IDENTITY OF THE GREAT MOGUL DIAMOND WITH THE KOH-I-NUR.
It will be well to begin by quoting verbatim, and
then analysing what Tavernier has written regarding the Great Mogul
diamond. Having gone to take leave of the Great Mogul (Aurungzeb) on
the ist of November, 1665, he was invited to return on the following
morning to see the EmÂperor's jewels. He says :* "The first object
which Akel Khan (the custodian of the jewels) put in my hands was the
great diamond, which is a rose, round, very convex (?) (haute) on one side ; at the edge of one side there is a small notch (cran) with
a flaw in it. The water is perÂfection, and it weighs 319-1/2 ratis,
which are equal to 280 of our carats, the rati being 7/8 of a carat.
When Mir-gimola, who betrayed the King of Golconda, his master, made a
gift of this stone to Sha Jehan, from whom it is descended, it was
uncut, and weighed 900 ratis, which are equal to 787 carats and a half,
and it had many flaws. If this stone had been in Europe it would have
been differently treated, for some good pieces would have been taken
from it, and the stone left much larger ; as it is, it has been almost
polished away. It was Sieur Hortensio Borgio, a Venetian, who
cut it, for which he was badly paid. They reproached him with having
spoilt the stone, which ought to have remained heavier, and instead of
* " Travels," vol. ii. livre ii. p. 249. Paris: Ed. 1677.
