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Ch. 5: The Great Mogul Diamond

Ch. 5: The Great Mogul Diamond Page of 312 Ch. 6: The Star of the South Diamond Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
78 THE GREAT DIAMONDS OF THE WORLD.
the name of " Darya-i-Nür," or " Sea of Light." But it will be seen further on that the Darya-i-Nür is cer­tainly a different stone.
Others arguing from its form have suggested that it may be the Russian Orloff, an equally untenable theory, as will be made evident when we come to deal with that famous gem.
Our own opinion is that the Great Mogul has ceased to exist as such. It was probably stolen either at the sack of Delhi or at the death of Nadir Shah, and then in order to escape detection its pos­sessors had it broken by cleavage into two or more stones. Its form and especially its great .size would facilitate this process, a fate which we know has over­taken more than one other large diamond."* In confir­mation of this view, the reader is more particularly referred to the statements of Dr. Beke, Mr. Tennant, and Sir David Brewster regarding the Abbas Mirza diamond.
Barbot states that it was of a very pure water, though of a soft rosy tint, and that it has been estimated at .£420,000, while others have suspected that it was not a diamond at all, but a white sapphire or perhaps topaz. But Tavernier was far too good an expert to be mistaken in a matter of this sort, and the suggestion would probably never have been made but for its altogether exceptional size.
Ch. 5: The Great Mogul Diamond Page of 312 Ch. 6: The Star of the South Diamond
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