The royal family of Brazil are said to possess diamonds of great beauty, selected for their superiority from the best of the products of the mines of the country. But we have not been able to obtain reliable descriptions of them.
The Crown of Portugal, by virtue of its inheritance, is said to own immense numbers of the gem; and it is understood that they are held in reserve, and only a certain quantity are to be sold from time to time according to the demands of the market. In corroboration of this report it is said that the Bank of Lisbon, sold, in 1863, rough diamonds to the value of 1,800,000 francs out of the collection brought from Brazil by John VI. in 1821. It was also stated that the value of the remainder was estimated at 35,000,000 francs.
Mr. Mawe, at the time of his visit to Lisbon, stated that the treasury of the King contained diamonds amounting in weight to four thousand or five thousand karats. The same traveller and gem-expert says that a vast number of the Brazilian diamonds have passed into the possession of the King of Portugal. And he furthermore states that he examined diamonds belonging to this potentate, which were worth more than two million pounds sterling.
Among the crown jewels of Portugal there is a gem of large dimensions which has been reported to be a diamond weighing 1,680 karats. Mr. Murray described it to be as large as an ostrich egg, and added that Mr. Mawe informed him that it was a white topaz. Romè de L’Isle, in his treatise on Crystallography, published in 1783, describes the stone as a diamond, but admits that it is suspected to be a white topaz. It is a little singular that this discrepancy and obscurity has not been definitely cleared up during all this time, when the character of the stone can so easily be ascertained. As the massive variety of diamond is found in masses of more than one thousand karats, it is even probable that the crystalline and transparent variety may occur of equal weight.
Mr. Murray mentioned a beautiful gem of two hundred and fifteen karats, called the Round Brilliant of Portugal, and estimated its value at £388,290. Mr. Mawe describes another a little less in size, and also two nearly perfect octahedrons of one hundred and thirty-four and one hundred and twenty karats each.
The state waistcoat of Joseph I. had twenty buttons, each button being composed of a solitaire diamond of the value of $20,000, and the rest of its ornaments were corresponding in beauty and value. This garment is said to have been the richest ever seen in Europe, with the exception of the recent grand illumination by the Shah of Persia. It has also been stated that the golden cane of John VI. had in its top a splendid brilliant of the value of a million of francs.
The largest of the Brazilian diamonds was discovered as late as 1852, by a negress working in the mines of Begagem. Like most of the large diamonds, its form was not symmetrical, and its shape was much modified from the regular crystalline forms. In 1856 it was brought to France and exhibited to the members of the Academy of Sciences. The gem then weighed in its rough state 254¹⁄₂ karats, and appeared perfectly transparent and without tint. It was placed in the hands of Coster, of Amsterdam, for cutting, and reduced in weight to 127 karats. The form given it was the brilliant; but the gem was cut too thin to exhibit its full beauty. The spread of its table will be found, on comparison, to be much greater than that of the Regent diamond, which weighs 136 karats, or almost 10 karats more; therefore Babinet properly exclaims against the taste which adopted an imperfect brilliant, at a great reduction of weight, when the form of the brilliolette, like that of one of the Sancys, would have preserved three fourths of its weight and given it a more splendid lustre. It would then have been the second diamond in weight and beauty in Europe. This gem is known as the Star of the South, but is sometimes called the Halphen diamond, from the name of the gentleman who bought it on its arrival in Europe.
The gem treasures of the Elector of Saxony are among the most valuable and unique in Europe. The commencement of their collection dates from an early period. The famous silver mines, prior to the discovery of America, placed the Saxon princes among the richest sovereigns of Europe; and they took pride in exhibiting their magnificence, in expending vast sums of money in the purchase of gems, jewels, and works of art.
The treasures thus accumulated during a long period of time are of immense value; and the apartments where they are displayed remind the observer of the gorgeous descriptions of Oriental magnificence. And unless we except the unknown collection in the Turkish Seraglio and those of the Crown of Russia, it is the most extensive and interesting in the world. All that is rare and beautiful on earth is here represented; and the total valuation of all the objects of art and nature must amount to many millions of dollars. They are contained in eight large consecutive rooms, each surpassing the previous one in the splendor and richness of its contents. Among the diamonds are some large and unique gems of the rose pattern. The gala dress and the decorations of the Elector, which fairly dazzle the eye with their floods of brilliancy, are also kept here. In the epaulette there are three splendid brilliants which weigh nearly fifty carats each.
But the chief attraction among all this vast collection of gems is the famous green diamond. This wonderful stone is of oblong form, 1¹⁄₁₂ inches in length by ¹⁰⁄₁₂ of an inch in width, and weighs 31¹⁄₄ karats. It is mounted in a clasp, set with large white brilliants. The price paid for it is kept a profound secret; but it is reported that it was obtained at Warsaw by Augustus the Strong, and that he paid 60,000 thalers for it. Amateurs generally regard the blue diamond as the most astonishing and perfect of the products of the mineral kingdom; but we fail to perceive, in the exhibition of this color, any advantage over the fine green or the pure red diamonds.