Origin of name
The name "Golconda D" diamond was given by Lawrence Graff
after he got the 50-carat brilliant-cut diamond slightly re-cut to its
present weight of 47.29 carats. The stone was believed to have adorned the
Pea Cock Throne of Shah Jahaan in the mid-17th century, and originated from
the famous Golconda mines of Andhra Pradesh, Southern India. The stone
without any doubt has all the characteristics of a Golconda diamond, and
Lawrence Graff decided to name the diamond "Golconda D".
Characteristics of the
diamond
The "Golconda D" diamond is an internally flawless,
brilliant-cut, D-color diamond, with a weight of 47.29 carats.
The diamond being D-color is a Type IIa diamond, which
are said to be "the purest of the pure" of all diamonds. The diamond is Type
II, because of the absence of nitrogen or presence of nitrogen in
undetectable quantities. The diamond is Type IIa because of the absence of
all other impurities such as boron and hydrogen, besides nitrogen. Thus Type IIa diamonds are
chemically pure diamonds. These diamonds are not only chemically pure, but
also structurally perfect. Structural distortions in the diamond crystal can
produce rare fancy colors in diamonds such as pink, red, purple and brown.
Thus the "Golconda D" diamond is Type IIa diamond that is chemically pure
and structurally perfect. In the absence of factors that cause color in
diamonds, such as chemical impurities, and structural abnormalities, the
"Golconda D" diamond is absolutely colorless, and said to be a D-color
diamond under the GIA classification.
History
Laurence Graff who is said to have handled more important
gem-quality diamonds than any other living dealer have always shown a keen
interest in acquiring large stones that have the potential of becoming
notable, as well as historic diamonds that had already become famous, that
may surface in the market from time to time, after a long period of mystery
and intrigue surrounding their whereabouts. Some of the famous historic
diamonds acquired by Graff include the Porter Rhodes, the Idol's Eye,
Emperor Maximilian, Sultan Abdul Hamid II, and the "Golconda D" diamonds.
After acquiring these historic diamonds, Graff usually got them slightly
re-cut and re-polished to enhance their brilliance. Among the list of large,
notable and modern diamonds processed by the master cutters of Graff there
are over 30 diamonds, according to Graff's official website.
Some of the extraordinarily large rough diamonds acquired by Graff recently
include the 603-carat Lesotho promise and the 493-carat Lets'eng Legacy
purchased at prices of $12.36 million and $10.4 million respectively.
The "Golconda D" diamond was acquired by Graff after two
of his associates in Bombay reported the appearance of the 50-carat
brilliant-cut diamond, which was once believed to have been set on the
Peacock throne made for Shah Jahaan in the 17th century. Graff initiated
negotiations with the owners of the diamond in Bombay and was successful in
acquiring the diamond. He got the diamond slightly re-cut and polished by
his master cutters in New York, and the finished stone turned out to be a
47.29-carat, flawless, brilliant cut, absolutely colorless diamond, so
characteristic of the renowned Golconda diamonds. As the diamond was
believed to have originated in the historic Golconda mines of Southern
India, Graff named the diamond "Golconda D" diamond.
Shah Jahaan's Peacock
Throne
Shah Jahaan's
Peacock Throne was said to be the most splendorous throne ever made in the
history of mankind, and by today's estimates would have cost at least one
billion dollars.Shah Jahaan was the fifth Mogul Emperor of India who
ruled between 1628 and 1658. Under Shah Jahaan the splendor of the Mogul
court reached its climax, and became famous for its pomp and pageantry. His
collection of jewels was perhaps the most splendid in the world.
According to Nizam-ud-din Bakshi the chronicler of the Mogul court, Shah
Jahaan was of the view that keeping his magnificent collection of jewels
stacked away in a safe vault hidden from public view would not serve any
purpose. The holding of such wonderful brilliants can only render one
service, that of adorning the throne of the empire, so that his subjects
could see and admire the beauty of these brilliants, besides elevating the
status of his majesty as he shines with increased brilliancy. This was the
line of thinking of the great emperor that eventually materialized into the
most magnificent throne ever created in human history.
Tavernier who visited Delhi in 1665 during the time of
Shah Jahaan's successor Aurangazeb had the opportunity of seeing the Peacock
Throne, which he describes as having the shape of a bed or platform with
dimensions of 6ft by 4ft. The throne was supported by four golden legs set
with jewels, with a height of about 2 ft. From the bars of the
frame of the platform rose twelve columns that supported the canopy. The
bars were decorated with rubies, emeralds, pearls and diamonds. The twelve
columns were decorated with rows of splendid pearls. In all there were 116
emeralds and 108 rubies on the throne. The outside of the canopy was made of
enamel set with occasional gems, but the inside was thickly set with rubies,
emeralds, garnets and other precious stones. The throne is backed by
representations of two open peacocks, with tails gilded, enameled and inset
with diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and other precious stones. The
eyes of the peacock were also set with diamonds. Some of the famous diamonds
that were incorporated into this magnificent throne were the Koh-i-Nur
diamond, the Akbar Shah diamond, the Shah diamond, and the Jehangir Shah
diamond. Tavernier reported that even the great table diamond from which the
Darya-i-Nur and Nur-ul-Ain are believed to have originated was at one time
mounted on the Peacock Throne. The "Golconda D" diamond the subject of this
account is also believed to have been part of this splendid throne.
