beheaded, Mazarin made a deal with Cromwell to take over the
treasure of that luckless monarch. And from Charles's widow, by
this time in exile in France, he purchased one of the most
famous diamonds of the period, known as the Mirror of Portugal.
his death in 1661, Cardinal Mazarin left a magnificent
collection of eighteen diamonds to the crown, with the
stipulation that they should always, be known as "The Eighteen
Mazarins" (or 12). Their value in modern terms, was nearly ten
million dollars. Louis, lover of gems, set three of the stones
in his sword handle, and his waistcoat of satin, under his court
coat of embroidered velvet, was covered with diamond buttons,
buckles, and jeweled orders. the eighteen Mazarins, thirteen
were lost in the looting of the French treasury during the
Revolution. Five were in the possession of Napoleon and his
successors until 1887, when they were sold by the French
Republic. (One of the five Mazarins, set into a finger ring,
became the property of John Jacob Astor.) last year