Weight | 184.5 carats (36.90 g) |
---|---|
Color | Colourless |
Cut | Rectangular cushion-cut |
Country of origin | India |
Mine of origin | Golconda |
Discovered | 1884 |
Original owner | The Nizam of Hyderabad |
Owner | Government of India |
Estimated value | £100 million (2008) |
The Jacob Diamond, also known as the Imperial or Victoria Diamond, is a colourless diamond from India (or from the Golconda mines) [1] ranked as the fifth-biggest polished diamond in the world. [2] [3] The last nizam of the Hyderabad State, Mir Osman Ali Khan, found the diamond in the toe of the shoe of his father (Mahboob Ali Khan) at Chowmahalla Palace and used it as a paperweight for a long time. It was bought by the government of India for an estimated $US13 million in 1995. It is cut in a rectangular cushion-cut, with 58 facets, and measures 39.5 millimetres (1.56 in) long, 29.25 millimetres (1.152 in) wide and 22.5 millimetres (0.89 in) deep. The diamond weighs 184.75 carats (36.90 g). Currently, it is kept at the Reserve Bank of India vaults in Mumbai. As part of the Nizam's jewellery exhibition in 2001 and 2007, the Jacob Diamond was a major attraction at Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad.
Unlike the famous Koh-i-Noor, the Jacob Diamond has changed hands only twice in the history of its existence and has not been associated with violence.
Before it was sent to Europe to be cut, the uncut diamond is believed to have been over 400 carats (80 g) in weight. [4]
The diamond was put up for sale in 1891 by Alexander Malcolm Jacob, hence the name. It was offered to Mahbub Ali Khan (the sixth nizam of Hyderabad). Initially, the nizam was quite uninterested in the diamond and offered a mere 40 lakhs (4 million rupees) for it. The nizam was asked to make a good faith deposit if he was to go through with the transaction. The European jewel cutters did not like this offer but were forced into court when they lost track of the nizam's deposit. Ultimately, the nizam was awarded the diamond for almost half his original offer, 23 lakhs (2.2 million rupees, approx. $US50,000 at 2005 rates) when the case was resolved. Disillusioned by the process, and now considering the diamond to be unlucky, the nizam wrapped it in cloth and hid it away. [5]
Several years after the death of his father the last nizam, Osman Ali Khan, found the Jacob Diamond in the toe of his father's shoe at Chowmahalla Palace, and he himself used it as a paperweight for a long time until the diamond's true value was realized. Later, the family wished to sell the Jacob among other jewels, but the Government of India blocked the sale, citing that the jewels are a national treasure that could not be sold to foreigners. [5] [6]
After much litigation, the diamond was purchased by the Government of India from the nizam's trust for an estimated $US13 million in 1995, along with other Jewels of The Nizams, and is held at the Reserve Bank of India vault in Mumbai. [6] [7] The Jacob diamond along with jewels of Nizam were handed over by his descendants including Himayat Ali Mirza, and Mukarram Jah. [8]
Displayed as part of the nizam's jewellery exhibition in 2001 and 2007, the Jacob diamond was a major attraction at Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad.[ citation needed ] [9]
Hyderabad State was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and the Marathwada region of Maharashtra in India.
Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State. Nizam is a shortened form of Niẓām ul-Mulk, which means Administrator of the Realm, and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I when he was appointed Viceroy of the Deccan by the Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar. In addition to being the Mughal Viceroy (Naib) of the Deccan, Asaf Jah I was also the premier courtier of the Mughal Empire until 1724, when he established the independent monarchy of Hyderabad and adopted the title "Nizam of Hyderabad".
Osman Sagar is a reservoir in the Indian city of Hyderabad. The lake is around 46 km2, and the reservoir is around 29 km2, with total level of 1,790 feet and a capacity of 3.9 tmc ft.
Asaf Jah VI, also known as Sir Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi, was the ninth Nizam of Hyderabad. He ruled Hyderabad State, one of the princely states of India, between 1869 and 1911.
Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII was the last Nizam (ruler) of the Princely State of Kingdom of Hyderabad, the largest state in British India. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of 25 and ruled the Kingdom of Hyderabad between 1911 and 1948, until India annexed it. He was styled as His Exalted Highness (H.E.H) the Nizam of Hyderabad, and was widely considered one of the world's wealthiest people of all time. With some estimates placing his wealth at 2% of U.S. GDP, his portrait was on the cover of Time magazine in 1937. As a semi-autonomous monarch, he had his mint, printing his currency, the Hyderabadi rupee, and had a private treasury that was said to contain £100 million in gold and silver bullion, and a further £400 million of jewels. The major source of his wealth was the Golconda mines, the only supplier of diamonds in the world at that time. Among them was the Jacob Diamond, valued at some £50 million, and used by the Nizam as a paperweight.
