Pigot Diamond facts for kids
| Weight | 47.38 carats (9.476 g) |
|---|---|
| Color | colorless |
| Cut | oval-shaped brilliant |
| Country of origin | India |
| Mine of origin | Golkonda |
| Discovered | pre-1763 |
| Original owner | Sir George Pigot (first documented) |
| Owner | unknown |
The Pigot Diamond is a large diamond that came from India in the 1700s. It was also known as the Lottery Diamond. When it arrived in England, it was the biggest diamond in Europe. For about 50 years, it was owned by different people in Europe. Then, in the 1820s, it was sold to the ruler of Egypt. After that, no one knows what happened to it, making it a mystery for over 200 years!
Contents
How the Diamond Was Found
George Pigot got the diamond when he was the British governor of Madras (now Chennai) for the East India Company. He might have received it from an Indian prince in 1763. This could have been the Rajah of Tanjore or Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, the Nabob of Arcot. The diamond may have come from the Golkonda mines. Back then, diamonds were often used to send money back to England.
Pigot brought the diamond to London in 1764. It was rough at first, then cut into a beautiful oval shape called a brilliant. It weighed about 47.38 carats. Cutting the diamond took two years and cost a lot of money. The original rough stone was probably around 100 carats. At that time, it was the largest diamond in England. It had a big top surface and middle edge, but it was not very deep, so it didn't sparkle as much as some other diamonds.
When George Pigot died in 1777, he left the diamond to his brothers, Robert and Hugh, and his sister Margaret. Later, parts of the diamond were passed down to their children. The family tried to sell the diamond, but it was so valuable that no one could afford it.
The Great Lottery in London
Since no single buyer could afford the diamond, the Pigot family came up with a plan: a lottery. This plan needed special approval from the Parliament, because games of chance were usually against the law. After some debate, Parliament approved the lottery on July 2, 1800. The law was called "The Pigot and Fisher Diamond Lottery Act of 1800."
The lottery allowed 11,428 tickets to be sold. Each ticket cost two guineas, which was a lot of money back then. If all tickets sold, the family would get about £23,998. The diamond itself was thought to be worth between £25,000 and £30,000. Newspapers started advertising the lottery in August. You could buy tickets from stockbrokers, jewelers, and other shops.
The winning ticket, number 9,488, was drawn on March 2, 1801, in Guildhall, London. It was bought by four men: John Cruikshank, Richard Blanchford, John Henderson, and William Thompson.
Sold at Christie's Auction
The diamond was sold again in 1802 at Christie's, a famous auction house in London. It weighed 47 carats. On May 10, it was sold for £9,500 to a pawnbroker named Mr. Parker. He might have been buying it for Rundell and Bridge, who were famous jewelers in London. By 1804, Rundell and Bridge owned part of the diamond.
Christie's described the diamond in a special way:
Its owners were unfortunate in its being brought to a market where its worth might not be sufficiently valued, where the charms of the fair needed not such ornaments, and whose sparkling eyes outshone all the diamonds of Golkonda. In any other county, the Pigot diamond would be sought as a distinction, where superior beauty was more rarely to be found.
Offered to Napoleon
In 1804, the jewelers Rundell and Bridge tried to sell the diamond to Napoleon Bonaparte, who had just become the Emperor of the French. Since France and England were at war, the diamond had to be secretly taken into France. It arrived in Paris after being brought through Holland.
Napoleon, however, said no to the offer. He probably didn't want a diamond that came from England, his enemy. The Times of London newspaper wrongly reported that Napoleon had bought the diamond. Because of the war, the diamond couldn't be sent back to England right away. It stayed in France until 1816, when things became calmer.
After Napoleon's first defeat in 1814, E. W. Rundell went to France to get the diamond back. But Napoleon escaped from exile and returned to power, so Rundell had to leave Paris quickly. He returned after Napoleon's final defeat in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo. Rundell then won a lawsuit, and the diamond was finally returned to England.
The diamond was known to be in London in 1818 and 1821. Rundell and Bridge kept trying to sell it, even sending models of the diamond to kings and queens across Europe.
