The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-20
GROWN JEWELS
 TO BUY STEEL
Diamonds And Emeralds Of Royal Persian Turbans Will
 Go To Build Railways

NEW YORK. Jan. 19--The dia- monds and emeralds which for hun drcts of years have adorned the royal turbans of an eastern potentate are to be bartered for steel rails | Persia. according to recent an nouncement from Teheran. will sell parl of her collection of milchher aided crown jewels to raise money with which to build railways. Just how long q railroad these jewels will 1 build is as problenIatical as the value 0! tie gems, which are rumored to be worth many millions. but whose mOn- etary value Americap gem experts claim may suffer through modern cutting.
 The splendor of the Shahs of Persia when appareled for affairs of state has long been q matter of wonder men!. \ traveller who 25 years ago saw the crown jewels, in their strong box. q chamber 2U by. II feet. valued them roughly at 1.000.0O0 pounds ster- 1 ling. What disposition has been made since of many of these precious stones iS unknown. but the habit of past cm- tperors to journey into the rich capi- tals of the world to replenish the royal exchequer through the sale of Il fuby or Il diamond is well known.
 According tO Dr. George F. Kunz. the wel-known jewel expert and the ] author of q half dozen books on pre- cions stones, there is no way of telling how much of Persia's original collec- [ tion of crown jewels is still to be found Ill that country.
 So far as is known the Daruja-i- nnr and thnTaj-e Nah are still there," said Dr. Kunz. ''The Daruja-i-nur. q diamond weighing 1S6 karats. may he the Great AI6gue. No one knows. The Great Mogue, weighing 2T9 6-16 karais uncut has disappeared, and no one knows whether it has been cut and is now known as the kohinoor. or i whether it is d stone known as the Sea of Light or the Darujai-nur, which is still ill Persia
 The Jewe.ed Regalia
 In describing the crown. which is in shape similar to the m0rtar-caps of | lhe presidents of the French Parlia- ment. an early historian speaks of the point carried in the middle rising up about a fingers length and lessem- ing toward the end. The materials of the bonnet were cloth of gold bound after the manner of a turban The
 
 cry of diamonds. from whence hung several chains of precious stones that shaded the richest jewels of the crown round about stood little tufts resem- b!ms herons feathers. all of jewellers work. In other parts of the bonnet were erected little plumes of her0ns' feathers and birds of paradise. Tine Fturban WAS hung about with strings of precious stones. diamonds, ruuirS emeraidS and topaHeS fastened, to the heron piumes. Just over the forehead sh0ne another heron-tuft much more glorious than all the rest. from the cop of which rose up three sockets of | precious stones.
 Another part of the royal regalia is the Kaianian belt. This belt. weighing | perhaps eighteen pounds. is about Il foot I wide. and IS one mass of pearls. dia monds, emeralds and rubies. A sword is worn with this regal belt, whose scabbard is covered with diamonds, each stone the size of pea. An emer- aid us big us Il walnut. covered with the names of kings who have at one time possessed it. adornS the sheath. X Persian dagger also ablaZc with Jewels, l hangs convenient to the monarch 's right hand.
 Sapphires Big As Marbles
 Inside the strong chamber where glistening baubps of princely line repOse upon heavy Persian rugs, there are bags of uncut stones of all sizes There are also many sapphires as big as marbles, writes Il visitor. "Rubies and pearls the size of nuts, and I am sure counted hundred emeralds from half an inch square toy one and three quarter inches long and\an inch broad. There are gauntlets and belts covered with pearls and diamonds. One or two scabbards worth quarter million each Also there is the finest turquoise in the world, three to four inches long, without flaw" This is the Persian stone par excellence. and from ancient tiWes the finest examples have come from this country.
 Persian poets have sung of this blue stone through the ages. the stone so 'refreshing to the eyes" which worn or carried about the person will keep all harm from the traveller to far and dangerous countries. Persian lapida- rians are expert in .inlaying the tur- quoise with design and inscription,