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Show TOO LARGE TO BE USEFUL. Diamond Had to Bo Broken Before It Could Bo Marketed. In jewelers' circles great Interest has been awakened by the' announcement that cutting operations have been commenced com-menced on the great Jagersfonteln Excelsior, Ex-celsior, the largest and finest diamond In the world The stone was held for ten years before its owner could make ; satisfactory arrangements for Its cut- t ting, which has now been undertaken by a firm in Amsterdam, Holland. It was transported from London to Am- ' ittrdam under special police protection. C and a carpeted room, with a specially 5 made safe, has been provided for its i" rare during the process of cutting and J I dishing. The responsibility of hand- j i lir.g and guarding so precious a t stone may b? gathered from the fact that Its value may be almost anything. When ' discovered It was estimated to be worth I ?l,00O,000. but In Its finished state It will lOinmand a fabulous price. The story of the discovery of this I wonderful gem Is of no little interest. I It was found on June 30, 1S93, at Jagers- II fonteln, In the Orange Free State, South Africa. The stone was picked' up ( by a native while he was loading a .ruck, and although a white overseer H ivun standing near him, he managed to fcrete it and keep it on his person for vimc- time. In this case, however, it Hd not appear that he proposed utcal-'ng utcal-'ng the gem, hut only wished to deliver it personally to the manager. This ho I Id, and as a bonus he received S750 and i. horse, saddle and bridle. The dln- ' mond weighed In the rough exactly j nTlvt carats, or about 7 ounces avoirdu- 1 pols. It Is of a beautiful bluish-white lOlor, and shaped like the broken-off 'iid of an Icicle. The dlamondlferou3 monster measures 3 inches in length, I1.; Inches in greatest, and 1 1-3 inches in least breadth The Excelsior has now been broken Into sixteen pieces, ihe largest three of which are 15S. .VI 7 ml 130 carats, respectively. These In-'lvldunl In-'lvldunl gems, In themselves of extraordinary extraor-dinary alze. will be, when fully cut and polishi-J, among the finest In the world, , -nnd tho value of the original stone will . thus be multiplied. |