Famous diamonds: The Orlov

The Orlov (sometimes spelled Orloff) is a large diamond that is part of the collection of the Diamond Fund of the Moscow Kremlin. The origin of this resplendent relic – described as having the shape and proportions of half a hen's egg – can be traced back to a Hindu temple in 18th century Mysore, southern India.

The particulars of the Orlov's story have been lost with time, but it is widely reported that the diamond once served as an eye of the statue of the presiding deity of the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple of Srirangam in southern India. The man held responsible for its removal was a French deserter, a grenadier from the Carnatic wars who apparently converted to the Hindu faith and worshipped at the temple for many years. Whether the deserter did this sincerely or solely to gain access to the statue is not known. The temple, situated on an island in the Cauvery River, was surrounded by seven enclosures; no Christians were ever permitted farther than the fourth. Once having pilfered the stone from its sacred home around 1750, perhaps after untold years of patient planning, the deserter fled to Madras where he would find protection with the British Army, as well as a buyer.

The as yet unnamed stone passed from merchant to merchant in the everlasting quest for profit, eventually appearing for sale in Amsterdam. Salfras, an Armenian (some say Persian) merchant who then owned the Orlov, found an eager buyer in Count Grigory Grigorievich Orlov. The Count paid a purported 400,000 Dutchflorins, but would likely have agreed to any amount demanded.

Years before the purchase, Grigory Orlov had been romantically involved with a German princess by the name of Sophie Frederike Auguste. The princess was destined to become history's Catherine the Great of Russia. Count Orlov sought to rekindle their forlorn romance by offering her the diamond, as it is said he knew she had wished for it. While he failed to regain her affections, Catherine did bestow many gifts upon Count Orlov; these gifts included a marble palace in St. Petersburg. Catherine named the diamond after the Count, and had her jeweller, C. N. Troitinski, design a sceptre incorporating the Orlov.

Now known as the Imperial Sceptre, it was completed in 1784. A description is given by Burton (1986): The sceptre is a burnished shaft in three sections set with eight rings of brilliant-cut diamonds, including some of about 30 carats (6 g) each and fifteen weighing about 14 carats (2.8 g) each. The Orlov is set at the top, with its domed top facing forward. Above it is a double-headed eagle with the Arms of Russiaenameled on its breast.

The Orlov is a rarity among historic diamonds, for it retains its original Indian rose-style cut (see diamond cut). Its colour is widely stated as white with a faint bluish-green tinge. Data released by the Kremlin give the Orlov's measurements as 32 millimetres x 35 millimetres x 31 millimetres, its weight being 189.62 carats (37.924 g).

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_famous_diamonds