Diamonds and precious stones, a popular account of gems .. . il is the Star of the South. This extraordinarydiamond was found in 1853 in the mines of Boga-gan, by a poor negress. The rough diamondweighed 257J^ carats. It has been purchased byM. Helphen. This beautiful diamond has now been cut. It isof an irreproachable purity, transparent, and takingby refraction a lovely rose tint. The Star of the South was cut at Amsterdamin the establishment of M. Coster ; and no betterexample could be given of the difference between arough diamond and one that has been cut, than ispresented by Fig. 39, in
Diamonds and precious stones, a popular account of gems .. . il is the Star of the South. This extraordinarydiamond was found in 1853 in the mines of Boga-gan, by a poor negress. The rough diamondweighed 257J^ carats. It has been purchased byM. Helphen. This beautiful diamond has now been cut. It isof an irreproachable purity, transparent, and takingby refraction a lovely rose tint. The Star of the South was cut at Amsterdamin the establishment of M. Coster ; and no betterexample could be given of the difference between arough diamond and one that has been cut, than ispresented by Fig. 39, in which the different viewsof the Star of the South, in its rough state, aretaken from drawings made by the illustrious miner-alogist M. Dufrénoy. Figures are also given of thediamond as it now appears. Among the diamonds found in Brazil are threefamous stones belonging to the crown of Portugal. The first is called the King of Portugals dia- CELEBRATED DIAMONDS. 93 mond. It was found in a place called Cay-de-Mérin, near the little river of Malhoverde. Mawe. Fig. 39 — Star of the South, before and after cutting. says that it weighs 1680 carats. And in Brazil itsvalue is estimated at $1,395,000,000. Only — it has 94 PRECIOUS STONES. been suggested, that this diamond is a topaz, inwhich case the millions vanish. No one is allowed to behold this diamond, whichis still in the rough. And since the question of itsnature is not tested, it may be t)resumed that thetest is withheld for good reasons. Of the value of the two other famous diamondsof Portugal there is no doubt. One weighs 215carats, the other is flatter and weighs a little beautiful stones were found by three menwho were banished to the province of Minas Geraes,and who bought their freedom with them. The crown of England is very rich in beautifuldiamonds ; its chief treasure is the famous Koh-i-noor, or mountain of light. The history of this stone is obscure, but, as al-ready mentioned, it is believed to be th
Size: 1417px × 1763px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectgems, booksubjectprec
