Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 October 1893 — Vicissitudes of a Diamond. [ARTICLE]

Vicissitudes of a Diamond.

The Imperial Treasury of Austria contains the Florentine diamond. This is one of the finest diamonds of the world, and it is noted for its luster and brilliancy. It is worth $450,000 and has a romantic history connected with it. It once belonged to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, who seems to have been rather careless in guarding his treasures. He went to battle one day with this diamond in bis pocket, and the result was that he lost it The diamond lay on the road and a Swiss soldier picked it up. He looked upon it as a piece of glass and threw it down again, but as it fell the sun’s rays caught it and the soldier, thinking it a pretty trinket, concluded to carry it along as a pocket piece. Shortly after this he showed it to a priest The priest admired it and gave him a coin amounting to about 50 American cents for it The priest sold it to a jeweler for 60 cents, and a rich merchant paid the jeweler $2,500 for it The merchant sold it to an Italian duke for SI,OOO advance on his price, and this duke sold it to one of the popes, who paid $60,000 for its possession. After a number of other similar adventures it came into the possession of a grand duke, who married the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, and through her it came to this Imperial Treasury. It now belongs to the royal family, and has its place in what is considered one of the finest collections in the world.—Jewelers’ Weekly.