Chowmahalla Palace or Chowmahallat is the palace of the Nizams of Hyderabad State located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was the seat of power of the Asaf Jahi dynasty (1720-1948) and was the official residence of the Nizams of Hyderabad during their reign. Presently the palace is converted into a museum but the ownership still lies with the family.
Sir Mir Turab Ali Khan, Salar Jung I,, known simply as Salar Jung I, was an Indian nobleman who served as Prime Minister of Hyderabad State between 1853 until his death in 1883. He also served as regent for the sixth Nizam, Asaf Jah VI between 1869 and 1883.
Nizam Mir Barkat Ali Khan Siddiqi Mukarram Jah, Asaf Jah VIII, less formally known as Mukarram Jah, was the titular Nizam of Hyderabad between 1967 and 1971. He was the head of the House of Asaf Jah until he died in 2023.
The Daria-i-Noor, also spelled Darya-ye Noor, is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing an estimated 182 carats. Its colour, pale pink, is one of the rarest to be found in diamonds. The diamond is currently in the Iranian National Jewels collection of the Central Bank of Iran in Tehran. However, another theory posits that it is currently in a private collection within Bangladesh.
Himayat Sagar is an artificial lake about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Hyderabad in the Ranga Reddy district of Telangana, India. It lies parallel to a larger artificial lake Osman Sagar. The storage capacity of the reservoir is 2.9 tmc ft.
The Jewels of the Nizams of Hyderabad State are among the largest and most expensive collection of jewels in present-day India. The jewels belonged to the Nizams. After the annexation of their kingdom by Union of India, the Nizam and his heirs were barred by the Indian government from taking the collection, claiming that it was a national treasure. After much litigation, the diamond was purchased by the Government of India from the Nizam's trust for an estimated $13 million in 1995, along with other jewels of the Nizams, and is held at the Reserve Bank of India vaults in Mumbai.
King Kothi Palace or Nazri Bagh Palace is a royal palace in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was the palace where the erstwhile ruler of Hyderabad State, Sir Mir Osman Ali Khan, The Seventh Nizam, lived. it was a palace bought by his father Mahboob Ali Pasha, who had a penchant for buying ostentatious homes.
The Asaf Jahi was a Muslim dynasty that ruled the Hyderabad State. The family came to India in the late 17th century and became employees of the Mughal Empire. They were great patrons of Persian culture, language, and literature, and the family found ready patronage.
The Nizam Diamond, also known as the "little Koh-i-noor", was a famous diamond in the 1800s. Its whereabouts today are unknown. It was named after its original owner Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hyderabad. The diamond is said to have been around 340 carats (68 g) in size, and was mined from the now-submerged Kollur mine in the Krishna River valley in the year 1830.
Moazzam Jah, Walashan Shahzada Nawab Mir Sir Shuja’at ‘Ali Khan Siddiqui Bahadur, KCIE, was the son of the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII and his first wife Azamunnisa Begum.
Nizam's Museum or H.E.H Nizam's Museum is a museum located in Hyderabad at Purani Haveli, a palace of the erstwhile Nizams. This museum showcases the gifts that the last Nizam of Hyderabad State, Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII received on his silver jubilee celebrations. The museum is a repository mainly of souvenirs, gifts and mementos presented by dignitaries to the last Nizam on the occasion of the silver jubilee celebrations in 1936. Models made of silver of all the landmark buildings in Hyderabad, with citations about them in Urdu.
The Old City of Hyderabad is a walled city of Hyderabad, Telangana, India, located on the banks of the Musi River built by Qutb Shahi sultan Muhammed Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 AD. There used to be a wall surrounding the Old City, most of which is destroyed. Mubariz Khan, the Mughal governor of Deccan Subah, had fortified the city in 1712 and was completed by Nizam of Hyderabad.
Hyderabad was the capital of the Indian states of Telangana. It is a historic city noted for its many monuments, temples, mosques and bazaars. A multitude of influences has shaped the character of the city in the last 400 years.
The history of Telangana, located on the high Deccan Plateau, includes its being ruled by the Satavahana Dynasty, the Kakatiya Dynasty (1083–1323), the Musunuri Nayaks (1326–1356), the Delhi Sultanate, the Bahmani Sultanate (1347–1512), Golconda Sultanate (1512–1687) and Asaf Jahi dynasty (1724–1950).