Famous Diamonds and The Locations In Which They Were Found

A full account of the origin, nature, properties, and habitat of the diamond will be found in Precious Stones and Gems. In the present treatise which may be regarded as a sequel to that work, it is proposed to embody, in a succinct form, the information scattered over many volumes, in diverse languages, and from private family and official manuscripts kindly placed at our disposal for the purposes of this work, regarding all the known specimens weighing from 30 carats and upwards. The extraordinary interest felt in these rarer gems, many of which are associated with strange intrigues and disastrous wars, induces constant inquiry to be made regarding them, their history, their owners, and their whereabouts. Kluge truly remarks that, "of the few large diamonds hitherto extracted from the earth each has, so to say, its own story, in many instances made up of crimes and outrages." The romantic element plays a large part in these records, which in some cases date back to remote times. Unfortunately the extant accounts are often of the most contradictory character. The incidents associated with some particular stone are constantly transferred to another object. The very identity even of the most famous historical gems is often an open question. To this day it has remained somewhat uncertain whether, for instance, the "Great Mogul" and the "Koh-i-Nur" are one stone under two names, or really two distinct diamonds, as they certainly appear to be. Errors in the various accounts have often crept in through the ignorance or carelessness of writers, copying from each other, without taking the pains to verify references. A curious instance of this is afforded by Murray, otherwise a good authority, who, in speaking of the "Pitt" or "Regent," says that, "this diamond, it has been stated, was found in Malacca, in the famous mine of Porteal, in the Kingdom of Golconda." In this short sentence there are no less than three gross blunders, for Golconda is not a kingdom, but only a fortified station in the Nizam's territory, formerly a noted depot for the gems found in the surrounding districts. Nor is the Porteal, or rather Parteal, mine anywhere near Golconda. It lies many miles further south on the lower Kistna river. And lastly, neither Golconda nor Parteal are in Malacca, but in Cisgangetic India. As Malacca is not known to be a diamond field, its mention in this connection can be explained only by supposing that Murray is here blindly copying from Mawe, who makes the remarkable statement at page 42 of his already quoted work, that, "the 'Pitt' or 'Regent' diamond is said to have been found in Malacca. It was purchased by Mr. Pitt, then Governor of Bencoolen, for less than pound 20,000." Here is another rich crop of errors, for Mr. Pitt, that is Thomas Pitt, founder of the illustrious house of that name, was Governor, not of Bencoolen, which lies in the south of Sumatra, but of Madras, on the Coromandel or east coast of India. By following up the scent from Mawe backwards to earlier accounts, each embellished in the copying, it is ultimately found that Malacca gets mixed up in the story by some incidental reference to Malachite, confounded by some ignorant amanuensis with the geographical region in question, which reminds one of the story of the Parliamentary reporter who contrived to convert an interrogation about Cowes in the Isle of Wight into an agricultural question. Take again the "Gani" mine, of which we read so much in connection with the "Great Mogul," but which has really no existence at all. Tavernier tells us that this mine was called "Gani" by the natives, and Colare or Coulour by the Persians, and, of course, the statement has been scrupulously reported by all subsequent writers on the subject. But nobody has ever yet succeeded in identifying such a place as "Gani," and the word would appear to be simply a corruption, or possibly a collateral form of the Dravidian Kan, which means not any particular mine, but a mine in general. On the other hand Coulour seems undoubtedly to be, not the Gan-i-Parteal, that is, the Parteal mine on the Kistna, as is usually supposed, but Kollur, still known by that name, also on the Kistna, but some 25 miles further west, in lat. 16 deg 42' N., and long. 80 deg 5' 10'' E. Therefore in Gani-Kollur, and not in Parteal, was found the "Great Mogul" of Tavernier. In the following account of all the great historical diamonds, every effort will be made to rectify these and other current errors regarding them, and, where possible to reconcile the numerous conflicting statements met with in popular treatises on their origin, history, and identity. Many of the great diamonds are known to Mr. Streeter, who possesses models of them. In the course of a short time he will complete his collection of crystals, cut for the purpose from the gems themselves, or from models designed on the lines of the best possible descriptions of them that can be obtained.