Jean-Baptiste Tavernier’s Travels In India

Concerning Diamonds, And The Mines And Rivers Where They Are Found; And Especially Of The Author’s Journey To The Mine Of Rammalakota
(via Jean-Baptiste Tavernier’s Travels In India / V Ball / Edited by William Crooke)

It is very pleasant to see the young children of these merchants and of other people of the country, from the age of ten years up to the age of fifteen or sixteen, assemble every morning under a tree which is in the town square. Each as his diamond weights in a little bag suspended on one side, and on the other a purse attached to his waistband, which contains as much as 500 or 600 gold pagodas. They seat themselves there awaiting the arrival of anyone who wishes to sell diamonds, either brought from this or from some other mine. When anyone brings a stone he places it in the hands of the eldest of the children, who is, to speak, the chief of the band; he looks at it and passes it on to him who sits next. Thus it goes from hand to hand till it returns to the first one without anyone saying a word.

He than asks the price of the specimen, wishing to purchase, if possible; and if by chance he buys at too high a price he is responsible. In the evening these children count up what they have purchased, and after examining the stones separate them according to their water, weight, and cleanliness. Next they price each as they see how far the value exceeds the cost of purchase. They then carry them to the great merchants who always have a number of parcels to match, and all the profits is divided among the children, save only that their chief receives a quarter per cent more than the others. Young as they are, they know the value of all the stones so well that if one of them has bought a stone and is willing to lose a half percent, another gives him cash for it. You can seldom show them a parcel of a dozen stones, among which they will not discover four or five with some flaw, point, or defect at the angles.

It remains to be said that these Indians have a high regard for strangers, and especially for those whom they call Franks. Immediately on my arrival at the mine I went to call upon the Governor of the place, who also rules the Province on behalf of the King of Bijapur. He is a Musalman, who embraced me and assured me I was welcome—not doubting that I had brought gold with me—for at all the mines of Golkonda and Bijapur they speak but of new pagodas, which are golden coins—and that I had only to place it in my lodging, where it would be safe, and he would be responsible for all I had. Besides the servants I brought with me he allotted me four others, and commanded them to keep watch of my gold by day and night, and to obey all my orders. Shortly after I had left him he recalled me, and on my return: ‘I sent to seek you,’ he said, ‘in order to assure you again that you have nothing to fear—eat, drink, and sleep, and have a care for your health. I have forgotten to tell you to be careful not to defraud the Kind, to whom 2 percent is due on all your purchases. Do not attempt,’ he continued, ‘to do as some Musalmans did, who came to the mine and combined with the merchants and some brokers to withhold the royalties of the King—saying that they had only purchased to the value of 10000 padogas, while they had invested more than 50000.’ I then commenced to purchase, and saw that there was a sufficiently large profit to be made, all being 20 percent cheaper than at Golkonda, in addition to which, one sometimes, by chance, met with large stones.

One evening in Banian, poorly clothed, having indeed only a band round his waist and a miserable handkerchief on his head, came towards me politely and seated himself by my side. In this country one pays no attention to dress, and a person who has but a miserable ell of calico about his loins may sometimes have a good parcel of diamonds concealed. I, on my part, treated the Banian with civility, and after he had been seated by me for some time he asked me through my interpreter if I wished to buy some rubies. The interpreter told him to show them up to me, upon which he drew a number of small rags from his waistband, in which he had about a score of rings mounted with rubies. After I had examined them I said that they were too small for my purpose and that I sought large stones. Nevertheless, when I remembered that I had been asked by a lady at Ispahan to bring her a ruby ring of the value of about 100 ecus, I bought one of his rings which cost me nearly 400 francs. I knew well that he did not value it at more than 300 francs, but willingly risked the additional 100 francs in the belief that he had not sought me to sell the rubies only, and because I understood from his manner that he desired to be alone with me and my interpreter in order to show me something better. As the time of prayer of the Musalmans approached, three of the servants appointed by the Governor left, and I found an excuse for getting rid of the fourth, who stayed behind to wait on me, by sending him to buy bread, where he remained a sufficiently long time. For all the people of this country being idolaters, content themselves with rice, and do not eat bread, and when a person wishes for it it is necessary to have it brought from a distance, from the fortress of the King of Bijapur, where the Musalmans reside. The Banian, seeing that he was alone with me and the interpreter, with a good deal of mystery, removed his headdress and untwisted his locks, which according to the usual custom, were bound round his head. Then I observed a small rag appearing amidst his hair, in which there was concealed a diamond, weighing 48½ of our carats, of beautiful water and of cabuchon shape, three quarters of the stone clear, save for a small flaw on one side which appeared to penetrate some distance into the stone. The remaining quarter was full of flaws and red spots.

When I examined the stone, the Banian, seeing the attention which I gave to it, ‘Do not trouble yourself now, you will see it tomorrow morning at your leisure when you are alone. When a fourth of the day has passed, it is thus that they speak, you will find me outside the town, and if you wish for the stone you will bring the price of it with you, and he then stated the amount he wanted for it. For it should be stated en passant that after this quarter of the day or town where they dwell, both to satisfy the ordinary necessities of nature and bathing, as well as to say the prayers which their priests require them to repeat. The Banian having named this hour—because he did not wish anyone to see us together—I did not fail to go in search of him, and carried with me the price he asked, less by 200 pagodas, which I kept apart, in reserve. But in the end, after we had bargained for a short time, I gave him 100 pagodas extra. On my return to Surat I sold the stone to a Dutch captain, and I earned a fair profit from the transaction.

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier’s Travels In India (continued)