|
REMARKABLE DIAMONDS AND GEMS (Continued)
Patiala.
It is set in platinum and forms part of a necklace. Dr. Kunz stated
later that this diamond is now in the possession of Lady Astor.
FLORENTINE
This
gem is also known as the Austrian Yellow and Grand Duke of Tuscany. It
is an Indian diamond of odd shape and unusual cutting—a beautiful
double rose-cut. It has 126 facets and has the form of a star with nine
rays. The Florentine is one of the largest of famous diamonds. It
weighs 139.5 carats, and is worth 700,000 thalers. The first recorded
mention of this diamond was made by the French traveler, Tavernier, in
1657 who saw it in the colÂlection of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. It
bears the name of his capital city, Florence. Later it was sent to
Austria and, after a barter of land and wealth, became part of the
Austrian Crown jewels. Its history is not so exciting as its radiant
beauty.
The
Florentine is the same stone which Charles the Bold lost in the battle
of Granson together with other valuables. A Swiss who found it sold it
to a clergyman for a florin; the priest sold it for three francs to the
citizen of Berne. The next possessor who gave 5,000 florins for the
jewel, besides a present to May, the magistrate, sold it to a Genoese,
from whom Lodovico Moro Sporza of Milan obtained it for about 10,000
florins. Pope Julius Second, however, gave 20,000 ducats for the gem
when the Milanese treasure was sold.
103
|
||
|
|
||