England
in 1775. It is said to have been sold by lottery for £30,000, and later
bought by Rundell & Bridge for £6000. It was afterwards sold to Ali
Pasha, of Egypt, for £30,000. Since then all track of it has been lost.
By some the weight is given as eighty-one and one-half carats, but
Mawe, who saw it before it was sold to Ali Pasha, gives the weight as
forty-nine carats. (Plate XVII.)
The
" Nassak," or " Nassac," was so named because it was formerly held for
a long time in a temple at Nassak. After passing through various hands,
jeweller Emanuel, of London, acquired it in 1831. It was sold soon
after to the Marquis of Westminster for £7200 and is still owned by
that family. It weighed originally eighty-nine and one-half carats
(Plate XVII.), but was recut to seventy-eight and five-eighths carats.
(Plate XIX.)
The
" Eugenie" is a fine brilliant of unknown origin. It weighs fifty-one
carats, and was presented by Catherine II., of Russia, to her favorite,
Potemkin. It remained in that family until Napoleon III. bought it for
his bride Eugenie. After her dethronement it was sold to the Gaikwar of
Baroda, India. (Plate XVII.)
One
of the finest brilliants known is the " White Saxon Brilliant." It
weighs forty-eight and three-fourths carats, and was bought by Augustus
the Strong for one million thalers.
The
" Dresden Green Diamond" is of fine quality and flawless. The color is
a bright apple-green. It has been in the possession of the Saxon crown
since 1753, and is now in the Griine Gewolbe, or " Green Vaults," of
Dresden. Augustus the Strong paid sixty thousand thalers for it. The
weight is variously given as thirty-one and one-fourth and forty-eight
carats. Dr. Max Bauer states that the correct weight is forty carats.
(Plate XVI.)
The " Polar Star," a stone of great purity and brilliancy, was purchased for a large sum by the Emperor Paul, of
