Diamonds and precious stones, a popular account of gems .. . Fig. 35.—The Nizam. by means of the water in which it has been one occasion, according to Jamieson, the gover-nor of Borneo offered for it $150,000, two large war-brigs with their guns and ammunition, a certainnumber of guns, and a quantity of powder and the rajah refused to part with it. India has in its possession another famous dia-mond, the Nizam (Fig. 35), a rough diamondweighing 340 carats, and estimated at $930,000. One of the most celebrated diamonds in the CELEBRATED DIAMONDS. 87 world is the Regent or Pit
Diamonds and precious stones, a popular account of gems .. . Fig. 35.—The Nizam. by means of the water in which it has been one occasion, according to Jamieson, the gover-nor of Borneo offered for it $150,000, two large war-brigs with their guns and ammunition, a certainnumber of guns, and a quantity of powder and the rajah refused to part with it. India has in its possession another famous dia-mond, the Nizam (Fig. 35), a rough diamondweighing 340 carats, and estimated at $930,000. One of the most celebrated diamonds in the CELEBRATED DIAMONDS. 87 world is the Regent or Pitt diamond. Its brilliancyand proportions are considered matchless, and it isalso of considerable size. It was found in the mineof Parteal, forty-five leagues south of Golconda, andweighed in the rough state 410 carats. Two yearsand $23,250 were spent in cutting it into a brilliant. Fig. 36.—The Regent. —a process which reduced it to 137 carats, but thecutting is perfect. The usual account given of this diamond is, thatit was bought at Madras by the grandfather of thefirst Earl of Chatham, when he was commander ofFort St. George; that he paid $60,000 for it, andthat it was bought in 1717 for $648,000 by the 88 PRECIOUS STONES. Duke of Orleans, when regent of France during theminority of Louis XV. A very different story, however, is told by Saint-Simon, who professes to speak of his own personalknowledge. He says that the diamond was stolen by a per-son employed in the diamond mines, who escapedto Europe with it, and after showing it to severalprinces, and among the rest the King of England,passed over to Paris and showed it to the somewhatnotorious Law. Law proposed to the regent thatit should be bought for the king, but the state ofthe finances was such that the duke hesitated tospend such a large sum in that way. Saint-Simonlent his influence in favour of t
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectgems, booksubjectprec
