. Precious stones, a popular account of their characters, occurrence and applications, with an introduction to their determination, for mineralogists, lapidaries, jewellers, etc. With an appendix on pearls and coral. Precious stones; Pearls; Corals. Fig-. 51. Largest known diamond, the "Excelsior," weight 971f carats. From the Jagersfontein mine in South Africa. (Actual size.) an irregular octahedron, is shown in its actual size in Fig. 49. A very beautiful colourless brilliant of 180 carats was cut from it, which is variously known as the Victoria, " Imperial," or " G
. Precious stones, a popular account of their characters, occurrence and applications, with an introduction to their determination, for mineralogists, lapidaries, jewellers, etc. With an appendix on pearls and coral. Precious stones; Pearls; Corals. Fig-. 51. Largest known diamond, the "Excelsior," weight 971f carats. From the Jagersfontein mine in South Africa. (Actual size.) an irregular octahedron, is shown in its actual size in Fig. 49. A very beautiful colourless brilliant of 180 carats was cut from it, which is variously known as the Victoria, " Imperial," or " Great White," and is valued at .^200,000. The largest brilliant, the genuineness of which is unquestionable, is one of 288^ carats, which was cut from a stone of 428J carats found on March 28, 1880> in the De Beers mine. This was yellowish in colour and had the form of a fairly regular octahedron, the outline of which is shown in Fig. 50 in its actual size. In the direction of its longest axis it measured If inches. Another large diamond, which weighed in the rough 655 carats, was found in the Jagersfontein mine at the end of the year 1895. The largest of all known diamonds is the Excel- sior, afterwards called the "' Jubilee," in honour of the celebration of the sixtieth anniversary of the accession of Queen Victoria. The rough stone is represented in its actual size and form in Fig. 51. It came from the Jagersfontein mine in Orange River Colony, and weighed 971 f carats, measuring 2^ inches in length, 2 inches in breadth, and 1 inch in thickness, thus surpassing in size even the " Great Mogul," which in its rough condition is supposed to have weighed 787J carats. It was found on June 30, 1893, by a Kaffir, who received as a reward ^£"500 in money and a horse equipped with saddle and bridle. It is said that an agreement existed between the mine-owners and certain diamond merchants by which the latter were to pm-chase every stone found in the mi
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