This gem was stolen by a French soldier from a temple near Trichinopoli in Mysore, where it was set as an eye stone in the statue of Brahma. The weight of the stone, which is rose cut, is 194¾ carats. The soldier sold it to an English ship’s captain for £2,000—Mr. Emanuel says £2,800—and the captain sold it to a London dealer for £12,000 sterling. It was afterwards sold to Prince Orloff, whence it obtained its name, for £90,000 sterling, and an annual pension of £4,000. The Prince presented it to Empress Katherine who had it set as an ornament at the top of the imperial sceptre. This large diamond was a stone of ill omen for Russia, a country ruled by the celestial Aquarius and opposed to the diamond sign Leo. When we reflect, in harmony with celestial philosophy, that the late Czar Nicholas II, the last of the Romanoffs, had the sign Leo in the 12th heavenly mansion at birth we can only see in the Orloff diamond the symbol of sorrow and restraint.
Horoscope of Nicholas II
The last of the Czar’s to whom the ancients would consider the diamond a symbol of ill omen.
THE SANCY DIAMOND
Few historical objects surpass the beautiful Sancy Diamond in romance and importance. Its origin is involved in uncertainty prior to the early 15th Century. The first definite account concerning the famous gem states that after the battle of Nancy, January 5th, 1477, it was taken from the dead body of Charles the Bold, by a Swiss soldier. Charles adorned his dress with many diamonds, the Sancy holding the place of honour. The soldier not knowing the value of the gem he had stolen sold it to a minister of religion for a gulden. The minister sold it some years later to a dealer in Lucerne for 5,000 ducats. King Manoel, known as the Fortunate, of Portugal, purchased it in 1495, two years before he dispatched the navigator Vasco da Gama, on his voyage of discovery. Don Antonio, known as Prince of Crato and King of Portugal in partibus, sold the gem to Nicolas de Harlai Sieur de Sancy, whence it obtained its name. As the friend and treasurer of Henry IV of France, the Sieur in order to aid the King to protect his crown, raised a loan for him on the security of the stone, from the bankers of Metz. The servant entrusted with the safe delivery of the diamond being waylaid by robbers, swallowed his master’s precious gem to protect it; the thieves in fury at being unable to discover the stone, on the person or in the baggage, of the loyal servant, murdered him. The Sieur evidently knew what his messenger would do in an extremity, and he afterwards recovered the gem from the body of the murdered man. It was next sold to the English Crown when it was worn by Queen Elizabeth. It remained in possession of the Crown, and is mentioned in the Tower inventory of March 22nd, 1605, until the reign of James II, who took it when he fled to France to seek asylum at the court of the Grand Monarque. James then sold the Sancy to his sympathetic friend Louis, for £25,000 sterling. Another account states that the Sancy came into the possession of Cardinal Mazarin who had it recut and included amongst the twelve famous diamonds in the Crown of France, known as the Mazarins. Robert de Berquem says that Queen Henrietta Maria proudly wore it (“Merveilles des Indes,” 1669). Louis XV it is recorded, wore the Sancy at his coronation in 1715, and his Queen, Maria Lesczynska, daughter of the dethroned Polish King, Stanislas, afterwards wore it as a necklace pendant. When Marie Antoinette became Queen of France she had this royal pendant taken from the necklace and mounted in brooch form. With the tragic end of the unhappy Queen some uncertainty follows the wanderings of the Sancy. It is stated that the widow of Charles IV of Spain gave it to the “Prince of Peace,” Manuel de Godoi, Duke of Alcudia. One account states that Godoi sold it to Napoleon, another that Godoi’s son after vainly endeavouring to induce Louis XVIII to purchase it in 1822, sold it to Prince Demidoff. The Prince sold it to Monsieur Levrat, Director of the Society of Mines and Forges of Grisons, Switzerland, for £24,000. A dispute over the price led to an action at law and a verdict in favour of the Prince on June 1st, 1832.
The stone was afterwards purchased by Sir Jamisetjee Jeejeebhoy in 1865, from the family of Prince Demidoff. It was sent from Bombay to London by Messrs. Forbes & Co., the agents for Sir Jamisetjee Jeejeebhoy, and was exhibited by M. M. Bapst at the Paris Exposition of 1867. During the tour of King George (when Prince of Wales) in India, the Sancy is said to have been worn at the Great Durba by the Marajah of Puttiali. In 1892 the beautiful gem passed into the possession of the Astor family it having been purchased by the Hon. William Waldorf Astor for his wife, Mary, daughter of James W. Paul, Esq., of Philadelphia, U. S. A. It now passes into the hands of the Right Hon. Viscountess Astor who wore it on taking her seat as the first lady elected as a member of the House of Commons. The writer is indebted to Lady Astor for her kindly interest in this book, and for a presentation of a handsome volume on the Sancy Diamond by William Waldorf Astor, published in 1892. The Sancy Diamond is described by Dr. Smith as of an almond shape, covered all over with tiny facets by Indian lapidaries. The weight is given as 53½ to 53¾ carats.
Considered astrologically a diamond would be unfortunate for Charles the Bold who was born at Dijon 10th November, 1435. It would be considered fortunate for Henry IV of France in whose horoscope the planet Jupiter was ascending in the sign Libra. Jupiter being in the 12th Heavenly Mansion would be considered fortunate for secret negotiations and diplomacy, and it is worthy of notice that the Sancy Diamond should be employed as a powerful helper in these very matters. The sign of the Lion, the sign of France, is also on the Mid Heaven of the King’s nativity, and Leo is distinctly a diamond and Royal sign. It was a truly fortunate gem for King James II of England whose horoscope is here shown with the Royal Lion ascending.
Horoscope of James II
The ancients would consider the diamond a symbol of fortune and adventure for this King.