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Adamas, Diamond

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ADAMAS.
royal treasury. But these works were stopped by the king's order in 1532, either through fear the stones should become too common and cheap, or, as others say, because the Great Mogul' had demanded an annual tribute from the king of Golconda of three pounds by weight of the finest stones found. The most likely reason however is, that the mines were already worked out. An Englishman, William Methold, says that he had visited these mines at the time that they employed some 30,000 labourers, some in digging, some in baling out the water by hand, having no mechanical contrivances for that purpose. They sunk shafts 10 or 12 fathoms deep, and carried out the earth, which was red, mixed with white and yellow chalk, to a place levelled to receive it: and when dried by the sun broke it small and sifted it. Sometimes, though very rarely, they obtained stones of from 120 to 200 carats; many of from 10 to 15 carats ; but by far the largest number so excessively minute, that from 8 to 20 of them put together would only weigh a single carat."
India now sends no Diamonds to the market; but a few, and of the best quality, still come from Borneo. The mines of the Sierra do Frio, Brazil, have ever since their opening in the year 1727 supplied the world, and are computed to have yielded in that time the incredible quantity of over two tons of this precious article. The Dutch, who previously had the monopoly of the Indian trade, endeavoured at first to discredit the Brazilian stones as spurious, so that it became necessary to send them to India and re-export them to Europe in order to give them a character.8
FAMOUS DIAMONDS.
Incomparably the largest, authentic, specimen ever yet disco­vered, was that known as the " Mogul;" found in the mine called
Adamas, Diamond Page of 453 Adamas, Diamond
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