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Descriptions of Gems: Diamond

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DIAMOND.
59
carats in weight. The figures quoted are carats, but are probably not in all instances based upon one exact standard—
Full discussions of the history of these diamonds and of many others will be found in the works named in the Bibliographical Notes. Dr. Max Bauer's " Precious Stones " contains a good set of figures representing most of the celebrated big diamonds of the world. A large uncut Cape stone, given to the British Museum by John Ruskin and named after Bishop Colenso, is a good octahedron of 129-2/3 carats.
Diamonds and the more valuable of precious stones generally are bought and sold by the weight called a carat. This carat, whatever its precise value, is always considered as divisible into 4 diamond grains, but the subdivisions of the carat are usually ex­pressed by the vulgar fractions, one-fourth, one-eighth, one-twelfth, one-sixteenth, one-twenty-fourth, one-thirty-secondth, and one-sixty-fourth. The origin of the carat is to be sought in certain small hard leguminous seeds, which, when once dry, remain con­stant in weight. The brilliant, glossy, scarlet-and-black seed of Abrus frecalorius constitutes the Indian rati, about 2 grains ; the Adenantheru pavonina seed is about 4 grains. The seed of
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