Golconda diamonds
Color | Typically colorless; less often blue, translucent white, and pink. |
---|---|
Cut | Antique cushion |
Country of origin | India |
Mine of origin | Kollur mine, Paritala and mines of Godavari delta |
Golconda diamonds are mined in the
For 2,000 years, Golconda diamonds were the only-known fine diamonds. Due to centuries of excessive mining, their production was exhausted by 1830, and gemologists and traders have classified Golconda diamonds as antique, rare and precious. Famous Golconda diamonds include the colourless Koh-i-Noor, the Nassak Diamond, the blue Hope Diamond, the Idol's Eye, the pink Daria-i-Noor, the white Regent Diamond, the Dresden Green Diamond, and the colourless Orlov Diamond, as well as now-untraceable diamonds such as the yellow Florentine Diamond, the Akbar Shah, the Nizam Diamond, and the Great Mogul Diamond.
The Golconda diamond industry was at its peak in the 16th-to-18th centuries when 23 mines, of which Kollur Mine was the most active, operated in the region and 30,000 people at a time worked in one mine.[A] The output from all of the mines in Golconda is estimated to be around 10,000,000 carats (2.0 t). In 2015, Osmania University in collaboration with Geological Survey of India discovered potential new sites for diamond mining in the region, though as of 2022[update] mining had not started.
Several literary legends were inspired by Golconda diamonds; these include
Geology
The Golconda diamondiferous region is located in the Southern Indian peninsular shield,[2] which was formed during the process of proterozoic and Insular India.[3] The region is spread over 50,000 km2 (19,000 sq mi), within the sediments of the Krishna-Pennar river basin and Deccan Traps,[2] and contains 120 out of the 150 kimberlite pipes in India.[4] Though kimberlite and lamproite are the primary rock source, conglomerate and placers had yielded the majority of the region's diamonds.[2] The Geological Survey of India has categorized kimberlite pipes of southern India into clusters Southern Wajrakarur kimberlite, Northern Narayanpet kimberlite, and Central Raichur kimberlite of these, the Timmasamudram kimberlite cluster—a part of Southern Wajrakarur kimberlite—is significant.[3][5]
History
Mediaeval records from Europe and the Middle East show
Until the 17th century, mines in this region were the only source of diamonds on earth.
Mining
The peak period of Golconda diamond mining was the 16th-to-18th centuries, when the region was controlled by the
Golconda diamonds were mined from
In 2015, the Centre of Exploration Geophysics of Osmania University and the Geological Survey of India (GSI) conducted research that identified three zones that contain 21 potential new diamond-mining sites near the delta of the Krishna and Bhima rivers, and in the beds of the Krishna, Tungabhadra and Penna rivers. According to the research, the sites contain volcanic pipes that probably bear kimberlite and possibly diamonds.[33][34] According to Outlook India, in 2022, some companies applied for mining rights in the region of Andhra Pradesh, soon after the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) discovered diamond deposits in the seven districts of the state.[4]
Trading
The Golconda region was a major trading centre and the source of the world's most-famous diamonds.[14] Until the end of the 19th century, it was the primary source of the finest and largest diamonds in the world, making the name "Golconda diamond" synonymous with high-quality diamonds.[17][19][30][35] It has been estimated the Golconda region traded around 10 million carats of diamonds.[36] A unit of measurement for Golconda diamonds was the Ratti (7 ⁄8 of a carat),[37] and the most-common currency was the Golconda Pagoda, which was also called Hun.[38][39][40]
Golconda had been trading diamonds with European kingdoms since at least the days of Marco Polo (1254–1324).[14] During the 1420s, Niccolò de' Conti, a prominent Italian traveller and merchant who lived in India, had a detailed account of diamond valleys in the Golconda region.[13] The 15th-century Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India and the 16th-century Golconda Sultanate's new port at Machilipatnam increased the production and trade of Golconda diamonds. The emergence of demand for Golconda diamonds led to the exploration and discoveries of mines in the region that produced brilliant diamonds.[38][41][42][43][44]