Sale to Egypt
Rundell and Bridge finally sold the diamond to Muhammad Ali of Egypt, who was the ruler of Egypt. The sale happened around 1822 or 1823 for £30,000. Samuel Briggs, the British Consul in Alexandria, helped with the deal.
Muhammad Ali bought the diamond as a gift for Mahmud II, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. He gave many gifts to Mahmud. This might have been to make up for not helping the Ottomans during the Greek War of Independence (1821–1832). Or, it might have been to get the sultan to agree that Ali had the right to rule Egypt.
One story from 1830 says that an agent for Muhammad Ali bought the diamond in London. Then, a British admiral carried it in his coat pocket to Portsmouth, a naval port, before sailing to the Mediterranean. After this sale, no one knows what happened to the Pigot Diamond.
What Happened Next? (Speculation)
There are several stories about what might have happened to the diamond after it left England.
Ali Pasha's Story
One legend says the diamond was sold to Ali Pasha of Tepelena, an Ottoman ruler in Europe. It then supposedly went to Sultan Mahmud II, either while Ali Pasha was alive or after he was executed and his belongings were taken by the Sultan.
However, another version of this legend says that Ali Pasha kept the diamond until his last day. When he was badly hurt on February 5, 1822, he supposedly ordered the diamond to be crushed into powder right in front of him. But Ali Pasha died a violent death, so this story is unlikely.
Since Ali Pasha died in 1822, he couldn't have bought the diamond in 1822 or 1823. This story might come from people confusing his name, Ali Pasha of Tepelena, with the actual buyer, Mohammed Ali Pasha.
The Spoonmaker's Diamond
Some people have suggested that the Pigot Diamond ended up in Turkey and is now the Spoonmaker's Diamond. This diamond is a very valuable item in the Topkapi Palace Museum. However, the Spoonmaker's Diamond weighs 86 carats, which is much larger than the Pigot Diamond's 47.38 carats. They also have different shapes, so they cannot be the same stone.
This story continues because no one truly knows where the Spoonmaker's Diamond came from. One tale says a French officer named Pigot bought a diamond from the Maharajah of Madras in 1774. This diamond supposedly went through several owners, including Napoleon's mother, before being sold to Ali Pasha of Tepelena. After his execution, it was taken by Sultan Mahmud II and became the Spoonmaker's Diamond. But it's unlikely there was a different "French Pigot Diamond" as only the English Pigot Diamond is known in diamond books.
Queen of Albania's Diamond
A book about gems mentions a diamond called the Queen of Albania Diamond. It weighed 49.03 carats and was pear-shaped. It was owned by Queen Geraldine of Albania until she sold it in London in 1960. The book says this diamond "is believed...to be the same as the Pigott Diamond." While the size is similar, the shape is different, making this unlikely.
Confusing Mentions
Over the years, there have been many confusing stories about the Pigot Diamond:
- In 1804, The Gentleman's Magazine said Napoleon's mother bought the diamond for a necklace.
- In 1840, a British book claimed the Pigot diamond, after being sold to Muhammad Ali, somehow ended up on Napoleon's sword of state and was owned by the King of France. This is unlikely because Ali bought it after Napoleon died. Another famous diamond, the Pitt Diamond, was indeed on Napoleon's sword.
- In 1862, a publication correctly traced the diamond to Rundell & Bridge but then said it went to a Portuguese Prince.
- A 1928 article said Rundell & Bridge sold the diamond in 1818 to "Ali Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt." The sale date is wrong, but the buyer is close to correct. It then repeated the story of Ali Pasha ordering the diamond to be destroyed, which is likely a confusion of names. This source also wrongly stated the diamond weighed 85.8 carats, which added to the confusion with the Spoonmaker's Diamond.
- In 1858, an American magazine, Harper's New Monthly Magazine, said the diamond came to England in 1801 (much later than it did) and was won in the lottery by a woman who then sold it to the Pasha of Egypt. This story skips the auction and Rundell & Bridge's ownership.
Images for kids
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Auction announcement for Pigot diamond at Christie's, London, 10 May 1802
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Auction results for Pigot diamond at Christie's, London, 10 May 1802
See also
- List of diamonds
