Gem-Stones and Their Distinctive Characters

by George Frederick Herbert Smith

(10) Shah

This fine stone, of the purest water, was presented to the Czar Nicholas by the Persian prince Chosroes, younger son of Abbas Mirza, in 1843. At that time it still retained three cleavage faces which were engraved with the names of three Persian sovereigns, and weighed 95 carats. It was, however, subsequently re-cut with the loss of 9 carats, and the engraving has disappeared in the process.