In the 17th century, under the Golconda Sultanate, when new mines were discovered and leased to the miners, an agreement called "Qaul" would be signed under the supervision of regional governors, according to which, for employing 100 workers, miners would pay four pagodas per day, and monthly rent was based on the strength of the workers on the mining site. Provisions were supplied only by the governor with 50 percent extra excise duty. Large diamonds from the site were exclusively reserved for the rulers and to be sold with concessions.[38] Bania and Khatri castes—merchant and trading communities in India—held most of mines. In the early 1600s, some Dutch miners of the Dutch East India Company were granted mining rights.[38][45] The 17th-century French explorer Jean-Baptiste Tavernier reported he was "permitted to examine" the egg-shaped Great Moghul diamond, which is now lost and said to have been cut into smaller diamonds. He reported having seen a flat diamond called the Great Table diamond in Golconda. Jean de Thévenot and François Bernier were French traders in Golconda diamonds.[19][46][47]
In 1621 and 1622, when the Golconda rulers learned about the demand for Golconda diamonds in Europe, they seized all of the mines and temporarily halted mining to increase the price, which then doubled. In 1627, high prices led Dutch traders to stop purchasing, and the British East India Company brought investments and purchased the diamonds.[38] The company's monopoly continued alongside indigenous traders such as Mir Jumla II, Virji Vora, and Kasi Veranna until the mines became depleted in the 1830s. Most of the impoverished governments and princely rulers were removed from power, forcing them sell their jewels—including Golconda diamonds—which were later auctioned. Due to their royal lineage, mystical tales, and advertising campaigns by companies, Golconda diamonds became the global status reference.[48]
Popularity
Historically, diamonds of high quality were mined in the Golconda region,
Physical properties
Golconda diamonds are the world's most magnificent diamonds.[62][63][64] They are formed of pure carbon and have no nitrogen,[65] and are rated high on grading standards, giving them the rare Type IIa designation—(Type IIa count less than two percent of the world's natural diamonds.[15]).[14][15][61] They are large and naturally occur in many colours but most of them are known for their colourless clarity and material properties. Some are popular for their colours,[14][55][66] for which they are characterized as Diamonds of First water.[55]
Notable diamonds
Although Golconda diamonds are known for their size and clarity, the diamond mines of the Golconda region are now depleted and inactive.[67] Later discoveries of diamond deposits in regions such as Brazil post-1730, Australia post-1851, and Africa post-1866 provided significant supplies of diamonds, although their clarity generally does not match that of Golconda diamonds.[27][68][69] For these reasons, Golconda diamonds remain among the world's most-celebrated diamonds.[14][67]
Some of the notable Golconda diamonds are:
- The Iranian Crown Jewels collection of the Central Bank of Iran in Tehran
- The Nizam Diamond went missing from Hyderabad after a police action in 1948[70]
- The Great Mogul Diamond and the Orlov Diamond are part of the Diamond Fund collection of Moscow's Kremlin Armoury
- The Crown Jewels, which are housed in the Jewel House at the Tower of London
- The National Gem and Mineral Collection at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.[71]
- The Napoleon Bonaparte to the Government of France, and is now part of the French Crown Jewels on display in the Louvre, Paris[31][32]
- The Idols Eye Diamond was stolen by a servant of Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II while he was in exile in Paris, where it was sold to an unknown Spanish aristocrat[72]
- The yellow Grand Duke Ferdinand I; it later became part of Austrian Crown Jewels and is now untraceable[73]
- The Mughal emperors Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan, and was later mounted on the Peacock Throne. After Persian ruler Nader Shah lost it, the diamond appeared for sale in Turkey; it was purchased by a British company that later reshaped it and sold it to the Indian Prince of Baroda Malhar Rao Gaekwad. The current possessor of the diamond is unknown.[74]
The world's top-four pink diamonds are from Golconda.[53] Cardinal Mazarin was an influential Chief minister of France during the reign of Louis XIII and Louis XIV; Mazarin, a connoisseur of jewels, sponsored Jean Baptiste Tavernier's journey to India to collect diamonds; among his collection is the 19.07-carat, light-pink Le Grand Mazarin Diamond, which he always kept close to him. In his will, Mazarin bequeathed the diamond to decorate the French crown; all of the French rulers from Louis XIV to Napoleon III have worn it. After France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870), the diamond, along with other French Crown Jewels, was sold to settle the losses. Frederic Boucheron, a jewellery-house owner, purchased it.[75]
Popular culture
- While travelling in the Middle East in 1869, Russell Conwell, a lawyer and educator who founded Temple University in Philadelphia, US, met an Arab bedouin who told him a story in which "beneath Ali Hafed's farm sat the great mines and diamonds of Golconda". Intrigued by the tale, Conwell prepared his inspirational lecture "Acres of Diamonds".[76][77]
