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Ch. 29: Famous Gems

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Gems of Distinguished People 243
Edwin W. Streeter, who, partly by virtue of his authorship of The Great Diamonds of the World, is entitled to the distinction of the expert on this phase of precious stones, in his book Pre­cious Stones and Gems, in a chapter entitled f Coloured Diamonds," traces a complete his­tory of the " Hope " blue diamond. This author is inclined to identify this stone as a part of a blue diamond, bought in 1642 by Tavernier, the famous traveller and gem buyer, supposed to have been found in the old Indian mines, probably those of Gani-Color. It weighed in the rough 112-1/4 carats; and in 1668 it was sold to Louis XIV. The present name of this dia­mond is derived from that of Mr. Henry Thomas Hope, a London banker, who bought it in 1830 for the equivalent in currency of the United States of about $85,000.
Among the notable coloured diamonds is the " Dresden green diamond," a fine flawless stone, of a bright apple-green colour. It is in the famous " Green Vaults" of Dresden, and has belonged to the Saxon crown since 1753. Au­gustus the Strong paid $60,000 for it. Forty carats is its weight.
Another famous forty-carat stone is the " Polar Star," a pure and brilliant diamond, the
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