CELEBRATED DIAMONDS 71
part
payment of debt due to it by the Lahore government, with a proviso
that the Koh-i-noor should be presented to Queen Victoria. It was
taken in charge by Lord Dalhousie, who sent it to England in the
custody of two officers. It was taken from Bombay, April 6, 1850,
surrendered to the officials of the East India Company in London, July
2, and on the following day presented to Queen Victoria.
The Koh-i-noor weighed at that time 186-1/2 carats. (Various weights are given, varying from 180 1/16 to 186-1/2 carats.)
It was rose cut above, with a large cleavage plane underneath, and a
smaller one on the side. It had several flaws, and when exhibited at
the great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace, London, in 1851, was valued
at $700,000.
In
1852, the Koh-i-noor was recut to brilliant form. The cutting was
entrusted to Costar of Amsterdam, the work being done by Mr.
Voorsanger. It took thirty-eight days of twelve hours each, and is said
to have cost £8,000. The work was finished September 7. The stone is
not of the finest color or quality, having a grayish tinge, and it is
too shallow to give the angles of reflection necessary for full
interior brilliancy. The weight is now 106-1/4 carats. A model
of it is exhibited among the Crown jewels and regalia in the Tower of
London, but the diamond is in Windsor Castle. Both the Prince Consort
and the Duke of Wellington are credited by various writers with having
placed it upon the wheel in the beginning of the work of re-cutting.
One
of the finest and best known of the large Indian stones which have been
brought to Europe, is the " Regent" or "Pitt." The first name was
given to it be-
