Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-02-07
WORLDS FAMOUS DIAMONDS.
Some of Them Centres Of Interesting
Romances.

| Romances.
On the occasion of his birthday, King
Edward VII. received what would read
lily be regarded as q present fit for q
sovereign. The Cullinan diamond, the
largest stone Of its kind yet discovered,
and enormously larger than even the
greatest diamond previously hailed as
the premier gem, was presented to the
British monarch by the government of
the Transvaal. not only on account of
the royal love it is supposed to have
for the king Of Great Britain, but also
lin recognition of the granting of con-
lstitutional privileges to the South Afri-
can colony.
Nearly every one of the historic dia-
monds of the world has its legend, and
perhaps, if one were wanting 1t soon
would be supplied. With the Cullinan
diamond this romance is characteristic
of the century in which 1t was found.
There is no weird story of robbery,
fendish murder or dark mystery, but
it has it's romance. The diamond was
found in the Premier diamond mine, on
January 90, 1905, by an old miner, re-
turning from his days toll. He saw 1t
shining as n bright point in the grass
by the roadside. and, brushing away
the earth, extracted the marvellous gem.
The mine is at Elandsfontein, near Jo-
hannesburg, and the discovery was
heralded at once throughout the world,
ATTRACTING at first little credence, be-
cause it was difficult to believe that
there had been found a stone weighing
30243 carats, or about pound ounces,
Iavoirdupois. when the largest diamond
previously known, the Tiffany, weighs
but 969 carats.
Presented by the Transvaal.
There is some disadvantage in a dia-
mond of such large size. First, because
| il is At only for museum. No private
collector would risk possession Of such
stone, keeping In mind the strange
stories Of the history Of some OF the
great diamonds. The stone was valued
at from $75O.OO0 to $1000000 in its un-
cut state. To cut it would cost, ac-
cording to an estimate, no less than
$50 900, and might result in the gem be-
ing broken into several more moderate
sized stones, thus lessening it's value.
Through the influence of General
Botha. who has been made Premier OF
the Transvaal. the latter government
decided to buy the stone and present it
to the king. The government is said
to have paid $75O0O0 for its royal gift.
In order to transport the precious stone
to England a stratagem was resorted
to- The stone itself was rather care
lessly wrapped, although securely
packed, and sent to London address
by post Another package, in which
there was a large pebble. was tied up
with much ceremony and red tape, to
say nothing Of n profusion Of sealing
wax and seals. Two detectives were
assigned to watch this to its destina-
tion, and they nearly died of exhaustion
in their attention to duty. They
brought the worthless package safely
to England, and did not know until af-
ter they had arrived at their destina-
ton that they had all their anxiety for
nothing, for before their arrival the
real stone had been safely received.
Too Heavy For Crown.
Large as is the Cullinan diamond, and
its dimensions are by "a by Ii inches,
being twenty-nin times larger than
the famous Koh-i-noor, 1t is believed
by experts that at one time it was much
larger. because there are evidences that
very little of it's original surface re-
mains. The Koh-i-noor weighed, after
it's first cutting. 279 carats, but after it
had been cut again, it weighed only
106 lie carats. Whether the Cullinan
stone shall be cut does not appear to
be as yet definitely decided. 1t is prob
able however that this will be its
destiny. To add it to the British
crown, as has been suggested, would
make a very heavy headpiece for the
king. The crown at present weighs
over 80 ounces. and men who ask their
halter for 6-ounce hats may have some
appreciation of what this tremendous
weight means on the head.
Other great diamonds which are or
dimensions less imposing than the Cul-
Imam, but have had their value consid-
erably augmented by skilful cutting,
are equally celebrated, and nearly every
one has a history seldom exempt from
vicissitudes. OF these the Regents. In
the Louvre, a stone which weighs 1861
carats. was discovered in the 18th CEN
tury, in the mines at Petual, near Col
conda, in India. At the time 1t weighed
91O carats, but after cutting, which oc-
cupied two years, it's weight was re-
duced to it's present size. 1t is valued
at about $3,OOOO00. Philippe dorleans
acquired it for about a third of that
sum. and it was added to the French
crown. In 1892, during the Revolution
| it was stolen, and a short time after
ward found in a ditch on the Champs
Elysees. Napoleon desired to have the
gem ornament the handle Of his sword,
but he was too late in guaranteeing
loan from the German banker.
Rajah and the orloff.
The Rajah, which weighs 31S carats,
has never been cut. 1t belongs to the
sultan Of the Isle of Matan, and is val
ued at $2,000000 The Star OF the
South, which is in the possession OF
the Halphen family, weighs 125 carats
The Bragance. stone Of 367 carats,
belongs to the crown Of Portugal
The Orloff is another great diamond
which has made history. Until about
the middle Of the 18th century it form
ed one of the eyes in the idol of Brah-
ma, in Seringham. A French soldier
appropriated it by pretending to be-
come a convert to Brahmanism. He
gained the confidence Of the guardians
of the temple and one night entered the
sacred place and stole one of the idors
eye He was about to detach the other
eve, also great diamond, when he was
frightened off by noise. He sold the