anniversary
of the accession of the late Queen Victoria. The Excelsior-Jubilee was
discovered in the Jagersfontein mine in the Orange River Colony, June
30, 1893. The lucky Kaffir who discovered it was rewarded with about
$2500 in money, and a horse equipped with a saddle and bridle. The
rough stone weighed 971% carats, measured two and one-half inches in
length, two inches in breadth, and one inch in thickness. Like the
Cullinan Diamond, its predecessor had a fault that prevented its
becoming a single gem; this was a black spot in the centre which made
it necessary to cleave it, as the Cullinan was cleaved. The larger
portion was cut into an absolutely perfect brilliant, weighing 239
international carats of 205 milligrams and measuring one and
five-eighths inches in length, one and three-eighths in breadth, and
one inch in depth. The Excelsior-Jubilee is a blue-white stone of the
purest water and in all its qualities approximates perfection. This
diamond's predecessor in holding the world's record for weight and
size, in the rough, was the " Great Mogul" which is supposed to have
weighed 787-1/2 carats. The history of this stone is obscure
and so tainted with tradition that the references to it in the various
stories of the
