These
diamonds are part of the British Crown
Jewels, on display in the Tower of London.
The
KOH-I-NOOR
The KOH-I-NOOR â 108.93 carats.
First
reported in 1304 as a diamond in the possession
of the Rajah of Malwa, later, it fell into
the hands of the Sultan Baber. For the next
two centuries, it was one of the precious
jewels of the Mogul Emperors. In 1739, Nadir
Shah of Persia invaded Delhi. His systematic
pillage of the city failed to uncover the
huge stone, but then he was told by one of
the harem women that the conquered Mogul emperor
had hidden it inside his turban. Taking advantage
of an Oriental custom, Nadir Shah invited
his captive to a feast and suggested they
exchange turbans. Retiring from the feast,
he unrolled the turban and released the great
gem. Seeing it he cried ñKoh-i-Noor!î
(Mountain of Light).
The gem went back to Persia with Nadir Shah,
but he was assassinated in 1747 and the
diamond was fought over by his successors.
It was in the jewel chamber of Lahore, capital
of Punjab, but when that state was annexed
to British India in 1849, the East India
Company took it as a partial indemnity for
the Sikh Wars. The KOH-I-NOOR was presented
to Queen Victoria in 1850 to mark the 250th
anniversary of the founding of the East
India Company.
When the large stone was displayed at the
Crystal Palace Exposition, people were disappointed
that the diamond did not show more fire.
So, Victoria decided to have it recut, which
reduced the 186-carat diamond to its present
size. In 1911 a new crown was made for the
coronation of Queen Mary with the KOH-I-NOOR
as the center stone. In 1937, it was transferred
to the crown of Queen Elizabeth (now Queen
Mother) for her coronation. It is now on
display with the British Crown Jewels in
the Tower of London.
The
CULLINAN
The
CULLINAN This was the largest lump of gem
diamond crystal ever discovered. In the rough
it weighed 3,106 carats, or about one and
one half pounds. Because the rough had a cleavage
face, many experts believe that the huge stone
was only a piece of a much larger diamond
which was broken up in the weathering process.
The Transvaal Government bought the rough
for $750,000 and presented it to King Edward
VII on his birthday in 1907. In 1908 King
Edward sent the stone to Amsterdam for cutting.
The yield was nine major gems; the largest
two were retained for the Crown Jewels.
The CULLINAN â 530.2 carats.
This
pear shape is the largest cut diamond in
the world. Also called the GREAT STAR OF
AFRICA, it is set in the Imperial Sceptre
and is on permanent display in the Tower
of London.
The CULLINAN II â 317.4 carats.
This
square cut brilliant is the second largest
diamond in the world, cut from the same
rough as the CULLINAN. Also called the LESSER
STAR OF AFRICA, this diamond is in the Imperial
State Crown, currently on display in the
Tower of London.
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