Origin of name
The Arcot diamonds get their name from the Nawab of Arcot,
Nawab Azim-ud-Daula, the onetime owner of the diamonds, who later
presented them to Queen Charlotte, the consort of King George III, in 1777.
Characteristics of the
diamond
The Arcot diamonds consisted of five brilliants, out of
which only the first two were of significant sizes, and were oval or
pear-shaped, colorless diamonds with the larger one having a weight of 38.6
carats. When Harry Winston purchased the diamonds in 1959, he re-cut the two
diamonds to increase their clarity and brilliance and the new weights of the
diamonds became 30.99 carats for the larger Arcots and 18.85 carats for the
smaller one.
The diamonds being stones of 18th century India, no doubt
have the color and clarity of the famous Golconda diamonds, and appear to be
Type IIa diamonds, which are absolutely colorless, being chemically pure in
the absence of impurities like nitrogen and boron, and structurally perfect
in the absence of plastic deformations in the crystal, which can impart
various fancy colors to the diamond.
Early history
The Arcot diamonds were presented to Queen Charlotte, the
consort of King George III, in 1777, by the Nawab of Arcot, Azim-ud-Daula,
as a token of gratitude for the military help received from the British,
against the French and other forces allied with the French, in the
protection and preservation of his kingdom. The Arcot diamonds were the most
outstanding among the large collection of Jewelry amassed by Queen
Charlotte.
Arcot is a city, situated in the northeastern part of
Tamil Nadu State of India, on the Palar river, located at the point where
the Palar river valley meets the Coromandel coast. It commands the inland
route from Madras to Bangalore, between the Mysore Ghat and the Javadi
Hills. Arcot was a fortified capital of the Muslim Nawabs, and was the scene
of numerous battles between the Muslims, Marathis, French and the British,
in the 17th and 18th centuries.
In 1751, Chanda Sahib, an ally of the French, was
besieging his British connected rival, Muhammad Ali, in the fortress of
Trichinopoly. Clive Robert a 26-year old young British Soldier, who was in
Madras at the time, offered to lead a diversion against Chanda's base at
Arcot, to relieve the pressure on Muhammad Ali. He led a force of 200
Europeans and 300 Indians, against the fortress of Arcot, and seized it on
August 31st, 1751. Clive Robert was later able to withstand a siege of 53
days placed on the Arcot fortress by Chanda Sahib's son. This extraordinary
feat achieved by Clive Robert elevated his status as an able commander, and
Clive established himself as a brilliant exponent of Guerilla tactics. Clive
Robert was subsequently appointed as Governor of Bengal from 1755 to 1767,
and successfully consolidated the power of the British in this region of
India. In 1801, the fortress of Arcot passed into British hands, following
the resignation of the Government of Nawab Azim-ud-Daula, who presented the
diamonds to Queen Charlotte in 1777.
Queen Charlotte died in the year 1818, and left a last
will that spelt out in detail how the jewelry belonging to her were to be
disposed of. The Clause in the will pertaining to the jewelry read as
follows :- ".... of chief value being the jewels. First those which th
King bought for £ 50,000 and gave to me. Secondly, those presented to me by
the Nawab of Arcot, to my four remaining daughters, or to their survivors or
survivor in case they or any of them should die before me, and I direct that
these jewels should be sold and that the produce shall be divided among
them, my said remaining daughters or their survivors, share and share
alike." Under the terms of this will the Arcot diamonds were ordered to be
sold to Rundell & Bridge, who in 1804, were appointed jewelers and
silversmiths to the Crown, by King George III.
However the will of the Queen could not be implemented,
as her eldest son King George IV, who succeeded his father George III, after
his death in 1820, unilaterally decided that he should inherit the entire
property belonging to his father as well as his mother. Consequently, George
IV, appropriated the money and jewelry belonging to both his parents.
Subsequently, the Arcot diamonds were set in a crown for King George IV. The
same Arcots were later set in the Crown of Queen Adelaide, the consort of
William IV, the successor to King George IV.
Thus the terms of Queen Charlotte's will concerning the
pieces of jewelry were not executed, until many years after she died. King
George IV died on June 26, 1830, and the proprietor of Rundell & Bridge,
John Bridge, died in 1834. The Firm was sold, and the executors ordered the
sale of the Arcot diamonds together with the round brilliant, probably the
Hastings diamond, which was set together with the Arcots on George IVs
crown. The long awaited and historic sale took place on June 20, 1837, in
London, at Willis' Room, in St. James. The Arcots fetched a price of £
10,000, and was bought as a birthday gift for his wife, by the first
Marquess of Westminster, who also purchased the round brilliant and the
Nassak diamond (Idol's Eye diamond).
Modern history
The Arcots and other diamonds remained in the possession
of the Grosvenor family for almost 100 years. In the year 1930, the Arcots
together with the round brilliant and over 1,400 smaller diamonds,
consisting of marquise-cut diamonds, round brilliants, and diamond
baguettes, were mounted on the famous Westminster Tiara, by the renowned
Parisian jeweler Lacloche.
In June 1959, the Westminster Tiara was put up for sale
at an auction by the 3rd Duke of Westminster and fetched a price of £
110,000, which was considered a world record price for a piece of jewelry,
at that time. The Duke used the money to meet the cost of heavy death
duties. Harry Winston who purchased the tiara, removed the two Arcot
diamonds, and had them re-cut in order to improve the clarity and brilliance
of the diamonds. The larger Arcot was re-cut to 30.99 carats, and the
smaller one to 18.55 carats. The diamonds were subsequently re-mounted in
two rings, and sold to American customers in the yeas 1959 and 1960. The
larger of the two Arcots, the Arcot I, was later acquired by Van Cleef &
Arpels in the early 1990s, who modified the setting of the diamond, this
time as a pendant to an all diamond necklace consisting of marquise, pear
and round brilliants. The necklace was sold at an auction at Christie's in
Geneva in November 1993, and was purchased by the renowned Saudi Arabian
jeweler, who is also a collector and connoisseur of diamonds, Sheik Ahmed
Hassan Fitaihi.
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