Table of Contents
Introduction
2 pages
The Braganza
3 pages
The Matan
2 pages
The Nizam
2 pages
The Stewart
The two Largest Diamonds of South Africa--Finding the Stewart--An Accidental Discovery--"Joy is Dangerous"--The Anxiety of…
The Great Mogul
3 pages
The Star of the South
2 pages
Du Toit I
Beautiful but a little "Off-Colour"--South African Diamonds--Their Origin and Character--Enormous Increase of--Estimated Value of "Claims"…
The Great Table
2 pages
The Regent of Portugal
The Slave and the Diamond--Punishments and Rewards in Mining--How Bahia became famous--Discovery of the Regent by a Negro--He is Pensioned…
The Jagersfontein
7 pages
The Koh-I-Nur
9 pages
Darya-I-Nur
A City of Gems and Jewels--Nadir Shah's Descent on Delhi--Indiscriminate Slaughter and Plunder--The Shah of Persia's Largest Diamond, "Sea…
The Ahmedabad
A Name that excites Unpleasant Reflections--Incidents of British Warfare in India--The Assault and Capture of Ahmedabad--The Opportunities…
The Porter-Rhodes
2 pages
The Taj-E-Mah
2 pages
The Austrian Yellow
3 pages
The Pitt or Regent
5 pages
The Mountain of Splendour
Persia in Poetry and Romance--The Shah in England--A Precious Gem, the History of which is at present unknown.
The Abbas Mirza
2 pages
Du Toit II
The Pan Diggings, South Africa--Active Mining Operations in 1871--The first important "Find."
The Moon of Mountains
4 pages
Patrocinho
2 pages
The Akbar Shah, or Jehan Ghir Shah
7 pages
The Chapada
4 pages
The Shah
2 pages
The Dudley, or Star of South Africa
A Strange History--The Vicissitudes of a Diamond--A Child's Toy worth a King's Ransom--The Discovery of Diamonds at the Cape--A Great Stone…
The Throne
The Peacock Throne--Strange Picture of Magnificence--An Error Corrected--The Sanguinary Adventures of Tamerlane.
The Rough
Roughs of the East and West--A Text for the Educationist--A Lost Diamond--A Reminiscence of Golconda.
The Russian Table
A Russian Secret.
The French Blue
The Crown Jewels of France-Breaking up of a Great Stone-Fragments that are Afterwards Traced.
The Sea of Glory
A Reminiscence of Persian Splendour-A Splendid Crown Jewel. IT is quite possible that the graphic author of the Sketches of Persia…
The Kollur
The Kollur Mine-The Kistna Valley--A Beautiful Stone Cut in the Mine Itself. AN Indian cut stone of great purity, purchased in the year…
The Pear and Savoy
Set in Pearls--A Popular Fiction Dispelled--The Pear and Savoy not one Stone--The Shadows of Nadir Shah--Loss of the Pear in Persia. IN the…
The Great Sancy
5 pages
The Tavernier, a, B, & C
The Diamond Bought by Louis XIV.--Stolen with the French Regalia in 1792--A Present to the Empress Eugenie by Her Husband.--"The Golden…
La Reine Des Belges
A New Stone in the History of Diamonds--A Gift from the Archduchess of Hungary to her Daughter the Queen of Belgium.
The Eugenie
A Splendid Hair-Pin--Catherine II. of Russia and her Favourites--Royal Presents--How the Hair-Pin was Bought by Napoleon III.--Its Sale to…
The Pigott
4 pages
The Three Tables
An Ancient Form of Diamond Cutting--Famous Gems that have Disappeared. THESE are mentioned by Tavernier amongst the treasures of…
The Dresden Green
One of the Rarest Diamonds in the World--A Comparatively Small Gem Valued at pound 30,000.
The Banian
Astute Dealers--"The Banian Removes his Turban"--Rapid Business. This stone was bought from a Banian or Indian trader by Tavernier at the…
The Antwerp
A Bridal Gift--History at Fault.
The Hope Blue
Models of Historic Gems in London--The Romance of Facts--Identification of the "Hope Blue" and the Famous French Stone--A Lovely Gem and a…
The Ferdinand
The Raulconda Mines.--Tinted Stones--A Diamond that Broke into Fragments on the Cutter's Wheel--"Bort"--A Curious Freak of Nature. ABOUT…
The Polar Star
One of the Gems in the Russian Crown Purchased in England--A Stone of Rare Purity and Lustre.
The Pasha of Egypt
Forty Carats and Valued at pound 28,000--The Finest Gem in the Egyptian Treasury.
The Green Brilliant
A Relic of the Dresden Vaults--Worn as a Button by the King of Saxony. IN the Dresden Green Vaults, besides the "Dresden Green," there is…
The Bantam
One of Tavernier's Royal Customers--"The Queen of Borneo"--The Dutch Regalia--A Fanatical Pilgrim of Mecca--Fighting and Feasting. WHEN…
The Hornby
Another Gem unknown to History--Possibly to be found at Teheran. JOHN MURRAY writes: "The 'Hornby' diamond, brought from the East Indies by…
The Holland
A Crown Jewel--Its Origin and Character Unrecorded--Conical in Shape, and valued at pound 10,368.
The Heart
A Splendid Trinket--The Royal Turban of Baber--Eastern Monarchs in Full Dress. JEAN Baptiste Tavernier says that in 1665, he saw amongst…
The Little Sancy
A Mystery Cleared Up--Official History--The Crown Necklace Worn by the Princess Mary of Sachsen-Altenburg on her Marriage with Prince…
The Napoleon
The Vague History of a Brilliant Gem--An Ornament of Napoleon's Sword Hilt. VERY little is known regarding this beautiful gem, whose…
The Cumberland
Days of Trouble in England--The Battle of Culloden--The City of London presents a Great Diamond to the Conqueror--The "Cumberland" restored…
The Brazilian
An Unauthorized Title--The Rough Diamond mentioned by Mawe. WE have given this vague title to a stone of which our knowledge is no less…
The Dresden White
A White Stone among the Dresden Green--Set in a Piece of Jewelry. BESIDES its numerous coloured diamonds, the Dresden collection comprises…
The Dresden Yellow
One of Four Famous Yellow Gems.