It might be thought that so historic a stone should be set in the King’s Crown, but a curious tradition regarding it is thus upheld. From very ancient days, and no doubt due to its bloody history, the Koh-i-Nur is supposed to bring misfortune to any man who may wear it, but that it brings no harm to a woman. Certainly it has brought no harm to Queen Victoria, Queen Alexandra, or Queen Mary, all of whom have worn it constantly.
THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON ASSISTING AT THE FIRST CUTTING OF THE KOH-I-NUR
When presented to Queen Victoria the Koh-i-Nur was valued at £140,000, but indeed such stones as this are from their historic association practically priceless. The Koh-i-Nur cannot be bought with money, and he who wishes to take it by force must first defeat the British Empire.
One of the oldest as well as one of the most valuable gems in the Jewel House is the sapphire which belonged to Edward the Confessor, and was worn by him in his Coronation ring. It would thus be considerably older than the Tower of London itself, for the Confessor came to the throne many years before the Conqueror landed in England and built the Tower. As was not an unusual custom, the ring with the sapphire was buried with Edward the Confessor probably on his finger, in his shrine at Westminster, but in the year 1101 the shrine was broken open and this and other jewels taken out.
This was the ring which appears in the legend regarding Edward the Confessor and St. John the Evangelist. According to this legend St. John on one occasion appeared before the King in the guise of a pilgrim. To him the King of his bounty gave the ring off his finger. Some little time after the ring was returned to the King with a message informing him privily of the exact day of his death. Doubtless St. John meant this for a kindly warning, so that the King might be absolutely at the height of his holiness when the call came. Most people, however, would have heartily cursed St. John for his officiousness, for few care to live with a guillotine hanging over their heads and a clock facing them ticking off the hours and minutes.
The stone has manifestly been recut, for it is at present a “rose,” and that form of cutting was unknown in ancient days. Probably this was done in the reign of Charles II. It is a remarkably beautiful gem, of good colour and without flaw, and is intrinsically worth a very high sum. In the days of Edward the Confessor it was reputed to have the miraculous power of curing what was known collectively as the cramp, that is rheumatism, sciatica, and the like, but we have not heard of any later monarch testing its efficiency. The sapphire is now set in the centre of cross paté on top of the King’s State Crown.
In the band at the back of the King’s State Crown may be seen a very large sapphire, known as the Stuart sapphire, which has seen many adventures. What its early history was is not known, but at one end is drilled a longitudinal hole evidently made for some attachment so that the stone might be worn as a pendant. It first came into recognition in the reign of Charles II, who wore it in his crown, but whether he received it from Charles I or acquired it in his wanderings is not quite clear. At his death the sapphire passed to James II, who when he was dethroned and fled to France took it with him. James II left the sapphire to his son, Charles Edward, the Old Pretender, who in his turn left it to his son, Henry Bentinck, known as Cardinal Yorke, by whom it was bequeathed, with other Stuart relics, to George III. George IV and William IV in turn owned it, and then it came to Queen Victoria, who very greatly prized it and had it set in the band of her State Crown, in the front and just below the Black Prince’s ruby. This pride of place the Stuart sapphire resigned in favour of the Star of Africa, a portion of which Edward VII placed in the crown, symbolising the entry of the Union of South Africa into the brotherhood of the British Empire.