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PRECIOUS STONES.
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137
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not
very large in comparison with many stones now known, measuring some 5/8
inch on the edges of the girdle, and it would probably weigh about 30
carats; but it is of great interest as being the first stone cut by De
Berquem. Some of the traditions concerning it have been given when
dealing with the history of cutting.
The
Sancy, with which Charles the Bold's Diamond has often been confused,
is a stone of 53f carats. It is said to have belonged to a French
nobleman called De Sancy, from whom it passed to either our Queen
Elizabeth or Henrietta Maria; it finally passed back to France to the
possession of Louis XIV., but was stolen at the time of the Bevolution
and not recovered. After being amongst the Spanish regalia, it passed
in 1828 to Prince Demidoff, and it is now owned by the Maharaja of
Patiala. It is cut as a double rosette.
Three
other stones whose history is obscure and interÂwoven are the Great
Mogul, the Koh-i-noor, and the Orloff. The Mogul was seen by Tavernier
in 1665, during his visit to India, amongst the jewels of Aurungzebe,
when it was weighed and drawn by him. It is supposed to have been found
in the mines of Kollur, and to have weighed 560 to 787-1/2 carats in
the rough ; it was cut into a high-crowned rose by Borghis of Venice,
the finished weight being 280 carats. King records that Aurungzebe was
so enraged at the diminution in size, that instead of paying his
jeweller for cutting the stone, he fined him 10,000 rupees. What came
of the Great Mogul is not definitely known, but it has been supposed
that it was divided into three stones, of which the Koh-i-noor and the
Orloff are two. It has also been stated that the Mogul was taken by
Nadir Shah at
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