THE DIAMOND OF MISFORTUNE.

Taihape Daily Times, 29 January 1918, Page 5

THE DIAMOND OF MISFORTUNE.

Among the fabulous treasures owned by ex-Czar Nicholas, and now confiscated. one of the most precious jewels is undoubtedly the diamond Orloff, which forms the tip of the Russian sceptre. It is cut in rose form, m size considerably larger than the famous Cullinan diamond, weighs 195 carats and is valued at £300,000. Its origin is doubtfC!?;' according to one account it was stolen by a French' 1 grenadier from a Brahman temple in India, where it represented one of eyes in a statue of Brahma; according to another it originally consisted of two pieces representing the iion's eyes which adorned the throne °f the Great Mogul of Delhi, while another indicates that it was owned V Nadir, Shah of Persia, and came after his death into the hands of an Armenian merchant. The precious jewel owes its name to Prince Orloff, extensively known and ill reputed among his contemporaries for his unusual physical force as well as for bis brutality. He had purchased it for the Empress Catherine II at „ pricE saj , to have been £90,000, besides an a,. Mity of £SOO and a R„ ssia „ ti „ "