FAMOUS STONES.
It was afterwards worn in the helmet of Henry V., at the battle of Agincourt, in the year 1415.
The crown jewels of France disappeared in 1792, during the troubles of the first republic, though they were kept under seal, and in the royal treasury. Some of them were afterwards found buried in an obscure place, which was named in an anonymous letter sent to the prime minister. The famous Regent diamond was in this casket.
The Regent diamond is probably the finest and best cut stone in the world, though it is not the largest. It was named after the Duke of Orleans, who was regent during the minority of Louis XV. The regent bought it, in 1717, for one hundred and thirty-five thousand pounds sterling. It was sold to him by Governor Pitt, who paid twelve thousand five hundred pounds for it in India five years before. Its weight before cutting was four hundred and ten carats, and the process of cutting occupied two years. Its weight was reduced to one hundred and thirty-six carats, and its present value is estimated at a million dollars.
Pitt was an unhappy man during the five years he owned the stone. He carried it with him constantly. He never made known his movements a day beforehand, nor slept for two nights successively in the same house.
Another diamond, quite famous in its way, is the “Sancy.” It fell from the helmet of Charles the Bold at the battle of Granson, and was picked up by a Swiss soldier. The soldier disposed of it for two francs, and thought he had made a very good bargain. In 1589 it was bought by De Sancy, treasurer to Henry IV. of France. In 1792 it was stolen, and after various adventures, was bought, forty years afterwards, by Prince Demidoff, who paid for it seventy-five thousand pounds. It has since been sold for a much smaller sum.
A few years ago a diamond was found in Brazil, and imported into France under the name of the Star of the South. It was found by a negress, and bought for a few dollars by a speculator, who obtained a large return for his investment. Its weight in the rough was two hundred and fifty-four carats; after cutting, it was one hundred and twenty-four carats.
Another famous stone, known as the Grand Duke of Tuscany, is of a yellow color, and weighs one hundred and forty carats.