N
Indian cut stone of great purity, purchased in the year 1653, by
Tavernier, in the Kollur mine, Kistna valley, the situation of which
will be found accurately determined in our introductory chapter.
This
gem figures as No. 6 in Tavernier's list of large diamonds, and is
briefly described in the first edition of his work. He tells us that "
this is another diamond which I bought in 1653, in the Coulour (Kollur)
mine. It is a beautiful and pure stone, cut as a thick stone, in the
mine itself, and weighs 36 mangelins, which are equivalent to 63 3/8 of
our carats." Elsewhere, however, he makes a mangelin equal to 1-3/8
carats. Hence 36 mangelins ought to make 49 1/2 carats only,
not 63 3/8 as here stated. But the mangelin, like the rati and other
Indian standards of measurement, may have varied at different times and
places.
