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CARDINAL MAZARIN.
1602—1661.
HE diamond was acquired by Cardinal Mazarin in 1658, and it proved the most important specimen of that famous collection of diamonds known as “The Mazarins.” It may be mentioned that to Cardinal Mazarin is attributed the invention of the perfect form of the brilliant, and that he had twelve large diamonds of the French Crown cut into this shape, which has ever since been acknowledged the best possible form for exhibiting the beautiful optical properties of the stone.
