fiery stone of Indian origin that is shaped like a peach pit and weighs 55 carats. It has a long history and has passed through many royal families. Purchased in Constantinople about 1570 by Nicolas Harlay de Sancy, the French ambassador to Turkey, it was lent to the French kings Henry III and Henry IV. Later it was purchased by Queen Elizabeth I of England and descended to the Stuarts. After the flight of James II from England to France in 1688, it reappeared among the French crown jewels of Louis XIV and was stolen with these in 1792. It reappeared in 1828, when it was purchased by the Russian prince Demidov, in whose family it remained until 1900. Later it became the property of Lady Nancy Astor.