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THE DE BEERS SAGA
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Mattan
was supposed to be almost colorless. Therefore, they decided, it was
not a diamond at all but a piece of water-worn rock crystal, because
otherwise it would have been placed on sale. They overlooked the fact
that the mines of Borneo long have been used as a source of continuous
inÂcome and that large diamonds are kept as a hedge against financial
disaster.
Still
another large stone was reported found in the eightÂeenth century in
Brazil, when it was a colony of Portugal. It the reports were true, it
would have been one of the largest diamonds ever found, second only to
the Cullman. Its weight was placed at 1680 carats. A number of
travelers reported seeing it, and others said it later was broken up
into small pieces. It was called the Braganza.
The experts thought that one over and decided it was not a diamond but a topaz.
In
a world of "blood, sweat and tears," it hardly makes much difference to
any of us whether there really was or is a Great Mogul or a Mattan or a
Braganza. Somehow, it is nice to think they did exist. It is a lot
nicer than the attitude of the experts. You can't see the Great Mogul,
they reason, therefore it doesn't exist; it never did exist!
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(55)
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