REM A RKA BLE DIAMONDS. The most valuable gems, among which there are some exceeding 100 carats in weight, are generally owned by royal families or are treasured by governments as state jewels. One of the largest is the Orloff, owned by the Czar of Russia. which weighs 195 carats. and is cut in rose form. Its origin is doubtful; according to one account, it was stolen from a Brahman temple in India, while another indicates that it was owned by Nadir Shah of Persia. and came after his death into the hands of an Armenian merchant. In 1772 it was pur chased by the Empress Catharine II., at a price said to have been $450,000, besides an annuity of $1,000 and a Russian title. The Koh-i-nfir, weighing 102 carats, and owned by the royal family of England, was found, to legend, in India long before the Christian Era. After having been handed down through a long line of Indian princes. it was seized during the
British invasion of the Pnnjab, and carried to England. The stone is said to have weighed originally 794 carats, having been reduced to its present size by repeated cutting. The Regent or Pitt diamond in the Louvre in Paris, weighs 136 carats. and is valued at $2,500,000. It is perhaps the finest of large brilliants. The Hope diamond, weighing carats, is a beauti ful blue stone, valued at $125,000. A light green diamond of carats, in the Green Vault at Dresden, and a red diamond of 10 carats, among the crown jewels of Russia. are unique specimens. Among the most valuable stones found in recent times are the Victoria, weighing 180 carats, which was purchased by the Nizam of Hyderabad; the De Beers, weighing 225 carats: and the Tiffany, weighing 125 carats.