CELEBRATED DIAMONDS 75
weight
is given as 128 carats after cutting, but as in the inventory of the
French Jewels made by order of the National Assembly in 1791, the
weight is recorded as 136 13/16 carats, the weights used must have varied then, as those of different countries do now.
After
many negotiations, and by-play which undoubtedly included some
fighting over commissions, for nobles were expert chapmen in those days
apparently, the Duke of Orleans bought the diamond for the Crown jewels
of France, which meant then for Louis XV, against his accession, for
two million livres (at that date 1s. 4d.. was about the value
of a livre). The terms were £40,000 (sterling) to be deposited in
England before the stone was sent to France, as part payment, of which
£5,000 was to be forfeited if the sale was not consummated on its
arrival there. Governor Pitt, accompanied by his two sons, Lord
Londonderry and Mr. John Pitt, and his son-in-law, Mr. Cholmondeley,
took the diamond over to Calais, and was met there by the King's
jeweler appointed to inspect and receive it. As security for the
balance of the purchase price, he gave them several boxes of jewels,
belonging to the Crown of France, above the £40,000 already deposited,
and agreed to pay the remainder in three installments at periods
agreed upon. This amount was never paid, though the French government
admitted the debt when the children of Governor Pitt claimed it, but
pronounced it impossible to assume the past obligations of the Regent.
The exact amount realized is therefore unknown, as no evidence exists
as to the value of the jewels pledged.
The Regent was prominent with the Mazarins in the circlet of the Crown made by Ronde, jeweler to the King,
