A Smith called Pete narrates the tale of how the Jonker Diamond, the huge blue-white stone, was discovered. Of course there's a bit of emphasizing the hardship of the search, and Jonker's decision to quit the evening before the diamond was actually discovered is undoubtedly an invention, by Jonker if not the writers.
The fact that it was shipped from a London to New York by parcel post is true. Gigantic stones have been transported by common mail and in the pockets of Rotterdam diamond cutters, precisely because no one would expect that; on 47th Street when zu worked there, many of the dealers would walk around with hundreds of thousands of dollars of stones in belts around their waists, it seemed unremarkable.
Of course what made this short interesting to its contemporary audience was the huge sums of money involved and the potential loss if the diamond cutter made an error. He didn't. That's why he was chosen to cut it.
The fact that it was shipped from a London to New York by parcel post is true. Gigantic stones have been transported by common mail and in the pockets of Rotterdam diamond cutters, precisely because no one would expect that; on 47th Street when zu worked there, many of the dealers would walk around with hundreds of thousands of dollars of stones in belts around their waists, it seemed unremarkable.
Of course what made this short interesting to its contemporary audience was the huge sums of money involved and the potential loss if the diamond cutter made an error. He didn't. That's why he was chosen to cut it.