Leisure hours among the gems

by Augustus C. Hamlin

The next largest diamond shown to Tavernier was one of only 54¹⁄₂ karats, and all the rest were much inferior. Hence it is surmised that the Koh-i-noor, the Shah, and the Daria-i-noor were then unknown, and were discovered at a later period. But it is stated that the former Mogul, who was still in confinement, retained many of the gems of his own collecting, and that they may have been among them. Or they may have been in possession of Mirgimola. At all events, the Mogul disappeared with the last Tatar invasion; and new paragons, like the Koh-i-noor, became known to the world. After the assassination of Nadir Shah his treasures were scattered among many chieftains, and all record of many of them has been lost.

The fate of the Mogul is shrouded in mystery. The famous gem preserved in the Persian treasury and called Daria-i-noor, “the ocean of lustre,” which Forbes saw and described, is not the lost stone. By some it is believed to be hidden away in some obscure fortress, to appear at some future day when the possessor may display his hidden treasure in safety. This view is certainly warranted by the discovery of the large flat diamond of one hundred and thirty karats among the jewels taken from the harem of Reeza Kooli at the capture of Coocha by the Persian army in 1832. Also the finding of the celebrated crown of Chosroes by Abbas in the treasury of one of the Princes in the Lauristan Mountains near the Persian Gulf, where it had lain concealed for a thousand years.

Were it not for the general accuracy and truthfulness of Tavernier, and the drawing he has left of the diamond, we might claim the Orloff as the missing Mogul. Certainly the resemblance in form is very remarkable; and the location of the flaws, with the rare circumstance of shape, are facts very strongly in favor of the Orloff. The question now arises, did Tavernier make an error in his weight and draw the outlines carelessly or from memory? We have seen how confused history has become regarding the identity of the Sancy diamond.

The real Koh-i-noor of Hindoo history is probably the great Mogul or the Orloff; and the name would be appropriately applied to the dome-like shape of both of the stones, with their flashing beams of light, rather than to the flattened form of the English stone now called the Koh-i-noor, and which exhibited but little lustre. It is highly probable that the diamond of Runjeet Sing, the English Koh-i-noor, was one of the magnificent diamonds surrendered to Nadir Shah by Mohammed Shah at the sack of Delhi in 1739, but there is no positive proof of his obtaining the great heirloom of the descendants of Aurungzeb.

In reviewing the history of the Great Mogul gems, from the time of Tavernier down to the present day, we are inclined to regard the term Koh-i-noor, or “mountain of light,” as a misnomer, and that the gem received this distinction only after its arrival at Kabul, or came into the possession of Runjeet Sing; neither have we any evidence to prove that the Koh-i-noor was the Great Mogul; for that appellation is not given to it by the early writers. But it is not probable that the term, so superlative of excellence and superiority, would be applied to an inferior gem, while the great diamond of the Mogul, weighing two hundred and eighty karats, was in existence.

The history of all these great diamonds is very obscure; and as the value of the Indian weights and measures varies so much at different places and at different times, it is quite impossible to follow with precision the fragments of history that relate to them.

Several accounts have been given of the manner in which the Koh-i-noor fell into the clutches of Runjeet; but that of Dr. Wilson, as published in the official catalogue of the great Exhibition at London, is probably correct. It is as follows:—

“When Shah Soujah was driven from Kabul, he became the nominal guest and actual prisoner of Runjeet Sing, who spared neither opportunity nor menace until, in 1813, he compelled the fugitive monarch to resign the precious gem, presenting him on the occasion, it is said, with a lakh of rupees, or about £12,000 sterling.

“According to Shah Soujah’s own account, however, he assigned to him the revenues of three villages, not one rupee of which he ever realized. Runjeet was highly elated by the acquisition of the diamond, and wore it as an armlet at all public festivals.

“When he was dying, an attempt was made by persons about him to persuade him to make the diamond a present to Juggernaut; and it is said he intimated by an inclination of the head his assent. The treasurer, however, in whose charge it was, refused to give it up without some better warrant; and Runjeet dying before a written order could be signed by him, the Koh-i-noor was preserved for a while for his successors. It was occasionally worn by Khurruk Sing and Shir Sing. After the murder of the latter it remained in the Lahore Treasury until the supersession of Dhulip Sing and the annexation of the Punjaub by the British Government, when the civil authorities took possession of the Lahore Treasury, under the stipulation previously made, that all the property of the State should be confiscated to the East India Company, in part payment of the debt due by the Lahore Government, and of the expenses of the war. It was at the same time stipulated that the Koh-i-noor should be surrendered to the Queen of England.