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The Star of the South: Paris

After its latent beauties were thus revealed to the world, this superb gem was purchased by Messrs. Halphen, and a few other merchants in Paris, who had constituted themselves a syndicate for the purpose. By them it was named the "Estrella do Sud," or "Star of the South." Before reaching them, it had passed in its rough state through several hands, all of whom were more or less benefited by its possession Thus, the negress, by whom it was discovered in 1853, was rewarded, according to the usual practice in Brazil, with her freedom, and to this was afterwards added the further boon of a pension for life, in recognition of the exceptional size and value of her "find." Yet her master, Casimiro de Tal, was at first so little conscious of its true value, that he was induced to part with it for the relatively nominal sum of pound 3,000. The purchaser deposited it in the Bank of Rio de Janeiro, receiving an advance of no less than pound 30,000 on its security alone. The stone ultimately reached the above-mentioned Paris Syndicate, by whom it was shown in the Dutch department of the London Exhibition of 1862, and in that of Paris in 1867. On both occasions it attracted great attention, and its fame reached the remotest corners of the globe. It was soon afterwards forwarded to India, where a bid of pound 110,000 was made for it by a large house on behalf of a native rajah. After considerable negotiation, the parties being unable to agree on the terms, the transaction fell through, and the stone was returned to Messrs. Halphen, who acted throughout in the name of the Syndicate, and not on their own account as is usually supposed. During the exhibition of the gem in India, glowing accounts of its rare size and beauty had reached the late ex-Gaikwar of Baroda, next to the eccentric Charles, Duke of Brunswick, the greatest diamond fancier of modern times. This prince gave a commission, which was ultimately entrusted to Mr. E. Dresden, of London and Paris, to buy the Star of the South for eight lakhs of rupees, or pound 80,000, Mr. Dresden, thereupon, applied through Mr. Halphen, to the Syndicate, who, although they had already declined pound 110,000, after some pourparlers were induced to accept the Gaikwar's offer. On this subject we were favoured on June 14, 1881, with a communication from Mr. Dresden, the subjoined extract from which will be found peculiarly interesting: "A few years after the death of the late Emperor Napoleon, his Empress sold through Smith, Fleming and Co., her famous collection of diamonds (amongst which were a pair of splendid drops), to that same ruler of Baroda, so that he now possesses a matchless quantity of diamonds, including the Star of the South, which I had the commission to buy, and for which I paid Halphen in Paris two million francs (pound 80,000), inclusive, of course, of the mountings, &c., which were very costly."

It may be added that the ill-luck which often seems to follow the possessors of great diamonds swiftly overtook the new owner of the Star of the South. It will be in the recollection of our readers that this notorious Mahratta prince fell into serious trouble a few years ago for his murderous practice of destroying refractory subjects with diamond dust. Having tried a similar expedient to get rid of the British resident, Colonel Phayre, whose presence in Baroda acted as an inconvenient check on his sanguinary propensities, the Gaikwar was arraigned before a specially constituted tribunal, found guilty, and deposed from the throne of his ancestors by a mandate from the beneficent lady paramount of India.