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214 THE GREAT DIAMONDS OF THE WORLD.
was cut after coming into the possession of the French king, and reduced to 67 1/8 carats
is most probable. It appears that by cleavage subsequently the diamond
was reduced to 44 1/4 carats, and after this treatment it came into the
possession of the late Mr. Henry Thomas Hope, and stands unrivalled.
The
disappearance of Tavernier's rough blue from the French regalia,
followed by the unexplained appearance of a cut gem of precisely the
same delicate blue tint, and answering in size to the original after
due allowance made for loss in cutting, leaves little or no room for
doubting the identity of the two stones. Hence the theory set forth in Precious Stones and Gems remains
unchallenged; nor is it likely to be seriously called in question by
any future experts. It will be further demonstrated in our account of
the " Hope " diamond. We have also succeeded, by a careful process of
analysis, in identifying this stone with the French " Blue." It thus
appears that the rough uncut Tavernier, the French " Blue," lost in
1792, and the " Hope," are one and the same stone.
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