- In 1953, Golconda diamonds became popularized when actor Marilyn Monroe posed wearing Moon of Baroda to promote her movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, in which she performs the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend".[78][79][80] The song became a household phrase,[81] and popularized the diamond—particularly on an engagement ring—as a symbol of romance and love.[59][60]
- In 1959, the Krupp Diamond ring was stolen from German actor Vera Krupp (1909–1967) in a robbery at her house. The diamond was recovered after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) became involved. In 1968, it came into the possession of Elizabeth Taylor, who renamed it the "Elizabeth Taylor Diamond".[82][83] Taylor was fond of jewellery and owned a collection of gems and jewellery; she also published a book about her collection called My Love Affair with Jewelry (2002).[84][85][86]
- Asprey & Garrard, who took inspiration from three diamonds of the French Crown Jewels known as The Regent, the Marie Antoinette Blue, and the Hope Diamond.[79]
- The pink, cushion-cut, 34.65-carat Princie Diamond used to be part of the Jewels of the Nizams of Hyderabad; it was auctioned in 2013 by Christie's and sold for US$39.3 million, which is the highest-recorded auction price for a Golconda diamond and a world record for US$1.1 million per carat.[87]
- On 28 July 2014, the American television channel Animal Planet presented an episode called "The Golconda Curse" in the series Lost treasure hunters Season I.[88]
- The Cartier Toussaint Necklace in the 2018 film Ocean's 8 was inspired by the necklace of Ranjitsinhji, ruler of Nawanagar State in India. The main attraction of the necklace is its centrepiece 136.25-carat (27.250 g) Queen of Holland Diamond, whose place of origin is unknown but based on its characteristics, gemologists placed it among the Golconda diamonds.[89]
Legends and folklore
According to a popular legend, the Koh-i-Noor should only be possessed by a female and will bring bad luck to a male.
Accounts of ill fortune and curses are also associated with the Hope Diamond; Tavernier, who took the stone to Paris, was "torn to pieces by wild dogs" in
According to legend, the Regent Diamond was discovered between 1698 and 1701 at Kollur Mine. A slave worker who found the diamond smuggled it out by hiding it deep inside a self-inflicted cut. The slave wanted to escape from India with the diamond so he contacted the captain of a British ship. The slave and the captain agreed to share equally in the proceeds from the diamond's sale in exchange for safe passage. Later, the captain stole the diamond, killed the slave, and sold the diamond to an Indian merchant named Jamchand. Jamchand supposedly sold it to Thomas Pitt, who in turn sold it to Philippe d'Orléans.[93]
According to pervasive folklore narrated by Marco Polo about his 13th-century visits to the Golconda region, the diamond valley was replete with venomous snakes, making obtaining the diamonds dangerous. The diamond traders took a herd of cattle to the hilltop near the valley. After slaughtering the cattle, they catapulted cow flesh towards the diamond valley; the flesh became stuck to the diamonds, which were picked up by eagles and vultures that carried the cow flesh to their nests to eat. The stones remained after the birds consumed the flesh, allowing the stones to be tracked and collected by the local merchants' workers.[13][94] According to Jean R. Brink, who wrote Renaissance Culture in Context: Theory and Practice (2017), this legend is repeated in many mediaeval Arabic and Chinese literary works. It was also repeated by Marco Polo, who visited the region's capital Warangal but did not visit the mining sites.[95]
Controversies, scandals, and heists
Being the world's most-famous, large, and valuable stones with interesting histories, Golconda diamonds attract envy and fascination, for which many controversies, robberies, and scandals have occurred.
In 1980, a heist was executed at
See also
Explanatory notes
References
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External links
- Diamond ranking
- History of Koh-i-noor
- Not just the Koh-i-noor: Eight precious diamonds of Golconda which India lost
- Gem-stones and their distinctive characters
- Video history of the Golconda diamonds
- The untold truth of the crown jewels of the United Kingdom
Further reading
- The Great Diamonds of the World, Their History and Romance, 1882, Edwin Streeter
- Romance of the Golconda Diamonds, 1999, Omar Khalidi
- Koh-i-Noor: Six myths about a priceless diamond, 2016, BBC
- The Koh-i-noor Diamond, 2013, Iradj Amin
- Colored Diamonds, 2006, John M. King
- Some folklore and history of Diamond, 1961, S. Tolansky