Dismantling of the
Peacock Throne
In 1739 Nadir Shah invaded and captured Delhi and Agra
during the reign of Emperor Muhammad Shah. His forces plundered and looted
the treasures of the Mogul Empire, that included the famous peacock throne,
and diamonds such as the Koh-i-Nur, the Darya-i-Nur, the Nur-ul-Ain etc. The
total value of the booty carried away by Nadir Shah was estimated to be
around 70 crores which by current estimates would be about about $ 5
billion. After the plunder Nadir Shah was able to exempt the Iranian people
from taxes for at least three years. In 1747 in the immediate aftermath of
Nadir Shah's assassination most of the crown jewels of the Iran were
looted by the commanders and generals who were close to him. The Peacock
Throne was also dismantled and diamonds, precious stones and gold that once
formed part of the throne was stolen, and never recovered.
The Kingdom of Golconda
Golconda was a fortress city situated 11 Km west of
Hyderabad, the capital city of Andhra Pradesh, in Southern India. The
Golconda fort has a history dating back to 1143 A.D. when the region was
ruled by the Hindu Kings of the Kakatiya Dynasty. The fort stands on a 120m
high granite hill, previously known as "Golla Konda" (Shepherd's Hill) in
Telungu Language. According to legend, a shepherd boy came across an idol on
top of the rocky hill, which he delivered to the ruling Kakatiya King of the
region. The King ordered the construction of a mud fort around the hallowed
spot.
From 1347 to 1518 Golconda was part of the Bahamani
Sultanate in the Deccan region of India. Between 1490 and 1518 the Bahamani
Sultanate split into five successor states and Golconda was one such state.
The other four states were Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bijapur and Bidar. The Golconda
kingdom was founded by Quli Qutb Shah, a former Turkish Governor of the
Bahamani eastern region who declared independance from the Bahamani
Sultanate in 1518, and founded his capital in Golconda. The Bahamani eastern
region roughly coincided with the former Hindu state of Warangal. Quli Qutb
Shah demolished the mud fort and replaced it with a solid granite
fortification that extended right round the Golconda hill and was almost 5
Km in circumference. The other Qutb Shahi kings that followed made further
improvements to the fortress, built palaces, mosques, towers, minarets,
parks and gardens. The fortress has 87 semi-circular bastions, eight
gateways and four drawbridges. One of the gates is known as "Fateh Darwaza"
the victory gate.
The fortress city of Golconda remained the capital of the
Qutb Shahi kingdom up to 1590, when it was realized that the fortress was
hardly adequate to accommodate a fast growing capital. A new capital was
built a few miles east of Golconda, on the east bank of the Musi
River, and was called Hyderabad. This shifting took place during the rule of
the 5th Qutb Shahi king, Muhammad Quli Qutb Shahi. The Golconda kingdom
remained under the Qutb Shahis until 1687, when it was captured and annexed
to the Mogul Empire by Emperor Aurangzeb. The region remained under Mogul
rule until 1724, when Mir Qamar-ud-Din, the viceroy of the Moguls for the
Deccan region, also known as Asaf Jah, declared independence and founded the
kingdom of Hyderabad. Mir Qamar-ud-Din founded the dynasty of the Nizams of
Hyderabad, and is known as the Nizam-ul-Mulk. The kingdom of Hyderabad
became a British protectorate in 1798 under the Nizam Ali Khan, the 2nd
Nizam of Hyderabad and remained so until the British granted independence to
India in 1947. However the British granted full independence to the Nizams
of Hyderabad in internal matters.
The Golconda Mines
The world famous Golconda mines was famous for the
production of diamonds of the highest quality, with incredible transparency,
whiteness and purity. Some of the descriptive terms used to refer to
Golconda diamonds are "diamonds of purest water", "purest of the pure",
"whiter than white", "Brighter than bright" etc. These diamonds are
therefore Type IIa diamonds, which are absolutely colorless or known as
D-color diamonds in the GIA classification.
The Golconda group of mines were actually situated about
40 Km southeast of Golconda city or fortress, at Kollur on the right bank of
the Kistna River, west of Chintapilly. The diamonds found in the Kollur
mines and other mines at Chintur and Parteal eventually found their way to
the diamond market near Golconda city, which became internationally
famous, and the mines especially those at Kollur were referred to as the
Golconda mines. Diamonds were first discovered in Kollur about 100 years
before the visit of Tavernier to Golconda in 1642. This was in the mid 16th
century between 1540 and 1560. During the visit of Tavernier in 1642, the
Golconda mines were in full production with more than 20 mines being worked,
employing over 60,000 people, and most of these mines were extraordinarily
rich. Thus peak productions in Golconda was during the 17 century, and
production began declining in the 18th century, and it was almost exhausted
by the end of that century. The Qutb Shahi dynasty lasted for 169 years from
1518 to 1687. Thus the peak production period of the Golconda mines
corresponded with the period of the Qutb Shahi kings, and they would
obtained the maximum benefit out of these mines. While part of the diamonds
found during this period enriched the Qutb Shahi courts, a significant
quantity would have moved northwards and entered the courts of the Mogul
emperors. Another possible destination for these diamonds would have been
the Persian courts, with whom the Qutb Shahis had close diplomatic and
religious ties. Finally diamond hunters like Tavernier and other other
adventurous Europeans also purchased significant quantities of diamonds that
eventually ended up in the courts of several European monarchies.
The period of Mogul rule in Golconda that lasted for 37
years between 1687 and 1724, also corresponded with prolific
productions in the mines, and would have undoubtedly benefited the Mogul
rulers of the time. However, the period of the dynasty of the Nizams of
Hyderabad which began from 1724 onwards, was the period when production in
the mines started declining and eventually came to a stand still by the end
of the 18th century. In spite of the decline in production in the Golconda
mines, diamonds produced in these mines and other groups of mines in the
eastern Deccan was sufficient for the dynasty of the Nizams of Hyderabad to
put together a royal collection of jewels and jewelry, that was perhaps the
most sumptuous and extravagant collection of jewelry in the history of
mankind, which by today's estimate costs at least $ 4 billion.
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