The casket of gems belonging to the English Crown is not of ancient date, for the followers of Cromwell—iconoclasts and economists—ordered all the ancient regalia to be sold. However, some of the finest of the gems were recovered not long after, and were used in the decorations of the coronation of Charles II.
The present crown of England was made by English artisans, in 1838, with gems taken from old diadems and others bought by Victoria. It is described by Professor Tennant as follows:—
“The imperial state crown of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, was made in the year 1838, by Messrs. Rundell and Bridge, with jewels taken from old crowns, and others furnished by command of Her Majesty. It consists of diamonds, pearls, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds, set in silver and gold; it has a crimson-velvet cap with ermine border, and is lined with white silk. Its gross weight is 39 oz. 5 dwts. Troy.
“The lower part of the band above the ermine border consists of a row of 129 pearls; and the upper part of the band, of a row of 112 pearls; between which, in the front of the crown, is a large sapphire [partly drilled] purchased for the crown by His Majesty, King George IV. At the back is a sapphire of smaller size and 6 other sapphires, 3 on each side, between which are 8 emeralds. Above and below the 7 sapphires are 14 diamonds, and around the 8 emeralds 128 diamonds. Between the emeralds and sapphires are 16 trefoil ornaments containing 160 diamonds. Above the band are 8 sapphires surmounted by 8 diamonds, between which are 8 festoons, consisting of 148 diamonds. In the front of the crown, and in the centre of a diamond Maltese cross, is the famous ruby said to have been given to Edward, Prince of Wales, the Black Prince, by Don Pedro, King of Castile, after the battle of Najara, near Vittoria, A.D. 1367. This ruby was worn in the helmet of Henry V. at the battle of Agincourt, A.D. 1415. It is pierced quite through, after the Eastern custom, the upper part of the piercing being filled up by a small ruby. Around this ruby, to form the cross, are 75 brilliant-diamonds. Three other Maltese crosses, forming the two sides and back of the crown, have emerald centres, and contain respectively 132, 124, and 130 brilliant-diamonds. Between the 4 Maltese crosses are 4 ornaments, in the form of French fleurs de lis, with 4 rubies in their centres, and surrounded by rose-diamonds, containing respectively, 84, 86, 86, 87 rose-diamonds. From the Maltese crosses issue 4 imperial arches composed of oak-leaves and acorns; the leaves containing 728 rose, table, and brilliant diamonds; 32 pearls forming the acorns, set in cups, containing 54 rose-diamonds and 1 table-diamond. The total number of diamonds in the arches and acorns is 108 brilliant, 116 table, and 559 rose diamonds. From the upper part of the arches are suspended 4 large pendent pear-shaped pearls with rose-diamond cups, containing 12 rose-diamonds, and stems, containing 24 very small rose-diamonds. Above the arch stands the Mound, containing in the lower hemisphere 304 brilliants, and in the upper 244 brilliants; the zone and arc being composed of 33 rose-diamonds. The cross on the summit has a rose-cut sapphire in the centre, surrounded by 4 large brilliants and 108 smaller brilliants.”
The value of this beautiful ornament has been estimated by Barbot, the French jeweller, at the sum of $600,000, which, however, is probably very far below its real value.
The great prize and boast of the English treasures is the diamond called the Koh-i-noor, one of the spoils of the East India loot.
From the many descriptions given of it and its real and supposed history, it is better known to the English reader than any other gem; yet there are in Europe several diamonds of greater size and perfection, and a number of gems of greater beauty, and certainly of a higher value. The Koh-i-noor is said to have been discovered in the mine of Gani, near Golconda, about the middle of the sixteenth century. It is thought by some to be a portion of the Great Mogul diamond; but of the correctness of this view there is considerable doubt.
The form in which it was found by the English at the time of capture certainly conveys the idea that it may have been cleft from a larger specimen; but, according to Tavernier, the Great Mogul was ground down and not rifted by means of its cleavage planes at all. At all events, the gem, when it reached England, weighed one hundred and eighty-six karats, and its sides were polished and faceted in the Oriental manner, without regard to a symmetrical form. In this condition it was uncouth, it is true, but it was supposed to be the famous Koh-i-noor, “the mountain of light,” of Eastern romance and history. Now, in its new shape, it is no longer one of the giants of its species, and the prestige which the Hindoos bestowed upon it has also vanished. The recutting of this gem, and the attempt to reduce its irregular form into the shape of a brilliant, was most unfortunate. It is now only a brilliant in name, and it is far too thin in substance to exhibit the beautiful and natural refractive powers of the mineral.
In reality, the form of the brilliant should be cut according to mathematical laws; and its depth and breadth must be of a certain fixed ratio to call forth the natural brilliancy and prismatic display of the stone. This relative degree of form and its wonderful results is well exemplified in the gems cut by Ralph Potter at the commencement of this century, who was, without doubt, the best diamond-cutter the world has seen. It is also laid down as a mathematical problem in the scale which Jeffries has prepared.
The Koh-i-noor, before cutting, weighed one hundred and eighty-six karats; and was the second diamond in Europe. It is now reduced to 102¹⁄₄ karats, with its splendors but little increased; and is reckoned as the fifth in size among the European diamonds; and, to our view, is inferior in value to many of the diamonds of less size, and especially the green diamond of Dresden, or the blue of the Hope collection. In fact, it is far exceeded in beauty and splendor by the imitations of art. The prestige has been injured, if not destroyed, by cutting; and its position among the great gems of the world reduced to a comparatively low degree, notwithstanding its great weight.