HORTLY
before his lamented death, the distinguished mineralogist, Mr. James
Tennant, of London, became possessed of this gem. From the brief
account published by him in November, 1880, and illustrated with four
engravings, we gather that the rough diamond was brought to him from
the South African diamond fields by one of his students. In the
original state it weighed 112 carats, but it has since been cut in
London as a brilliant, losing 46 carats only in the process. Hence its
present weight is 66 carats. Like most African stones it has a
yellow tinge, and, as the printed account says, " it exceeds in size
and brilliancy any diamond in the British crown." It was recently put
up to auction at the rooms of Messrs. Christie, by Professor Tennant's
executors, with a reserve, but was not sold. We have named it the "
Tennant " in recognition of the remarkable talents of this great
mineralogist.
In
the paper already referred to, mention is made of some other South
African diamonds in the same collection, one of which is stated to
weigh 56 carats. But it is apparently of inferior quality to the "
Tennant," which, although of a yellow hue, is free from flaws or specks.
