ttIons of the cutting OF diamonds as
cribed to Louis dc Berquem Mt Brus-
sells in 1465.
| Hardly any one will assert boldly
! that no diamonds were cut before that
date, but it Is reasonable to suppose
that Louis de Berquem regulated cut
ting by arranging the facets.
Long before the birth OF Louis dc
BerQuem cutting was known in India.
tEvcn In Europe we find among the
| treasures OF the churches thick dia-
] monds cut into table and cllct, the
upper sides beaten into sections. In
1860, according to the inventory of the
Jewels OF Louis, duke of Anjou; Is
found an entire series OF cut diamonds.
There is mention Of nat diamond
/ with six sides, of a heart shaped dia-
ulond. of a diamond with eight sides.
Of n lozenge shaped diamond, ofG din-
nlond pointed on four sides and OF
reliuuary In which was set diamond
cut in the shape of a shield,
! History informs us tint 80 years
before the first work of Louis de. Der
( uuem there were at Paris. at the cor
nor Of the corroyerie. several diamond
| cutters.
The Duke of Burgundy. after a fas-
! tidlous repnst given at the Louvre to
/ the king and the French court in 1403.
| offered to his noble guests eleven din-
monds estimated to be worth TS6
pieces OF gold, the money OF the Pc
rtol.
| 1t is hardly possible to suppose that
these were uncut diamonds; all OF
which goes to prove, Notwithstanding
some opinions, that Louis de Berquem
did not invent the process of diamond
cutting.
1t is no less interesting to follow the
fortunes of the Sancy n little further.
1t remained in the Sancy family some
time and Henri III. took it from
them. 1t was destined to serve as
pledge for the raising OF body of
swiss soldiers but the servant intrust-
ed with bringing this diamond to the
King was attacked, put to death, and
the diamond was thought to be lost.
Finally it was discovered that the
servnnt had been assassinated in the
$500. - roIo ond %brOY1oI, tho care